Yakubu Busari
The former Executive Chairman of Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau state who is also former Chairman Local Government Service Commission , Hon Simon Deyin Ngwan gave numerous reasons why he defected from the People Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressive Congress, APC. Speaking he said some of the reasons are due to poor leadership, money bags politics , impunity and imposition of candidates.
Ngwan was speaking in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in his residence in Jos on Thursday.
He said, I recently defected from PDP to APC family because I was one of the founding members of the APC if you recalled I only came back home so some of the reasons I consider returning back home was owing to the challenges that after the PDP lost at the 2015 general election.
The party set up a very good committee to take a critical look at some of the reasons why PDP lost and then submit the report but we see that under the present chairmanship of Hon Damishi Sango that’s committee report was dumped inside the trash by refusing to implement that important finding.
However, the impunity that characterized PDP still continues knowing that the practice of monetarizing is a very big problem to the party which was not addressed.
“I commend the APC National leadership for adopting the direct, indirect and consensus candidates during their primaries so I believe they will go into a policy which will never allow monetizing the entire system so PDP is not looking at that direction but they give emphasis to the higher bidder carry the primaries”, he said.
He gave his second reasons that the selection and nomination of the choice of Deputy, ideally that should have to bring unity but it’s rather Polaris the party, division was created the problem which most was not ready to contain with so many disagree with that choice of the deputy governor that now tear us apart.
However, considering the choice of COCIN ,COCIN from the onset the Former Governor Joshua Chibe Dariye pair ,he pick his Deputy from the Catholic and when Former Governor Jonah David Jang he follow suit of COCIN, Catholic now you can see that train has been set where this 3 became a standard that has been fixed .
I am a Catholic I never negotiate, I go to the same church with the Governor now these people want to remove the Governor Simon Lalong and leave me with a difficult decision so we got nothing from them, governance is not all about religion is about fair play, Deyin Ngwan lamented.
Simon Ngwan x-ray the power play that force so many of them to abandon PDP ,saying ,you know that the purpose why he returned to APC, Every Governor that had ever ruled Plateau state starting from the military junta, the elders will go and paid him courtesy called and they would advise appropriately that this is a civil service state so you need to focus on the issue of payment of salary .
He added further that most of those past leaders didn’t comply so they ran into problems.
Ngwan reiterated that the Lalong government focus on humanitarian and infrastructural one in the agenda of the Governor, I want to see workers deserve his wages, so paying of salary is a great achievement and I see it as very big laudable achievement so sometimes I heard people talking about security ,employment they have not made enduring structures to contain with the security situation.
Let me remind Plateau citizens that, Lalong opened police Mobile Barrack in Shendam, Central and Northern zone in Gashik where killings were going on, these are very strong post cited to create a lasting solution to the challenges of insecurity which is gradually yielding a positive result.
According to him, some selected groups went around the state to access the developmental strike of Lalong and what surprised us was in Namu we saw some abandon schools were renovated and some rehabilitated so when we ask the villagers they said those are the legacy of Governor Simon Lalong projects everybody now saw that he is combining the construction of the road with revamping of our schools on like the past regime were only focusing on roads .
We see that the Education which was the primary focus of Late J.D Gwomwalk projects now Lalong is given another timely achievement to his records.
Hon Ngwan stressed that the construction of the road in Kanke through sumji ,Balang ,Sare ,Bombom under Amper are laudable to the Ngas speaking natives now reaping the dividends of democracy the roads are enhancing the development, especially the Gyangyang people can now move their goods to Amper market with easy transportation.
He condemned that many people are in the habit of embarking on criticism which we witness during Jang the same criticism trailing now which to me is basically is politically motivated to mislead citizens this criticism has never proffer solution to the challenges facing us.
Most the issues raise for example if placed Lalong Deputy Governor with that of the opposition who is the most energetic person, in my own view they are still very young and active if placed them alongside the difference is very clear, he noted
We can view these honest potentials consider genus by seeing Plateau state first above sentiment, we should allow the Governor Simon Lalong second chance to complete his reelection.
Plateau state had three consecutive governors and they all completed their second tenure, Dariye, Jang and now Lalong the zoning arrangement was never truncated so that power can move to central zone these are my reasons why we’re insisting on Lalong continuation as the Governor, he explained.
Hon Simon Deyin Ngwan appealed to the federal government that with the contract award of Abaji to Akwanga road construction to dualized and put into good use the Mararaba to Pankshin down Langtang to Wukari if completed that ibi bridge would boost economic activities and that can be a great benefit to the state.
Ngwan decried the absence of Federal Polytechnic in Plateau as one of the big problems to the Educational sector and he pointed out Federal government under the present government of President Muhammadu Buhari should consider Federal College of Education Pankshin as Federal University of Education by renaming it after, the Former President Yakubu Gowon as a mark of respect .
We are appealing to the federal government to intervene in re-awarding federal roads in the state looking at the deplorable nature of these roads that were constructed in the 80s .
