Plateau State would soon overcome its economic, security challenges – Lalong

By Golok Nanmwa ,Jos

Plateau state Governor Simon Lalong on Thursday said he is confident that Plateau would soon over come the security and economic challenges of the state .

Lalong made this known while speaking at the Plateau day at the ongoing 2018 Jos trade fair in Jos.

He said The theme of this year’s Trade Fair, which is: “Sustainable Development of MSMEs in a Challenging Economic Environment,” is indeed apt and timely. This is because it encapsulates the realities that the present business and investment strategies face. Government has deliberately put in place some measures with a view to overcoming these economic challenges by establishing some institutions at the inception of this administration.
These institutions includes ,the Plateau State Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency) to facilitate regulation compliance One-Stop-Shop to provide information to potential investors and the Ease of Doing Business in Plateau State.”

The Governor also said “Plateau State is blessed with solid minerals like tin, columbite, silicon, limestone, kaolin, etc, that are all in large quantities. In agriculture, government is collaborating with a private firm, the Agricultural Services and Training Centre (ASTC) which is located in each of the three geopolitical zones of the state. This firm works directly with the farmers by way of providing tractor services, seeds/seedlings, consultancy services etc. This is in a bid to make farming not just interesting but also attractive to, especially the youths. ”

‘One major lynchpin of the Rescue Administration has been its deliberate decision to tackle the state’s industrialization challenge headlong by engaging in the revamping of hitherto moribund state-owned industries which were abandoned by past administrations for decades. Our efforts in this regard have paid off handsomely.”

For instance, the Plateau State Fertilizer Blending Plant, Bokkos has since been resuscitated. For the first time in the history of Plateau State, we now have a functional Fertilizer Plant that is fully operational at optimal capacity. The

Also, the hitherto abandoned state-owned Highland Bottling Company in Barkin Ladi, has since been resuscitated. The company is now producing table water (GovWater) which has already hit the market. Very soon, with the availability of funds, the firm will commence the production of malt drinks and other products.

Two other firms, the Jos International Breweries, PLC, and the Jos Ultra Modern Market, have reached advanced stage in our efforts to revive them. Government has also entered into a PPP with a foreign firm and even released a part-payment for the resuscitation of the Jos Ultra Modern Market. Government has also paid part of the money to acquire BARC Farms, a subsidiary of JIB PLC, which was erroneously sold to an investor.
Efforts have also reached an advanced stage for the acquisition of a Permanent Trade Fair ground. We are also opening up satellite markets to boost commercial activities in the state and to also decongest the city.

As a state we are determined to tackle the security challenges that have faced us as a state and how we have been able to address them, thereby, bringing about the relative peace which we now have that has culminated in the enabling environment for us to hold this year’s Trade Fair without any incident of violence.

This is even more significant when we understand that both in the short and long run, no business activities will take place and no investors will put their money in an unsafe environment. Thus, the challenge now is for us to sustain the peace by all means possible in order to bring about sustainable development and achieve the Plateau State of our collective dream.

In the first three years of this administration, you would recall that our security strategies paid off and we experienced relative peace before the enemies of progress and peaceful co-existence struck recently. Nonetheless, government remains undaunted and so, in collaboration with security agencies, we are leaving no stone unturned, so as to smoke out the agents of death from our midst and forcefully relocate them from our state to wherever they came from.

I, therefore, call on everybody to be vigilant even when it seems peaceful within your neighbourhood. People should report any suspected criminal act or unusual movements to the law enforcement agents who are up and doing in order to ensure that peace reigns in our state in particular and the nation at large.

While we pursue peaceful coexistence for our citizens, we must also understand that the source of livelihood of the people is not just guaranteed but boosted through economic activities like this Trade Fair. This will ensure that the source of livelihood of the people bounces back in the state akin to our recent emergence from economic recession as a nation.

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Plateau State would soon overcome its economic, security challenges – Lalong