When Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau state took the oath of office on May 29, 2015, he told the people unambiguously that he was on a Rescue Mission and was poised to turn around the fortunes of thestate in all spheres.
The Governor made the lofty promise because he was aware that the state was in dire need of rescue from previous maladministration, characterized by insecurity, huge debts, divisions caused by ethnic and religious bigotry, non-payment of salaries and lots of other challenges.
Four years down the road, it is now crystal clear that the Governor’s inaugural message was premised on the fact that he was not oblivious of the daunting challenges that were before him, right from when he decided to run for the office of Governor up till when he accepted the people’s mandate to take the state blessed with clement weather and peace-loving people out of the woods.
True to his words, the governor has in the last four years demystified the office of the governor with his exemplary leadership style, anchored on uncommon commitment, patriotism, zeal and humility, culminating in unprecedented record time results.
It is, indeed, an understatement to say that the Lalong administration has in the last four years substantially addressed some of the challenges it inherited and charted a new course for the state.
The vision of the Lalong administration is deliberately anchored on a 5-String Policy Thrust, which include Peace, Security and Good Governance; Human Capital Development and Social Welfare; Agriculture and Rural Development; Entrepreneurship, Industrialization and Wealth Creation; as well as Physical Infrastructure and Environment.
In the area of Peace and Security, the governor has made tremendous efforts in sustaining peace, security and good governance in the state. One of the giant steps taken in that regard was the creation of the Plateau Peace Building Agency (PPBA) which developed a five-year strategic peace plan for enduring peace in the state.
To underscore the importance of traditional rulers in the attainment of lasting peace, he filled vacant traditional stools and upgraded some deserving second class chiefs to first class status.
This decision, which was welcomed by the public with excitement, was also done with a view to bringing about equity, fairness and freedom to some communities that had suffered from marginalisation and subjugation for decades.
In a bid to complement the other efforts, the governor liaised with the Federal Government and attracted the establishment of security outfits in the state, among which are the Nigerian Air Force Search and Rescue Unit in Kerang; a Mobile Police Squadron in Shendam; as well as in Gashish.
The Plateau State Government under Governor Simon Lalong also procured security vehicles and other logistics for security agencies operating in the state to facilitate their operations.
Human Capital Development and Social Welfare have also enjoyed desired attention during the past four years. For instance, the government created the Plateau State Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (PLASMEDA) and it is achieving its purpose by training youths with entrepreneurial skills and supporting them to set up their businesses.
Many youths, through these efforts, are now gainfully employed and some are now employers of labour. This has no doubt, taken them off the list of potential crisis mongers and, perhaps, becoming willing thugs in the hands of unscrupulous politicians.
The government absorbed about 650 ad-hoc staff working on casual basis into Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Also, over 12,000 civil servants who had stagnated for over 10 years were promoted, while over 4,000 local government workers were also promoted.
The Lalong administration in the last four years also cleared N18bn salary arrears which it inherited, and has been consistent in the prompt and regular payment of salaries and other entitlements of workers and pensioners. This has gone a long way in promoting industrial harmony, which is the bedrock of productivity and peaceful coexistence between the government and the governed.
In Lalong’s unquenchable desire to turn around the fortunes of PlateauState, he paid adequate attention to education which is considered to be the foundation for development. The administration, for instance, facilitated the accreditation of courses at the Plateau State
University, Bokkos, and also released N500m for the development of infrastructure in the university.
The Governor’s gesture paved the way for the first and second combined convocation of the university which had existed for ten years, produced four vice chancellors but graduated no students.
The Plateau State Polytechnic, Barkin Ladi, got among other things, N228m in January this year for the accreditation of courses, in addition to the N120m it got earlier for infrastructural development in the I nstitution.
Over 500 primary schools were also renovated and furnished under the school renewal programme of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). The administration also engaged 834 secondary school teachers through the Teachers Service Commission.
