From Murphy Ganagana and Gyang Bere, Jos
Elected on the banner of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2015, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State rode on protest votes to the Government House, Jos, following an alleged attempt by his predecessor and political rival, David Jonah Jang, to impose the late Senator Gyang Pwajok as governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which at that time, was the ruling party in the state and at the centre. This was against the interest of the people in the southern and central senatorial zones of the state.
Daily Sun gathered that it was a well planned and executed political revolution by a group of strategists who feared the immediate past governor’s move, if allowed, would alter an unwritten zoning arrangement initiated by the first civilian governor of the state and pioneer national chairman of PDP, late Chief Solomon Lar, in 1979.
Since then, the arrangement was accepted by the three senatorial zones till the last lap of Jang’s tenure, when he attempted to impose the PDP candidate, late Senator Pwajok, who, like himself, hails from the same northern senatorial district, a move that led to the defeat of his party in the state, as the southern and central senatorial zones ganged up against him.
Campaign promises
However, Lalong did not coast to victory on a platter of gold; he made several juicy promises upon which he canvassed for support from the electorate. He had pledged to fulfill them if given the mandate. He offered to put smiles on their faces in all sectors including returning peace to the troubled state ravaged by ethno-religious crises since 2001.
He vowed to eliminate violent conflicts by tackling unemployment, social injustice, poverty and bad governance; promised prompt payment of salaries and other entitlements of public workers, payment of pension and gratuities to retirees without unnecessary delays, and delivery of qualitative and free education, which according to him, is a right and not privilege, from the formative levels of nursery and primary school through the transitional stages of secondary and vocational/technical.
He had also promised to establish more institutions in the three senatorial zones, in addition to transforming the Government Technical Colleges in Bukuru and Pankshin into model institutions, as well as free payment of all National Examination Council (NECO), National Board for Technical Education (NABTEC) and Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) registration fees for indigent students of the state.
Lalong, a former speaker of the state House of Assembly, also specifically promised to construct about 38 road projects by 2017; build 22,500 housing units in nine locations, 340 boreholes in Riyom and Shendam Local Government Areas of the state, purchase assorted water treatment chemicals; connect electricity to rural villages across the state and uplift quality of life of Plateau people.
Scorecard
While the smoothening of roughened feathers and filling of deep gullies of bad blood occasioned by the ethno-religious conflicts that had kept tensions in the state at boiling point was one of the major planks of his electioneering, Governor Lalong inadvertently set the tone for wider ethnic cracks shortly after he was sworn in. His pronouncement on assumption of office that the security challenges which ravaged Riyom, Barkin-Ladi and parts of Jos South Local Government Areas of the state was a Berom/ Fulani problem that engulfed the entire state, did not go down well with the dominant Berom ethnic group in the northern senatorial district, where bloodletting prevailed till his emergence in 2015.
The killings continued until the governor constituted a peace and reconciliation committee headed by a former Secretary to the State Government, Nde John Gobak, to reconcile the Berom and Fulani so as to check the sustained midnight attacks. The committee commenced dialogue with the aggrieved communities three months after Lalong was sworn-in and succeeded in securing temporary peace in the troubled spots. Unfortunately, over 5000 persons who were displaced from their ancestral homes in 2001 and 2010 in Riyom Local Government Area are still refugees till date for fear of the unknown.
Lalong’s two years in office has certainly, not also triggered appreciable motion in the area of infrastructural development, especially, construction of roads. Investigations revealed that out of the 38 road projects captured in the 2016 budget, only five roads were completed and ready for commission in two years, while work is either ongoing, or at a standstill in 35 others.
Among the completed projects, are the secretariat junction fly-over bridge, Jos-Mazah road, Mangu-Gindiri-Lere-Kadunu-Bakin-Kogi-Foron, Federal Low-cost Housing Estate road, Dental Clinic-Dogon Karfe-Great Commission Headquarters road, and the Zololo junction-Nasarawa Gwong road.
Style of governance
Two years after riding to power on protest votes, Governor Lalong is facing loud condemnation from various individuals and groups who claimed to have worked vigorously for his electoral victory. Some Council chairmen elected on the platform of the PDP and governorship aspirants who worked against their party following attempts by ex-governor David Jang to impose his preferred successor against their wish, are accusing him of betraying them after assuming office.
