Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhariis in Jos, Plateau state Today 8th March 2018 for a working visit. The President went on to commission state projects and host a town hall
meeting where he unveiled the Plateau Road Map To Peace a 5year
working peace project by the Plateau State Peace Building Agency.
Governor Simon Lalong delivering his speech at the town hall meeting
described the commitment of his administration in keeping faith and good
will with the citizenry to pay up all owed salaries and the effective
completion of inherited projects.
ADDRESSBY HIS EXCELLENCY, THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OFPLATEAU STATE, RT. HON. SIMON BAKO LALONG, ON THE OCCASIONOF WORKING VISIT TO
THE STATE BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR.PROTOCOL.
Today
is a memorable day in the annals of our history as we warmly receive and
welcome His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR who is on a working
visit to Plateau State. This visit is a home-coming for the President, having
once served here as the General Officer Commanding the 3rd Armoured Division of
the Nigerian Army. It is indeed a great honour and privilege to us that Mr.
President is coming to the State to share in the challenges encountered, as
well as the gains and successes recorded by the Rescue Administration since its
inception in about three years ago. Most importantly, with the warmth and
hospitality of the State and its peace-loving people we assure you of the
peace, friendliness and harmony that exist among the teeming citizens.Mr.
President, distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, during your short stay
in the State, you will also notice that we have made some modest achievements
in critical sectors of the economy. Many of these positive thresholds are
courtesy of the effective synergy between us as a State and the Federal
Government under your able leadership.HOW WE
MET THE STATE.Mr.
President, when this administration came on board on 29th May 2015, the
scenario in the State was that of despondency, despair and discomfort, as the
citizens were groaning under varying degrees of adverse socio-political and
economic conditions. The citizenry was even further plunged into
life-threatening insecurity challenges with many lives lost and properties
wantonly destroyed in the wake of crises and sporadic attacks. On the economic
front this spectacle of instability had drastically affected the economic well-being
of our enterprising women and youth group. For the common man, life was very
challenging as the government then became helpless.Even
more pathetic was the backlog of workers’ salaries as Civil Servants were owed
arrears of eight (8) months salary, Teachers were owed seven (7) months and
most pathetic too was unpaid Pensions of over twelve (12) months and thirteen
(13) in some Local Governments. We also met a seriously demoralized Civil
Service characterized by low performance and productivity due to neglect of
staff welfare and training. This gloomy scenario was in the face of a
staggering debt profile of over two hundred and twenty two billion Naira (N222,000,000,000), which we inherited. The
prospects of getting out of these tragic spectacles at first looked almost
impossible, were it not for our resilience and Mr. President’s timely
interventions in critical areas of need.OUR
GAINS AND SUCCESSES.Mr.
President, commissioning some of our projects today is a testament of our
determination to succeed in the face of dwindling resources and competing
demands. The secret behind this success story also lies in our vision,
commitment, trust, painful sacrifice and judicious use of limited resources. It
may also interest Mr. President to know that the 5-Pillar Policy Thrust of my
administration has remained the Trojan horse on which we rode towards tackling
the enormous developmental challenges confronting us in this State. These
Policy Thrusts include Peace, Security and Good Governance; Human Capital
Development and Social Welfare; Agriculture and Rural Development;
Entrepreneurship and Industrialization, and Physical Infrastructure and
Environment. These policy thrusts are targeted at meeting the peculiar
developmental aspirations of the Plateau citizens, while taking into
consideration contemporary economic challenges and our new normal in the areas
of Agriculture, Mining and Tourism.In
counting our gains and successes, I confirm that we have made modest
achievements in critical sectors of the economy from the array of completed or
on-going projects. We awarded contracts for sixteen (16) rural roads and six
(6) urban roads, at a total cost of forty six billion Naira (N46,000,000,000), all spread across the
three geo-political or senatorial zones of the State. Our health delivery
