Yakubu Busari
A group under aegis of Greater Together Voice (GTV), has accused Nigerian Labour Congress for taken bribe to support government of Barr. Simon Lalong.
Addressing a world press conference, Mr Azi Atang Madaki on behalf of the group disclose said the Labour Union has remained silence, stressing they have compromised their stand with the government to refused ’payment of workers’ salaries and pensions.
The NLC leader in the state, Comrade Jibrin Banchir was accused of fighting the NUT Chairman to become the Chairman of the Plateau State Internal Revenue Service, Commissioner or Special Adviser, hence his compromise to look the other way while workers are being maltreated. Madaki also explained that Banchir has become an APC member based on Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Supreme Court Judgement where he identified with a political party while still occupying the office of NLC chairman.
Madaki slammed Governor Simon Bako Lalong for maladministration, misrule, mis-governance and the total abandonment of the rule of law after four months in office.
Spokesman of the Greater Together Voice (GTV), Mr Azi atang Madaki call on Lalong to have direction in his administration by taking urgent initiatives to provide good governance in Plateau State as well as fulfilling all campaign promises made to the populace.
The GTV condemned the continued refusal to settle backlog of workers’ salaries and pension arrears, despite the collection of N10.8billion loans from UBA and Zenith Banks at a very high interest rates; accessing the N4.2billion LNG fund release and now the N5.3billion CBN bailout, minus the monthly statutory allocations and VAT to the state.
The contradictions between the Governor, DG Research, the Accountant General and the Director of Press Affairs and the surprise silence of the NLC Chairman on the salaries and pension arrears paid so far, is a matter of concern to members of the Greater Together Voice and the good people of Plateau State.
According to him , the government is without focus and direction handle the affairs of the state when it sack Political Appointees by challenging him to settled the backlogs of salaries and pensions.
GTV condemns in strong terms, Lalong’s appointment of 10 Goemais in his government, 7 Mwagavuls and 6 Mupuns out of the 33 appointments so far made with other tribes having one slot or no appointments at all. No wonder, Dr. Haruna Dabin in the Silverbird Radio program, View Point describes Lalong’s administration as worse than that of Jang in the spread of appointments.
In a related development he said, all appointments to the Hausa/Fulani Communities in Jos are in favour of the Alh. Yahaya Jingre Izala group, leaving out the JNI which comprises of about 10 other Islamic sects in the state.
This has caused disunity, a big crack and anger in the ranks of the other Muslims in the state. Lalong is being accused by the Muslim Ummah of only relating with the Izalah group at the detriment of the other groups, thus JNI is not happy with Lalong and this development, particularly the fact that for the first time, the annual orientation exercise (Bita) for Muslim pilgrims was held outside the Central Mosque, just to please Alh. Yahaya Jingre who demonises Jang and GNS before his followers nationally.
It is a thing of concern that the Izalah group has enjoyed all appointments; for instance, all those on the Amirul Hajj and the board for the 2015 Hajj are form the Izalah sect, including Yahaya Jingre’s son and brother. This may threaten the peace if not nipped in the bud and is therefore totally condemned by GTV.
In a similar vein, the Greater Together Voice frowns at the fraudulent report of the Tyoden led Transition Committee which put the liability of the Jang administration at N222billion. Are they experts to have come out with this figure? Is it right to subtract expenditure from income in the 8years of the Jang administration and call it the debt profile of the administration? Isn’t the action aimed at establishing deficit or surplus in Government spending or Government Public Finance and not liability as the Transition Committee has done?
It is a common knowledge that the Jang administration admitted that it left N103billion as liabilities made up of N19.5billion as bank loans, N2.6billion as bond and the remaining as inter-agency debts and contractual liabilities. In essence, there are claims of N103 billion with names but we are surprised at the excess of N119billion added by the Transition Committee without any claim or names of debtors, thus, are the inflated amount to give room for the present administration to embezzle money in the disguise of paying fictitious liabilities of the added N119billion? If not, the Lalong administration should give Plateau people and Nigerians the names of the debtors or where they are coming from. If they cannot do that, then the Committee should bring back the balance to the past administration of Sen. Jang because it meant they over spent from their pockets.