In line with the Federal Government’s drive to diversify the nation’s economy to Agriculture, Governor Lalong took the bull by the horns to make Agriculture the mainstay of the Plateau State economy, going forward. He, for instance, revived the Plateau Fertilizer Blending Plant in Bokkos. He also resuscitated the Panyam Fish Farm and procured about 400 tractors and distributed same among farmers in the state to help harness the state’s abundant agricultural potentials.
Government also renovated no fewer than 20 Primary Health Care Centres in some rural communities, in addition to the upgrading of facilities at the Plateau State Specialist Hospital, Jos, and the efforts to complete three inherited General Hospitals, one in each of the three Senatorial Zones of the state. Industrialisation is also not left out in the government’s catalogue of achievements as the Highland Bottling Company in Barkin Ladi was resuscitated in partnership with Hummer Drinks Limited.
The Lalong administration so much believes in one of the basic tenets of leadership, which sees governance as a continuum. The Governor clearly demonstrated this by way of continuing with virtually all the projects he inherited, resulting in the massive transformation of physical infrastructure and the environmental outlook of the state.
History will, indeed, be kind to Governor Lalong for continuing with the projects started by his predecessors, which is a deviation from what has become a common feature of governance in Nigeria. That “operation no abandoned projects,” which could be described as the “Lalong Approach,” saved the state billions of Naira, which would have been wasted if the projects were abandoned. Prominent among the projects are the Mararaban Jema’a-British America Express Way and the State Secretariat Flyover, among many others.
Governor Lalong also initiated some turn-key projects of his own and completed them in record time, such as the Low-Cost Road network, the Rantya-Rafiki Road network, the Rukuba Road network, the Angwan Rogo Road network and the Tudun Wada-Kabong Road network.
Going forward, there is no doubt that the people of Plateau State voted en masse for the Governor and entrusted him with another term of office because of what they saw as the sincerity of purpose with which he came to govern the state, coupled with his amazing first term scorecard, in spite of the seemingly insurmountable initial challenges which he faced.
During the launching of his re-election campaign, the Governor did not mince words when he assured the people of the state that the motto of his second and last term is “To do more for the people of Plateau State in the next four years.” His target, he said, would be to use his second term to consolidate on the achievements made in the first one.
Lalong’s second tenure will afford him the opportunity to consolidate on the relative peace in the state at the moment by tackling the state’s security challenges more decisively, especially with the experience he has garnered over the last four years so far. The Governor is also expected to sustain his cordial relationship with security agencies, while promoting initiatives that would unite, rather than divide the people of the state.
The new administration is also expected to complete the process of repurchasing the state-owned Multibillion Naira BARC Farms, which was sold by a former administration nearly thirty years ago. The farm has the capacity to gainfully engage teeming Plateau youths in agriculture, boost food production, bolster Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), as well as the state’s economy.
The rebuilding of the burnt Jos Terminus Market would also be a priority in the second lap of Lalong’s administration. With the symbolic demolition a fortnight ago of the parts that failed the integrity test conducted by the experts who are expected to rebuild the market, work on the rebuilding of the money-spinning Ultramodern Market is set to commence in full blast.
As a sportsman, the Governor is expected to place the completion of the ultra-modern new Zaria Road Stadium on the front burner to encourage sporting activities in the area. The completion of this multibillion naira edifice, which has been in desuetude for several decades, will be a major achievement of the Governor for which posterity will eternally remember him for.
Plateau is blessed with abundant tourist sites and government has made the development of the sector a priority during the Governor’s second tenure because of the revenue generating potential of tourism in the state.
One sector that is expected to be accorded priority in the Governor’s second term is the money spinning solid minerals sector. It is a goldmine which if all hands are put on deck to tap, the state will be smiling to the banks with billions of naira in its revenue drive. Given the Governor’s total and unwavering commitment to ensuring that he gives his Midas’ touch to all sectors of the state and give them a total turnaround, there is no doubt that Governor Lalong will in the next four years take Plateau State to its Eldorado which be the envy of other states.
Longyen is Governor Lalong’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.