system is being revived to near efficiency. Our educational institutions from
the critical foundation stage of primary through secondary and tertiary stages
have been revived and our children and wards now learn under relatively
conducive atmosphere. The lives of our Civil Servants and Retirees have
remarkably improved as they now promptly receive their salaries and pensions
without any outstanding, thereby ensuring the desired industrial harmony. Our
farmers have been enjoying bumper harvests and get good prices for their
products. Above all, our much cherished peace has returned and all legitimate
activities have picked up.During
the period under review, we have made judicious use of the Bailout Funds and
Paris Club Refunds to a great advantage. Today, Plateau State remains one of
the few States in the country that has paid workers’ salaries and pensions
up-to-date. This administration has commenced Payment of gratuities, which was
neglected for several years. We have also commenced payment of the four (4)
months arrears of salaries of the “no work, no pay” rule enforced by the
immediate past administration.In the
area of industrialization, we have made tremendous efforts towards the revival
of moribund industries abandoned for decades. These include the Fertilizer Blending
Plant in Bokkos; the Jos International Breweries Ltd; Highland Bottling
Company, Barkin Ladi; and the Panyam Fish Farm. We have also repurchased the
multi-billion Naira Brewery Agro Research Company (BARC) Farms Ltd at Zalaki
and plans are underway to put it to optimal use. We have also reached final
stage of reconstructing the burnt Jos Ultra-Modern Market.Furthermore,
when we came on board, we inherited several abandoned and uncompleted projects.
In order to make a difference, we embraced the principle of continuity in
governance and made a clean break from the usual tradition of ignoring projects
initiated by previous administration. Mr. President, you may wish to know that
most projects abandoned at great cost are today, either nearing completion or
have been completed. A case in point is the Interchange flyover or overhead
bridge at the State Secretariat Junction, with slip roads and underpass awarded
at a cost of aboutN4.7 billion, which
we inherited at about 30% work stage but made it motorable within the first 100
days of the administration and it is now completed.The road
construction from Jos Wildlife Park to Rafiki Junction and rehabilitation of
the Miango junction road project, covering 19.5 kilometers at total sum of
aboutN2.8 billion have brought ease of
life to the people; just as the on-going construction of Angwan Rogo Road
network with a spur and bridge linking Hawan Idi and Ali Kazaure covering 6
kilometers at aboutN1.5 billion is
expected to bring succour to the citizenry.A
remarkable achievement of this administration also is the construction and
resurfacing of the Mararaban Jama’a to British America Junction on the Yakubu
Gowon Road. It is a major Federal dual carriageway of six lanes, covering 22
kilometers, constructed on full specifications that comprise stone base, binder
and wiring course at a cost of aboutN10.6
billion. As an honour to Mr. President, on behalf of the good people of Plateau
State, I had approved the naming of Mararaban Jama’a to Ta’en Junction, Bukuru
as “MUHAMMADU BUHARI WAY”.FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS.Mr.
President, the Federal Government under your able leadership has demonstrated
commitment and genuine intentions to the realization of the Nigerian Project.
These are reflected in your key interventions as well as pragmatic policies and
programmes. Your prompt response to our pleas for intervention through
the gracious release of over eight hundred billion Naira (N800,000,000,000) bailout funds to all the States including
Plateau, and eventual release of Paris Club refunds have dramatically helped us.
You deserve a standing ovation for this uncommon patriotic action (all stand up
for the standing ovation).Also,
your administration’s commitment to issues of infrastructural development, poverty
reduction, economic growth, promotion of security and fight against corruption
has placed the country on the path of sustainable development in critical
sectors of the Nigerian economy.From the perspective of
Federal Government interventions, pragmatic policies and programmes, the task
of meeting the expectations of the people under economic recession is enormous.
In spite of this negative trend, your administration has positively impacted on
lives of teeming Nigerians. We in Plateau State sincerely appreciate your
prompt interventions in the following areas, amongst others: 1). Security –
Establishment and expansion of Mobile Police Unit in the Southern Senatorial
zone as proactive measures in abating numerous security threat or challenges.
