POLITICS
Lalong Swears-in PDP’s Laven as Langtang LGC Chairman
By Jude Dangwam, Jos
The Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong has sworn-in Hon. Joshua Ubandoma Laven of PDP as the duly elected executive Chairman of Langtang North Local Government Council.
This is in accordance with the ruling of the local government election appeal tribunal which declared the PDP candidate as winner of the October 10, 2018 council election in the state.
Lalong perfomed the exercise Wednesday alongside four other management committee chairmen of Jos North, Jos South, Riyom and Barking Ladi local government council yesterday at the old Government House Rayfield in Jos.
It would be recalled that the Plateau state independent Election Commission (PLASIEC) had not conducted election in the above mentioned four local government councils in the October 10, 2018 local government election owing to what the commission said was as a result of insecurity in the four council areas.
Governor Laong, while performing the swearing – in ceremony said it was in fulfillment of his administration’s promise to reposition the Local Government system in the State and ensure that the people experienced good governance, that he supported the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) to conduct elections into Local Government offices on October 10, 2018
The governor explained that elections could not hold in Jos North, Jos South, Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas at that time due to some serious security challenges adding that the situation therefore, necessitated the setting up of Management Committees to run the affairs of the Local Government areas, pending the improvement of security for elections to hold in the mentioned areas
Though the security situation is improving according to him, his administration was working hard to ensure that elections were conducted in the affected Local Governments areas.
Lalong explained the reason behind the delay in the swearing-in of the PDP candidate as the Chairman of Langtang North, saying ” the elected Chairman could not be sworn in because of a subsisting court order. As a law abiding government, we could not have gone against a lawful order of the court to swear him in.”
He added, “With the discontinuation of the suit by the petitioner, we no longer have any constraint inhibiting us from swearing in the declared winner of the election by the local government election appeal tribunal”
He charged the appointed Chairmen as well as the elected to remember that they are to hold these offices in trust and to deliver good governance to the people of your Local Governments with the fear of God.
“You are also coming at a critical time this administration took off for the second and final tenure, where it is determined to deliver on its promises and leave a lasting legacy. “
Lalong further said they must be part of this success and work in nexus with the State Government as your other counterparts are doing reminding them to bear in mind that there activities will be closely monitored to ensure that it conforms to the three (3) policy thrust of our administration, which borders on Peace, Security and Good Governance; Physical Infrastructural Development.
But Hon. Joshua Ubandoma Laven in his vote of thanks on behalf of the four other management committee chairmen commended governor Lalong for proving that he is a lawyer and one governor that respect the rule of law saying he and his colleagues will work to ensure peace in their respective council area.
However, the People’s Democratic Party,(PDP) through it’s publicity secretary, Mr John Akans accused Governor Lalong of an “undemocratic act” long before now. “The action is not only illegal, but undemocratic and full blown dictatorship gearing towards disfranchising the people,” he stated.
The Abia Chapter of the INEC Staff Welfare Association (ISWA) has warned its members to uphold the integrity of the commission and guard against the culture of manipulating election results.
The Abia Chairman of the association, Mr Collins Eze, gave the advice at the group’s general meeting and end-of-year party in Umuahia.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen on the sideline of the ceremony, Eze said that the staff members were adequately aware of their enormous responsibility and should ensure free, fair and credible elections.
He said: “We have also told our colleagues that anywhere they find themselves they should make sure that they do the needful by ensuring transparency in the conduct of elections.
“We have always told them not to allow anybody to induce them with money to manipulate election results.
“I’m happy that they have been building the capacity of our colleagues on election processes.
“So, in the coming years, we won’t have any problem in ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections.”
He said that the end-of-year party was special as it afforded them the opportunity “to wine and dine together as well as thank God for sustaining them in 2024”.
Eze said that his leadership had introduced various means of assisting members in dire financial needs by providing platforms to solicit suppory for them.
He expressed gratitude to members for their support and cooperation, describing them as the “secret behind the success of this administration”.
