Lalong...we are taming our challenges
Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State recently said the
success of his election was informed by his promise to restore Plateau’s
economic buoyance in all its facets. He spoke to Journalists in Abuja
on the strides of his administration so far, especially the need to make
Plateau survive beyond oil. Onyebuchi Ezigbo presents the excerpts:
In view of the dwindling resources from oil, what is your blueprint for revamping the solid mineral sector in the state?
Before the dwindling resources from oil, nobody was bothered about
solid minerals. We lost so much in the area because we left it to
illegal miners. This is the time to look inward. Plateau was the
headquarters of the Nigeria Mining Corporation. That should tell you the
importance or significance of mining to the people of Plateau State. In
those days when people were talking about groundnuts and cocoa, we were
hitting our chest and talking about mining. That was why the name Jos
became popular. When the prices of oil started falling we said we must
go back to mining and agriculture.
I was very happy when the Minister for Solid Minerals Development came
to Jos. He told me that the best inputs he got on ways of managing the
solid mineral sector came from Jos. The day he visited Jos, I was having
a wider stakeholders’ meeting with the people of Plateau and they were
also part of it. That meeting shifted from all other things to solid
minerals and very heavy contributions came from Plateau State and those
contributions were what helped us at the National Economic Council
meeting and that is what is going to form the policy thrust of the
administration both at the federal and state levels.
So, to me, it is an advantage. Virtually every part of my state is rich
with solid minerals. But the law was done in such a way that the states
were disadvantaged. People come into your state after collecting
license from Abuja, sometimes, they come with military and police
escort, do whatever they want and give the communities stipends and you
don't know what they are taking.
This time, the president has a change of attitude according to the
change mantra. He said no, we must follow the law. States must also
participate in the exploration and advantage of solid minerals in their
states. To me, it is going to boost the economy and have serious impact
on my revenue generation. We factor that into our retreat as to how to
take advantage of the new policy on solid minerals in improving revenue
generation.
What are you doing about tourism as a major revenue earner?
If you don't have peace, you can't have tourism. Plateau was known as
the home of peace and tourism. I can still remember that when I was
younger, people usually travelled from far and near to come Jos. I was
discussing with Ambassador Jeta yesterday and he said Plateau was a
tourist attraction for every American, who like spending their weekends
and holidays in Jos. That was why many people kept their families in Jos
even when they were working in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria.
Suddenly, crisis came in and people started running away from Jos and
the hope of making the place a tourist attraction was no longer there.
So, when we came in, we made peace and tourism part of our policy
thrust. As part of our five policy thrust, peace and security was number
one. I had the challenge of first curtailing the insecurity that I
inherited and I am sure that you know that in the last four month before
we came in, Jos was a no go area.
So, we first concentrated on checking the insecurity in the state by
ensuring there is mutual understanding between the Fulanis and the
Berons. We went as far as establishing a committee to take care of their
problem and quickly, I established a Bureau for Conflict Management. We
have put in place a law to that effect. So, we have been able to
curtail the insecurity in the state and those areas that were hitherto
no go areas are now free areas for people. Having done with peace, we
are now moving into other areas of attraction for tourism.
Although tourism is not the second pillar on our policy thrust,
agriculture which is also the focus of the federal government; we are
going in line with the policy of the federal government and the APC
manifesto. So, we are following exactly what the President is proposing
especially in respect to agriculture, commerce and industry. We just
came back from a retreat where the five policy thrusts were discussed.
The Jos Wildlife Park is another tourist attraction in the state that
has been left fallow. What are you doing about reviving the place?
Part of the suggestions from our retreat was whether we should continue
to run the place through government effort or give it to private
investors. We are now in the era of public private partnership, where
government will only rock the enabling environment. We are also thinking
about that. We want to attract people because wildlife is very
important.
Apart from the Jos Wildlife Park, we also have the Pandam Wildlife
Park, which is untapped. We also have the Wase Rock and even the weather
on the plateau. We see tourism as an advantage to us and so, we are
going to develop that tourism while concentrating on sustaining the
peace and then go on to fulfill our mandate as contained in the five
pillar thrust.
Do you have the cooperation of the people of the state especially from other political parties?
Plateau is a unique state – unique in the sense that when they want to
do something, they do it without looking back. Plateau is also a very
religious state. That is why you don't find many cases of corruption in
the state. So, when the election came, we knew that something was going
to happen – change was going to happen on the Plateau because we are
united. Suddenly, an administration came that was almost dividing
everybody along religious and ethnic lines and Plateau people said no,
this is not the time for that; we must get a change.