2). Agriculture – the Anchor-Borrowers’ Scheme and the Potato Value Support
Chain; 3). Economic Empowerment – the Social Intervention Programme/Social
Safety Net (N-Power Scheme and Conditional Cash Transfers); 4). Roads -the
on-going construction of the Pankshin-Tapshin-Gambar-Sara-Kai-Gindiri Road; 5).
Education – several TETFUND interventions in some of our tertiary institutions
such as the Plateau State University Bokkos; College of Education, Gindiri and
the Plateau State Polytechnic, Barkin Ladi; 6). The Home Grown School Feeding
Programme; 7). Health, which involves several interventions like the National
Immunization Programme; 8). World Bank-assisted programmes like “Save One
Million Lives” towards improving health care delivery service, and combatting
killer diseases; and 9). In particular, the highly commendable expenditure
framework of your 2018 Budget of Consolidation has truly underscored your
administration’s efforts in revamping dilapidated infrastructure, reflating the
economy through the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), investing in
People, creating a competitive global economy and confronting insecurity and
insurgency.It is also worthy to
commend Mr. President’s effort in fighting corruption in a manner that has greatly
improved Nigeria’s global ranking on the Corruption Index. As a State, we have
since keyed into this patriotic endeavour by lodging complaints with the
relevant agencies (the EFCC and the ICPC) against several cases of corruption
by some past Government Officials.OUR
PASSIONATE APPEALS.Your
Excellency, without prejudice to limited resources in the face of competing
demands, we are a State in dear need of your interventions in view of the
peculiarities of our developmental aspirations. I therefore appeal for more
attention to Plateau State in the areas of infrastructural development,
economic empowerment of our women and youths, job creation, peace and security,
which are core components of your development agenda. In Plateau State, there are
several Federal Government Projects that require urgent attention. These
include the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH); the Lafia-Shendam-Ibi
road; the Vom-Manchok-Kaduna road; the Shendam-Kwalla-Doemak-Teng-Wamba road;
the Pankshin-Langtang-Garkawa-Yelwa-Ibi road and the Mangu multi-billion Naira
Water Project.The
State has committed over twenty billion Naira (N20,000,000,000) to various federal government road projects, of
which only one billion, two hundred million Naira (N1,200,000,000.00) was reimbursed. We are therefore pleading for
your kind consideration for intervention towards total refund. We also request
for the federal government intervention in payment of Royalties from mining
companies. These reimbursements will further energize us in mobilizing funds
for more service delivery to the citizenry.In the
agricultural sector, we commend the efforts of the Federal Government
Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) in encouraging synergy with Fertilizer
Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN). As a fertilizer
producing state, we appeal for greater support to help us sustain the domestic
blending of NPK fertilizer. Similarly, given the strategic importance of
Plateau State in exotic crop production and our recent recognition and
obtaining funding facilities for mass production of high quality Irish
Potatoes, we wish to request that the Federal Government consider upgrading the
Potato Research Center in the National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI) to
a full-fledged Potato Research Institute.Mr. President, I would lend my
voice to the national concerns being raised about the increasing spate of
systematic and premeditated violence by suspected herdsmen on innocent citizens
in some parts of the country, including Plateau State. This national tragedy
calls for a serious, prompt and proactive measures. We are amongst the first
generation of states that witnessed violent attacks and clashes that has left
us with large number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). We have also been
host to thousands of victims as IDPs from other states like Adamawa, Benue,
Borno, KadunaandYobe, without commensurate support. I
appeal to Mr. President for kind consideration and special funding support to
complement our efforts in being our brothers’ keeper.The support of the federal government will go a long way to prove to our
people that the Buhari led administration is deeply interested in the affairs
of our state, knowing full well that there has never been any federal
government led post conflict intervention in Plateau state of the scale we see
in other parts of the country.While
we commend Mr. President for rising up to the challenge by setting up the Vice
President Osinbajo 10-Member Working Committee on Farmers/Herdsmen Conflicts,
it is our sincere hope and prayer that this hydra-headed monster would be
nipped in the bud.Similarly,
as gateway to the North East, we wish to request for dualization and
construction of the road from Abuja to Jos, given the economic viability and
conveniences. In fact, being a gateway to the Federal Capital from both the
North-West axis of Kano and Jigawa as well as the entire North-East, which even
extends to the South-East and South-South, the traffic density is high.