He said that 34 of at least 350 staff members of the commission in the state retired from service in 2024.
According to him, the development has placed a huge financial burden on the association, in terms of their welfare and entitlement as members.
Report says that each member received a carton of tomato paste as Christmas gift from the association. (NAN)
A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to be thankful to God that its 16-year administration was not probed by the successive APC-led governments.Okechukwu stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, while reacting to a statement by PDP congratulating Ghanaians for the conduct of free, fair and transparent general elections.
Report says that PDP had, in a statement, said that the verdict of the people of Ghana in the presidential election was a signal to the APC that its days were numbered. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, had said in the statement that the power of the people in Nigeria, just like in Ghana, would ‘surely prevail and end the APC’s oppressive rule’.This, he said, would “return Nigeria to the path of good governance, security, political stability and economic prosperity on the platform of the PDP in 2027.”However, in his reactions to Ologunagba’s statement, Okechukwu said that the PDP clan should thank God that former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu, out of sheer statesmanship, had refused to probe ‘the 16 locus years of PDP administrations’.Okechukwu, a former Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), described the 16 years of PDP administrations as ones full of squandering and lack of plan.He said that Nigeria had yet to recover from the humongous culture of impunity and trust deficit planted by PDP on the Nigerian soil.Okechukwu said corruption was among the culture of impunity, saying it governed the privatisation of Nigeria’s electricity value chain, a key element in the country’s industrialisation drive.“Another is the blatant rigging of the 2007 general elections which the foremost beneficiary, President Umaru Yar’Adua, out of good conscience and noble magnanimity, publicly acknowledged the malfeasance which characterised his victory,” he said.Okechukwu also mentioned what he called conscienceless sale of the legislative and ministerial quarters, the annual rentage of which, he said, was bleeding the country’s treasury.“Another one is the neglect of $23 billion Greenfield Refinery, which could have saved over $70 billion expended on importation of refined petroleum products and which simulated the economic hardship of today,” he said.On why, for nine years, the APC administration could not fix those challenges, he recalled the efforts made by the Buhari administration to reopen talks on the Greenfield Refinery which, according to him, the Chinese regrettably rebuffed.The former VON director-general said that Nigerians were not in a hurry to forget the deliberate breach of the rotational convention of president from the north to the south.He said that the country could not also forget the utter disregard for Section 7 of the PDP’s constitution which expressly mandated zoning.Okechukwu advised the PDP not to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians by assuming that citizens would easily forget how they were put in the harms way.He said that PDP should thank God that Buhari and Tinubu did not want to probe them, adding “that’s why Nigerians cannot decipher the difference between the two political parties.” (NAN)
Sen. Ned Nwoko (PDP-Delta) says that Local Government Administration is central to democracy in Nigeria as it ensures grassroots governance and service delivery at the local level.This is contained in a statement signed by Dr Michael Nwoko, the Chief of Staff to the lawmaker in Abuja on Monday.Nwoko said this on the occasion of the presentation of an award “Icon of Hope” to him by the Association of Local Government Vice Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGOVC).
He was represented by his Chief of Staff. He said that the importance of local government administration in the country could not be overemphasised, as it was the bedrock of democracy.According to him, local governments in Nigeria play key roles in the country’s democracy by promoting participatory democracy, providing services, and representing citizens.“Local Governments help determine local needs and how to meet them. They also act as a link between the centre, state, and local people.“They are created to decentralise power and bring the government closer to the people. They perform both mandatory and concurrent functions.“It is in view of this that I took it upon myself to enhance the viability of local governments through the Paris and London club loan refunds,”he said.Dr Folashade Olabanji-Oba, ALGOVC National Chairman, while presenting the award at its 7th Annual National Conference, said the award was in recognition of the lawmaker’s significant contributions to strengthening local government administration.She highlighted Nwoko’s critical role in ensuring the Paris and London Club loan refunds, a financial breakthrough she said enhanced the capacity of local governments nationwide.(NAN)
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