Facts and Fiction about SURE-P funds in Plateau State

The Plateau State Government has observed with concern that the Media has been awash of recent with reports that the Plateau State Governor, Dr Jonah Jang is “under probe” by the State House of Assembly because some N5b (Five Billion Naira) SURE – P money accruable to Plateau is “Missing” or that its “whereabouts” is unknown.

To say the least, these reports border on compelling sensationalism and very faulty interpretative capacities.

For the records, Government declares that: 1. Governor Jonah Jang has not been, and is surely NOT under any form of investigation or ‘probe’ by the Legislature of Plateau State either for the Subsidy Re-Investment Programme , or any other aspect of governance;

2. Plateau State’s share of the SURE-P accruals from the Federation Account is neither missing, diverted nor misappropriated;

3. The SURE-P funds allocated to Plateau are INTACT, SAFE and TRACEABLE in this era of e-banking;

4. The mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee of the House of Assembly was not to investigate but should be seen as an effort by the Honourable compatriots to find out the STATUS of IMPLEMENTATION of the SURE-P programme in the state; the House is acting well within its constitutional powers to be up to date in implementation efforts by the state!

5. This programme has Three components: the Federal, which has its Co-Ordinators in Plateau who are not accountable to the state but Federal government; the State component and that of the Local Governments;

6. Long before the SURE-P Programme came on board, the Plateau State Government had conceived and implemented a poverty alleviation programme called TACKLING POVERTY TOGETHER which has seen the acquisition and distribution of mini cabs, buses, tricycles and taxi cabs, the employment of widows for sanitation purposes and the empowerment of thousands of farmers through the Agricultural Services and Training Centre (ASTC);

Facts and Fiction about SURE-P funds in Plateau State

The Plateau State Government has observed with concern that the Media has been awash of recent with reports that the Plateau State Governor, Dr Jonah Jang is “under probe” by the State House of Assembly because some N5b (Five Billion Naira) SURE – P money accruable to Plateau is “Missing” or that its “whereabouts” is unknown.

To say the least, these reports border on compelling sensationalism and very faulty interpretative capacities.

For the records, Government declares that:

1. Governor Jonah Jang has not been, and is surely NOT under any form of investigation or ‘probe’ by the Legislature of Plateau State either for the Subsidy Re-Investment Programme , or any other aspect of governance;

2. Plateau State’s share of the SURE-P accruals from the Federation Account is neither missing, diverted nor misappropriated;

3. The SURE-P funds allocated to Plateau are INTACT, SAFE and TRACEABLE in this era of e-banking;

4. The mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee of the House of Assembly was not to investigate but should be seen as an effort by the Honourable compatriots to find out the STATUS of IMPLEMENTATION of the SURE-P programme in the state; the House is acting well within its constitutional powers to be up to date in implementation efforts by the state!

5. This programme has Three components: the Federal, which has its Co-Ordinators in Plateau who are not accountable to the state but Federal government; the State component and that of the Local Governments;

6. Long before the SURE-P Programme came on board, the Plateau State Government had conceived and implemented a poverty alleviation programme called TACKLING POVERTY TOGETHER which has seen the acquisition and distribution of mini cabs, buses, tricycles and taxi cabs, the employment of widows for sanitation purposes and the empowerment of thousands of farmers through the Agricultural Services and Training Centre (ASTC);

7. Government is working out the implementation modalities that will encompass structures that will undertake the programme thoroughly – and details will be released in due course;

8. Governor Jonah Jang has proven all through his first, and now second tenure his capacity and self-discipline to avoid frugality and, instead generate as well as judiciously apply state resources in the development of Plateau;

9. The monthly allocation of N218m and N146m to the State and LGCs respectively is a continual flow – and what should be upper most in the minds of all stakeholders is our putting in extra efforts to get some Federal projects to complement those of the State;

10. Indeed, it cannot be reported that we have lost anything that belongs to the state since we know where we can find it!

By Yiljap Abraham

(Hon Commissioner),

Information and Communication,

Plateau State

August 20, 2013

It would be recalled that ViewPointNigeria had previously reported of the probe of the government by the Plateau state house of assembly for misappropriation of the said fund. That news article can be found at:

http://www.viewpointnigeria.com/politics-mob/item/514-plateau-state-house-of-assemby-investigate-missing-n5-billion-sure-p-funds

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SURE-P funds saga: Press release by Abraham Yiljap Hon. Commissioner for Information & Communication Plateau State