Executing this project will massively ease the movement of goods and compliment
the presence and vast potential of the dry Inland Container Depot at Heipang.A very critical area of
request for synergy and intervention is theimperative for a major Trauma
Services and Centrealong the Hawan Kibo area being
envisaged by my administration. It is our desire to upgrade the Riyom General
Hospital to Trauma Center. Hawan Kibo, so named with reference to the steep
hills is an axis of Federal Road but a black spot that has unenviable
reputation for frequent road accidents, claiming the lives of many citizens.
The casualties are due to lack of facilities and untimely intervention in
handling critical injuries, which are life-threatening. Such major Trauma
Centres are usually set up to provide specialized trauma care and
rehabilitation. Presently, there is only one major centre in Nigeria located at
the National Hospital Abuja.From available crash reports of the Federal Road Safety Corps
(FRSC), in the past one year, about 100 crashes resulting in several deaths
have been recorded. Pre hospital care currently provided by the FRSC with an
accident clinic at Hawan Kibo serve as a local trauma unit, but is severely
incapacitated.Mr. President, in the course
of your working visit, you are being hosted to a heart-warming Town Hall
Meeting where eminent Nigerians and relevant stakeholders from all spheres of
human endeavour in the State would take the opportunity to rub minds with you
on topical issues that have direct bearings on our national development agenda.
It is my hope and expectation that such interaction would enable us to jointly
work out a template for consolidating our national development agenda.OUR
ROADMAP TO PEACE.Mr. President,distinguished, guest Ladies and Gentlemen,most significant in our success story is the peace initiative we took
that helped us progress in the governance and developmental aspects. You will
recall that Plateau state has had its fair share experience of violent conflict,
which also took a massive toll on the socio-economic development of the state.
The impact of this horrific experience in terms of both human and material loss
has been quite devastating and profound. More than seven thousand lives were
lost, with homes, livelihoods and communities destroyed in a period spanning
over a decade. The pattern of state and Federal responses to conflicts in the
past were at best reactionary often revolving between the setting up of
commissions of inquiry and wide range of ad-hoc security arrangements meant to
restore law and order. While this approach may have yielded some short-term
results during the conflict, yet it has failed to arrest the vicious cycle of
violence that had become the persistent plight of our people for over fifteen
years.In an effort to end the growing security challenges we met,
my administrationestablished a strong
institutional and legal framework, namely, the Plateau Peace Building Agency. It
is the first of its kind to be adopted by any state government in Nigeria. The
function of the Peace Building Agency is to foster Peace through mutual
cooperation and understanding with a view to ensure amicable resolution of
conflicts as well as the harmonious co-existence of all citizens, regardless of
ethnic, religious and political backgrounds.The Plateau Peace Building agency has developed a
Five-Year Strategic Plan, through a carefully facilitated benchmarking exercise
that harnessed the contributions of stakeholders. Through the implementation of
this strategic framework we hope to maintain a steady progress in our journey
from fragile to stable Peace. Consequently, we are compelled to humbly request
for intervention from, and collaborative partnerships with the Federal
government that will assist the state through the Peace Building Agency to
fully implement the conflict transformation and Peace building activities to Peace document. To complement and
support the efforts of security agencies, government has procured fifty three
(53) security vehicles equipped with communication gadgets for distribution to
all the seventeen (17) Local Government Areas.One of the major highlights of His Excellency’s
official visit to Plateau state therefore is to unveil this strategic document in
view of its potential for Peace and Security in our state and across
Nigeria. It is therefore my singular
honor and privilege to welcome His Excellency, the President and Commander in
Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal of Nigeria to officially launch the Plateau
State Roadmap to Peace.Finally,
on behalf of the Government and people of Plateau State, I once more warmly
welcome President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR and his entourage to Plateau State,
the Home of Peace and Tourism.Thank
you and God bless.Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong.
Executive Governor.