Most of the PDP Council chairmen from the southern and central zones confessed to have worked against their party’s governorship candidate and sponsored Lalong’s campaign with the hope of clinching juicy political appointments. But today, they were all disappointed.
Cracks are also evident in the governor’s relationship with some key players in his party, the APC, who had worked for his victory. Apart from Ambassador Yahaya Kwande and a few other elders, majority of his party’s stalwarts in the state are bruised, weeping and licking their wounds silently. His sustained frosty relationship with his predecessor has also poked holes in his political rating.
Already, some aggrieved heavyweights in his party, working under the aegis of Buhari Support Group, are reportedly plotting against his re-election. Their joker, it was learnt, is to portray him as a betrayer, by playing up his alleged role against the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari, during the 2014 presidential primaries in Lagos.
Masses’ verdict
Amidst a deluge of promises of turning around the fortunes of the masses in the state, respondents to Daily Sun’s enquiries say they are yet to see “light at the end of their tunnel of expectations.” They point to their inability to put food on the table in their homes, due to poor agricultural productivity, lack of qualitative and affordable healthcare, educational facilities, and other democratic dividends.
Esther Micheal, a 35-year-old mother of three who sells fried yam at Maraba-Jama’a, Jos South Local Government Area, is heavily burdened by her daily battle to stay alive with her children. She laments that the APC government in the state has dashed her hopes. Esther said her business of 15 years has been on a steady decline in the past two years due to astronomical hike in prices of foodstuff. For instance, she purchases 15 tubers of yam which hitherto sold for N1, 200, at N6, 000 presently, while 10 litres of groundnut oil which cost N5, 000, now goes for N12, 000.
A cripple, Victor David, aged 40, who operate a barbecue joint at Haipang community in Barkin-Ladi local Government Area of the state, is bitter that his business has collapsed due to unfriendly economic policies. Besides, he alleged that the state government had neglected indigent and physically challenged persons by not providing them empowerment opportunities.
Though a 38-year-old bean cake trader, Kaneng Dauda, opined that Lalong recorded remarkable achievement in the area of payment of salaries of civil servants, she was quick to add that the hike in prices of foodstuff dried their lean purses as soon as salaries were paid.
Hawa Luka, 29, who hails from Kombum village in Mangu Local Government Area, thumbed down the governor especially in the health sector. She describes the governor’s performance in that sector as disappointing.The woman, a primary school teacher, is worried over the use of obsolete equipment and poor infrastructure, particularly at the General Hospitals at Mangu and Bokkos Local Government Areas of the state.
But Patience Davou holds a contrary view. She argues that Lalong’s prompt response to the outbreak of Lassa fever and meningitis in the state indicated an impressive performance in the health care delivery. She also commended the governor on the quality of roads under construction, but decried the slow pace of work, particularly between the secretariat junction and Maraba-Jama’a.
Government Reacts
However, the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the governor, Emmanuel Nanle, said Lalong deserved applause for his performance so far. On education, he contended that the free education promised by the governor during his gubernatorial campaign was not his initiative, but that of APC, captured in its manifesto which turned out to be difficult to fulfill due to the prevailing economic recession. He noted that government had paid NECO, NABTEC and SSCE registration fees for indigent Plateau State students and effort were on to commence free feeding of pupils in public primary and secondary schools.
The governor, he further explained, had placed the completion of abandoned projects across the state as topmost priority, just as he said work was ongoing at the General Hospitals in Mabudi, Kanke and Barkin-Ladi, while renovation was in progress at the cottage hospitals in Langtang North and Pankshin, among others, in fulfillment of his campaign promises.
While he was silent on the state government’s failure to boost agricultural output, he said payment of salaries and pension of civil servants was given priority to reduce hardship of the citizens. He noted that Nigeria operates a capitalist economy which hindered the government from exercising control on prices of foodstuff in a free market.
Nanle gave assurance that the governor would compensate political allies who worked for his victory in the last election. He said some of them had been offered political appointments, while others have been slated for contract awards. He pointed to the appointment of 174 special assistant by the governor as an indication of this gesture, disclosing that 54 more aides on community relations would soon be appointed.