Governor Simon Lalong
By M. Peter, Jos
The Peoples Democratic Party and a splinter group in the All Progressives Congress in Plateau State, called Plateau Rescue Front, have accused Governor Simon Lalong administration of ‘massive corruption and incompetence.’
The PDP in a statement in Jos said the widespread allegations of corruption against the Governor Simon Lalong and his administration by some members of APC under the auspices of Plateau Rescue Front were a loud indictment on the governor.
They said Governor Lalong has failed to show the people of Plateau state evidence of the N120million he reportedly spent on procurement of hand sanitizer and hand -washing soap and how he spent N11billion on the fight against Coronavirus.
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The Dune gathered that Governor Simon Lalong said last weekend that his administration spent N366million in the fight against COVID-19.
Officials of the PDP, the main opposition party in the State have consistently call out the Governor over what they call non-performance and impunity and as a splinter APC group in the State re-echoes the PDP’s voice, the party said it has been vindicated by the views of the group.
It would be recalled that the APC group under the auspices of Plateau Rescue Front had in a letter to the Plateau governor and copied to President Muhammadu Buhari accused the Governor of impunity and inefficiency, saying that the Governor’s actions were making the APC very unpopular in Plateau State.
The PDP, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, John Akans lauded the stance of the splinter group saying members of the group are patriots who mean well for the State.
Akans said, “the accusations and allegations of corruption and incompetence against Governor Simon Lalong by a splinter group within the Plateau State All Progressives Congress, APC has vindicated the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the state.”
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“PDP’s long-held position of total failure of the Governor is being echoed more loudly by the APC’s Plateau Rescue Front (PRF) when the group boldly and patriotically made public a letter to the Governor alleging impunity and inefficiency against him.
The PDP spokesperson quoted the PRF group as saying that ‘Lalong has shown less commitment and zeal to steer the affairs of government in Plateau state in the right direction that would usher in meaningful development, instead his government is getting worse with what we call flagrant cases of nepotism, parochialism, social injustice, decay in infrastructure, lack of infrastructural development and corruption in high places’.”
He added, “We are glad that today the PDP and the people of Plateau have been vindicated since this is coming from the APC caucus and stakeholders themselves. Every body is tired. Plateau people (the electorates), Lalong’s closest partymen, friends, kinsmen, associates are all tired of this no substance leadership that lacks methodology and transparency. No wonder the APC Plateau Rescue Front has emerged and requested Governor Lalong to account for the billions of naira that have accrued to the State without any corresponding amelioration of the conditions of the people and the development of the state.”
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Citing some examples, the PDP spokesman stressed, “we demand explanation on the N660m out of the N1billion approved and released for the roofing of the Zaria road stadium. You would recall that on Monday, 29th August 2016, the leadership of our great party (PDP) during its maiden briefing raised alarm over the corrupt deals of Governor Lalong and the APC in the State. Within three months in office Lalong took loans worth N18 billion from some commercial banks and at the same time covering up with what he claimed to be crippling loans inherited from previous administrations. We have reliably gathered that the loans taken by the Lalong administration within his four years in office as approved by the House of Assembly is over N45 billion which remains unaccounted for without any beneficial project commissioned.
“Lalong’s government is indeed a disaster and bed of corruption as within just one month in office, he spent a whopping amount of N4.5 billion on luxury cars for selected government officials, also spent N1.4 billion to purchase and install GPRS tracking device on 100 cars which translates to N14 million to track one car. APC has shamelessly turned Plateau state governance into a business making venture today. To further swindle state money, fake potatoes seedlings worth 13 million US dollars was purportedly imported by Lalong using one of the APC House of Representatives members, which up to this moment no one Irish potato has been seen to the disappointment of poor farmers and no refund has been made to the state treasury.
“He must also tell Plateau people how he expended a whooping N11 billion within few months to fight COVID- 19 without anything to show. Up to this moment health workers have not been paid their hazard entitlements. We are also aware that N500 million was spent to fumigate our roads without telling us the fumigant used for that business adventure. The people are yet to be given their face mask purchased by APC government for N40million, yet to get hand sanitisers supplied by Lalong government for N50million and hand washing soap for N30million. What of the N200million donated by voluntary organisations to assist the government in the fight against this pandemic?
“Indeed, the effectiveness of Governor Lalong’s administration is more on corruption, nepotism and incompetence than transparency and good governance. We remind Lalong and his cohorts that no matter how long it looks in their blind eyes, the time of reckoning will soon be here and it shall be another tale of had we known.”
However, the APC on Plateau has insisted that Governor Simon Lalong administration is rescuing Plateau state from the legacy of corruption which the PDP left in its years of governing the state.
In a statement by the Plateau state secretary of APC Bashir Musa said the allegations against the governor by the PDP were mere nauseating rantings.
“We are again constrained to respond to the repeated and nauseating ranting of the factional spokesperson of the nearly non-existent Plateau State PDP, John Akane woke up with another concoction of lies and innuendos claiming that his party is vindicated over the ‘massive corruption and incompetence of the Lalong administration’.
“We are not surprised that the factional spokesperson of the PDP has nothing with which to attack the Government of Simon Lalong, than adopting a so-called public letter by this unknown and mischievous group as the basis of his sermon. This vindicates the fact that the PDP in Plateau State is in total disarray and on the verge of total collapse where it only feels that its survival can only be guaranteed when it de-markets the APC or attack Governor Simon Lalong with lies and fabrications.
“They are definitely still hurting from their rejection by the people of the State in 2015 and 2019 as well as the persistent fragmentation of the party by various interest groups which also happened recently when they held their congresses. First, we do not want to glorify the letter purportedly written by the so-called PRF because it is obviously the handiwork of agents of the PDP who want to discredit the Rescue Administration at all costs. Clearly, this group cannot be described as stakeholders of the APC as they are not known to the party, much as the PDP will like people to believe.
“They are equally not card-carrying members of the party. They do not even qualify as members of the caucus of the APC. Rather, they are definitely fronting for the PDP hiding under pseudo acronyms so as to engineer the kind of distraction and confusion that is bedeviling the PDP ever since they fell out of power. If they were members of the APC and truly concerned, they would have availed themselves of the party’s structure to make their case or approach government directly. Besides, their claims are bogus, wild and unsubstantiated.”
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He further stated, “this outrageous and malicious lie does not deserve any response because this fiction is only in the head of the authors who clearly have nothing to raise than this spurious lies and contraptions. In as much as all reasonable persons will never buy this lie, we advise the PDP to remember that opposition does not amount to destruction and fabrication of libellous and defamatory content.
“Indeed, the PDP factional spokesperson is sounding like a broken record each time he sets out to cook up or adopt accusations of mischief makers against the Governor. Accusing Governor Lalong of nepotism without any substantiation is to say the least playing to the gallery and trying to re-enact what the last PDP administration was reputed for which contributed to their rejection by the people of Plateau State.
“Without glorifying the empty tantrums of the PDP, we want to advice its factional image maker to focus on rescuing the umbrella from the brink particularly since the outcome of its disputed congresses. We also advise the factional spokesman that in modern day opposition, there are better strategic and intelligent ways of fact findings and attention seeking. The poor-quality opposition and clownishness being displayed consistently have made the party’s megaphone a laughing stock on the Plateau.
“Above all, rather than dissipating energy in becoming an undertaker and speculator of mundane rumours, he should join the good people of Plateau State who are more interested in supporting and praying for the success of the Lalong Rescue administration as it delivers the dividends of democracy than listening to mischievous and ridiculous claims.”