Luckily enough, the change came through APC. Some of us were diehard
members of the PDP. You know I was Speaker under PDP for seven years.
But we realised that many things were going wrong in the party and that
was why some of us left the party and joined the opposition. When we saw
the opposition moving under a driver like the present president,
Buhari, we knew that something was going to happen in this country and
so, we followed that opposition and that was what gave rise to our
election.
You said the PDP won everywhere. It is not everywhere they won. Some of
the elections were rigged and the tribunal gave it to them. Otherwise,
if it were true election, APC won in so many places and the governorship
was very clear. It was the collective opinion of Plateau people and the
hard work done by the then opposition.
When I won my election, everybody came on board irrespective of
political affiliation. It was seen as a Plateau project and I am also
managing it as a Plateau project. I can only manage and build the
confidence of Plateau project, when I deliver the dividends of democracy
to the people and when we see a change in attitude from what obtained
before. That is what we are trying to do to bring unity to the people of
Plateau State.
What’s your take about the fight against corruption being championed by your party?
I have said it many times that the fact that you are not hearing
anything from the Plateau does not mean we are not fighting corruption
on the Plateau. We have sent several cases to the EFCC and ICPC. My
Accountant General just came back from the EFCC. They were called to
come and give evidence as to the investigations that are going on. We
have a lot of such investigations going on; we have also had so many
arrests especially from the last administration and many of them are on
bail.
At the appropriate time, prosecution will start. EFCC may be slow, but I
know they will prosecute. We had a transition committee and we came out
and told Plateau people what we inherited. Some may be genuine and
others not genuine. Some of them we have submitted to the EFCC and
others, we have commissioned a very reputable accounting firm, KPMG, who
are currently auditing the state and at the appropriate time, when they
come out with the result, you will hear what will happen on the
Plateau.
We know that some states have not been able to access their
bailout funds. What is the update on the issue regarding your state and
have you been able to pay all outstanding salaries?
No, in my state, not yet! Before the issue of bailout came, we had
already started paying workers in the state even with the backlog of
problems we inherited. When the issue of bailout was announced, we
applied for N10 billion which was supposed to be for the arrears of
salaries for about eight or nine months. Even without the full bailout,
we only received five billion. Today, I was in CBN, trying to pursue the
bailout for Plateau State.
Plateau was supposed to get 10 billion for salaries and 10 billion for
infrastructure. But we got only N5 billion and even with that, we were
able to clear the backlog of salaries.
The Treasury Single Account is aimed at assisting in the fight
against Corruption. Why are the states finding it difficult to implement
the policy?
Well, other states may be finding it difficult, not Plateau. We are
already implementing TSA. Immediately I saw the introduction of the TSA
by the president, I called my accountant-general and commissioner for
finance and told them they must implement. I am not an accountant and at
that time, I didn't know the implication. But from what I saw about the
advantages of TSA, I said let TSA be implemented in the state. I
immediately set up a committee and today, it is being implemented in my
state. I don't know why some governors will find it difficult to
implement TSA. But for me, if wasn't difficult for me to implement and
we are getting some reserved funds.
You said federal allocation to your state has reduced
drastically and this is the complaint by all your colleagues, who have
argued that they could not keep up with the minimum wage. Do you share
their sentiment?
Initially, there was a misconception about what we were saying. At the
Governors' Forum, we were appealing to the president to reconsider the
position of the states so that people will be able to pay salaries. It
is not about payment of salaries that we have as our responsibility.
There are so many people on the street and so, you need to employ people
and this was becoming very impossible and to pay salaries. So, we were
calling for measures. Thank God that the president has introduced some
measure.
For example, we are talking about solid minerals now; we are beginning
to open the space so that we can use that to improve our internal
revenue. I am not sure they got us right when they said we wanted to
downsize. As far as I am concerned, it is going to be very difficult to
say we will downsize on the Plateau. I am not thinking of doing that.
What I am trying to do is to be able to retain what I have and be able
to improve on it. That is why our concentration is on how to improve our
revenue generation so that we can sustain the salary structure that we
have, and if possible, employ additional workforce.
What is your view about criticism of President Buhari's foreign trips?
For me, I see nothing wrong in traveling. Today, I am granting an
interview in Abuja and not in Jos. Sometimes, people say we governors
don't sit down in our states, but travel a lot. Imagine, if I sat down
in Jos, who will fight my bailout fund for me? We are concentrating on
donor agencies, but they are in Abuja and always, they would want to
meet with the governor. When I became governor, because of the
insecurity, foreigners were not coming to Jos, but will only end up in
Abuja. So, if you are looking for investors, they will say if you don't
come to Abuja, we will not come to Jos.
