Re: Governor Lalong And Justice Monica Mensem-A Disclaimer

Yakubu Busari

We have read with utter consternation an article attempting to denigrate the revered person and hallowed office of the President of the Court of Appeal, Honourable Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem.

The Directorate of Media & Publicity, Mutfwang-Piyo Campaign Council,  Plateau State by Yiljap Abraham stated this in a statement.

The writers, under the assumed name “@HillSpring-PatrioticPlateauVoice” are alleging that this eminent daughter of Plateau and esteemed jurist of no mean repute is “already working tirelessly to forcefully and illegally retrieve from Hon. Barr. Caleb Mutfwang, Plateau State Governor Elect, the mandate entrusted him by the majority of Plateau People.”

We hereby place it on record that this is not, and can never be the position or even shared sentiment of the Governor-elect of Plateau State,  Barrister Caleb Mutfwang. 

His call to the Nigerian Bar as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court in 1989 had set him on a distinguished career and budding legal practice that has spanned some 34 years.

So, Barr Mutfwang knows and appreciates the discipline and interconnectedness that are the hallmarks of the legal practice.

He can never speak or authorise any disparaging publication against anyone, let alone a very senior and brilliant legal luminary of the stature of the Honourable Justice Dongban-Mensem – no matter how alluring the perceived benefits may be.

To do so will not only be professionally unethical,  but it will also breach his core values as a man of faith, a family man and his style of politics.

Barr Mutfwang has repeatedly conveyed to audiences within and outside Plateau  by personal, physical speech and media engagements, that his emergence at the polls has entirely been due to two key factors: The finger of God and the will of the people of Plateau State.

He maintains that the Judiciary, security services and INEC have reservoirs of immensely capable and impeccably credible Nigerians who can be depended upon to defend and uphold the cause of justice, fair play, equity and the deepening of Nigeria’s democracy. He holds them, and many other Nigerian professionals in the highest regards.

Barr Mutfwang will never resort to or agree with name calling, character assassination and libellous publications as ways of enhancing his political career or retaining the mandate he currently holds which is both divine and a product of the trust of the people of Plateau State.

We suspect that this may be a deliberate attempt by those who lost out at the polls to paint Barr. Mutfwang in bad light before the judiciary in the hope of gaining favour for the needless petition they intend to file.

The spontaneous reactions right across Plateau State and even beyond the state’s borders are undeniable pointers to the popularity of this public trust.

What the incoming Mutfwang Administration desires to see is a greater uplifting and better attention to accelerating the performance of the Judiciary as a whole.

This cannot be compromised in anyway, and for whatever motive. The Directorate of Media & Publicity,*

Mutfwang-Piyo Campaign Council,

Plateau State