“By that law, anyone
convicted of kidnapping in Plateau State will be sentenced to death”
“Criminalize any denial
of the existence of COVID 19 in the State, urged senior citizens to go for test”
“Grant full autonomy to
Local Government”- all funds belonging to that tier of Government go straight
to them”
True to type Governor Lalong has recorded another milestone in the history of Plateau state thus engraving his name on historical landscape of the state. His constant engagement of stakeholders in decisions making has proven that Governor Simon Lalong administration is an exemplar of good governance.
Governor Lalong has over the years, combined wisdom, humility and intelligence, in the task of administering a multifaceted State like the Plateau, thus changing the narrative in governance and thereby eliciting respects and confidence.
The Governor had on the
14th January invited stakeholders to intimate and engaged them on
discussion in seeking ways to curtail the second wave of COVID-19 and security
issues held at the Victoria Gowon Hall, New Government House, Little Rayfield
Jos.
Welcoming stakeholders
at the meeting Governor Lalong Said “I have invited you here again for us to
rub minds on very important issues that border on the security and well-being
of our people. I want to thank you for honouring this call which again
demonstrates your commitment to the progress of Plateau State”
He said “As you may be
aware, we are experiencing the second wave of the corona virus pandemic where
there is a resurgence of cases across the nation including here on the Plateau.
As a result of this, we are recording more daily cases in the State than
previously. Sadly, we are also recording increasing number of deaths that is
very worrisome. In the past weeks, we have seen some prominent persons in
Plateau State and indeed across Nigeria die from COVID-19.
Lalong noted that mostly we hear of the big names but do not get to hear of the others involving people that are less prominent. This should give us serious concern because it means that the situation is bigger than what we seem to know.
He lamented that the
most worrisome point here is that despite this situation, most citizens appear
to be careless and reluctant to observe the COVID-19 protocols. In fact, many
have abandoned and refused to observe simple protocols of wearing face masks,
maintaining social distance and washing hands regularly.
Governor reiterated
that this worries him a lot because this recklessness is further exposing more
people to the virus and then increasing the casualty figures. While we have no
intention of imposing another lockdown to avoid further damage to the economy,
some members of the public are not helping us.
Lalong noted that as a
government, we cannot fold our arms to witness people dying over a situation
that is largely preventable. I hope we shall see a change of attitude going
forward as we resume more vigorous level of enforcement of all the protocols.
He further warned that for
those who are in denial and continue to misinform others that COVID-19 does not
exist, I want to warn them to desist. I as the number one citizen of the State
was a victim and God helped me to come out of it. I can tell you that it is not
a joke and I do not wish even my enemies such experience.
He said that is why at
the last State EXCO meeting, we decided to criminalize further denial of the
disease in the State. In other words, if you deny the existence of the disease,
keep your denial to yourself because if you are caught propagating it or
instigating others to follow you, you will be arrested and prosecuted no matter
how highly placed you might be.
Again, we have to
re-strategize and embark on more education and sensitization particularly at
the grassroots. The previous approach where we talk to stakeholders and expect
them to take the message down seems to be less effective at the moment.
Therefore, we are taking the message by directly engaging the people.
Governor Lalong said |I
have directed that my Commissioners and other senior government officials go
down and engage the people henceforth. We want to break the resistance and
ensure that the people own the response. COVID-19 is a personal matter that
affects people directly. They need to be involved”.
On the issue of
vaccine, “I have already heard some people peddling conspiracy theories. I want
to say that I will be the first to take the vaccine whenever it is available in
Plateau State. Let us be careful of promoting unsubstantiated rumors”.
He noted that by the
way, we are still hopeful that the drugs being developed by the Plateau State
Medical Research Team which are currently undergoing clinical examination will
pass the necessary approvals. This will also give us another option for
prevention and treatment. At least, this is our own initiative and there is no
conspiracy theory attached.
On the issues of
security Governor Lalong said security remains the first priority of his
administration. “We have continued to pay attention to the security of lives
and property by adopting various measures to foster peaceful coexistence and
also deal with crime and criminality”
He said the Government
is working hard with the security agencies and stakeholders to ensure that the
ugly incidences are tackled. Last month, I signed the Anti-kidnapping, Land
grabbing, Cultism and Violence-related matters bill passed by the State House
of Assembly into law. By that law, anyone convicted of kidnapping in Plateau
State will be sentenced to death while cultism and other violent crimes attract
various terms of imprisonment.
Also in December last
year, we inaugurated 595 Community Police constables who were trained and
deployed to the 17 Local Government Areas to assist law enforcement agencies,
particularly the police in intelligence gathering and other security
operations. Now that it has taken off, I expect to hear from you how best we can
domesticate and own the initiative at the grassroots.
He said security is a
collective responsibility, I charge you to assist the Government sensitise and
mobilise all citizens to always be security conscious and take measures to
protect their vicinity against criminals. Apart from exposing them, they should
also embrace techniques to provide the first line of alarm and defence before
security agencies respond.
“I have repeatedly said
that I do not want to hear of any incidence of “unknown gunmen” terrorizing our
people. We have to collaborate with the security agencies to ensure that we
achieve this. They cannot do it alone. Now that we have community policing
constables, we expect better security as we all support them to work.
“You may be aware of
the recent alert by the Department of State Services of a threat to cause
inter-religious violence by some criminal elements. We have to take this alert
seriously and ensure that we report any suspicious activity to the security
agencies. I also advise our people not to succumb to the divisive antics of
such elements who exploit the fault lines of religion, ethnicity, politics and
other sectional interests to create chaos”.
On the issue of the
implementation of the new minimum wage for Local Government Employees. The Governor
said I understand that they have concluded negotiations on modalities for implementation;
I still need to make a few clarifications because of the misinterpretation and
misinformation out there.
Those who want to be
objective and say the truth know that I will be the last person to frustrate
the implementation of the new minimum wage to Local Government employees having
been one of the first and few Governors to agree on its implementation.
Besides, I was part of the negotiation at the Federal level after which other
tiers of Government were advised to go and negotiate with their employees.
He explained that following
the prolonged clamour for financial autonomy of the Local Government system
nationwide, the matter was finally resolved. As a result, I approved that Local
Government autonomy in Plateau State should be implemented immediately. Therefore,
all funds belonging to that tier of Government go straight to them. It is
therefore the duty of the Local Governments to negotiate the new minimum wage
with their employees based on their capacity to pay. This is the same thing
that happened at the Federal and State levels.
I was therefore shocked
that despite my intervention to ensure that the matter was quickly resolved
through a Technical Committee, the workers embarked on protests which caused
hardship to other citizens. They have also called me unprintable names
forgetting that I have a soft spot for workers.
I do not need to repeat
what I inherited as their salary arrears for 8 months, unpaid “no-work-no pay”,
promotions of over 20 years, among others when I took over. All these they seem
to have forgotten because of politics. Let me again put it on record that I am
not holding local government salaries and no one should therefore call me
names.
As this engagement
unfolds, I expect to get feedback from you and have some of my Commissioners
and relevant officers intervene where necessary.