So, I had to be coming to Abuja because if I don't, they will not come
to Jos because in most cases, they will say we want to meet with the
governor. Sometimes, they will refuse to meet with the deputy governor.
In that case, you have to move round. That is what the President is
doing. We are moving into attracting the private sector into doing
business in this country and so, he cannot sit down in one place. So, I
think we cannot undervalue these trips. It was not because he travelled
that he had problem with the budget. Sometimes, whatever you are doing,
there will be sabotage. Sometimes, you do your best. But the civil
servants will always be smarter than you. You will trust everybody, but
these things happen from time to time. So, I think that the President's
trips should not be a thing of concern to us as long as the trips are
bringing the benefits.
The roads in Jos are in a terrible state. What are you doing about that?
I am sure that the last time you were in Jos was last year. Those are
some of the things I inherited and it was very glaring that it was going
to be difficult for those of us who are going to be governors in such
states. We inherited a debt of over N200 billion and an impending
contractual liabilities of about N105 billion. Everything that was left
in that state was N95 million and that was horrible. Uncompleted
projects were littered all over the place including the main road
leading into Jos. Contract was awarded and abandoned.
So, what I did in my own way was to say, these roads are for the people
of Plateau state and so, must be completed. We are investigating the
cost of some of the contracts, but that will not stop us from going
ahead to complete them. It may interest you to hear that if you get back
to Jos now, it will be a different story. There was a flyover bridge
that was abandoned and nobody believed that we will complete the bridge.
Right now, we have completed that bridge and all the main roads are
under construction. I am hoping that in the next six months, if I am
able to get my bailout, I will complete most of the projects that were
abandoned and even engage new ones.
There are allegations that the President is under pressure to
drop the anti-corruption war. Are you facing similar pressure in
Plateau?
I am worried because of the kinds of complaints that are coming. I am
also worried because of the impatience of Nigerians. If you begin to
compare the state of the nation before the election, you will understand
what the President is facing. Before 2014, what was the cost of a
barrel of oil? At a stage, it was over $140, but today, we are getting
back to less than $30 with the same budget and the same responsibility.
In my state, it is the same salary and every other thing. In the past,
allocation to my state was between N5 billion and N8 billion, but today,
with a salary bill of about N1.8 billion, we are getting about N2
billion, sometimes less. Last month (January), we got N1.6 billion. But
the people will not understand. They will tell you it is change and
since you said change, it should have been better. But they must also
understand the economic situation we are going through. What we need to
do is to be a little bit patient because the reforms that are going on
are yielding fruits, but it will not be something that will be
immediate. We will have to take out time. Let us give ourselves at least
one year and see what the president is doing.
The EFCC chairman has accused the Judiciary and lawyers of
being a problem to the fight against corruption in the country. As a
lawyer, how would react to that?
If there are allegations against a profession like that, it is always
good to be specific. We have had cases like that severally and each
profession had a way of disciplining their members. We can't say that
the law profession is a perfect one. We are not angel and that is why
there are disciplinary measures against members. That is not to say that
there are no members who are recalcitrant. There are ways of going
about that and not to make a blanket statement like that. Of course, he
did not say all, but some and I am sure that with time, he will name
those lawyers.
It is better to name those lawyers and not to make a blanket statement
against a profession like that. I hold the EFCC in high regard. I was
also a guest of the EFCC. If you are aware, in 2005/2006, I was detained
by EFCC as Speaker for more than 40 days. I was prosecuted and
discharged. Those ones were during the Obasanjo era. It was complicated
with desire to impeach the governor illegally, which some of us
resisted. We were all detained and at the end of the day, we didn't do
that. Many people who did it regretted it after.
My reason was not because I was defending somebody against corruption, I
was following due process. Some people did it without following due
process and at the end of the day, many of us were vindicated by the
Supreme Court. What I am saying is that I respect my profession and hold
it in high esteem. So, for anybody to say there are some that are bad,
it is good to be specific. As EFCC, if you know some of these bad
lawyers, you have a right to arrest, investigate and prosecute them
because they don't have immunity. Even governors, who have immunity
cannot go away from investigation.
Quote
This is the time to look inward. Plateau was the headquarters of the
Nigeria Mining Corporation. That should tell you the importance or
significance of mining to the people of Plateau State. In those days
when people were talking about groundnuts and cocoa, we were hitting our
chest and talking about mining. That was why the name Jos became
popular
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/lalong-plateau-will-no-longer-depend-on-oil/232189/
