Lalong Will Not Struggle To Win Election in 2019-YAKUBU DATI

Yakubu Datti is a former Corporate Affairs manager of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and currently Commissioner for Information and Communication in Plateau State. He speaks with ISAAC SHOBAYO on wide range of issues, especially the re-election bid of Governor Simon Lalong. GOVERNOR Lalong recently indicated his intention to run for a second term in Plateau State. Do you think he has any chance of winning in 2019 considering the threat posed by the opposition, especially the Peoples Democratic Party? Based on his achievements, people are beginning to see the need for him to continue. For the first time in the history of Plateau State, we have a governor that is continuing with old projects, not looking at the projects as being personalised or inherited but based on importance and impact such projects would have on the life of Plateau people. People want an end to abandon projects that litter the state. The economy of the state is being boosted by more than N2 billion on a monthly basis through the strategy of payment of salary because by the time we pay workers’ salary, we are stimulating the local economy. It now means that people can go to market; school fees will be paid; people can be empowered through their various means of livelihood and when money goes round, the economy will definitely blossom. All these measures reduce undesirable behaviour and contribute to the peace in Plateau presently. Some say the factors that enhanced the emergence of Governor Lalong in 2015 are no longer there. How will your party and the governor weather the storm in 2019? The governor has performed creditably. For the first time in Plateau State, we have a governor that is building relationship and bringing benefits to the state. The relationship the governor has built and his relationship with the villa is already yielding result to the people of the state. For the very first time in a very long time, some of the federal roads, especially the one linking Bauchi from the southern zone were approved for reconstruction by the Federal Executive Council. All these are coming because of the relationship Governor Lalong is building with the centre which is attracting interest. Also, when the president visited Plateau recently, he promised to look into the express road between Jos and Abuja. The government is also processing the state money spent on federal roads within the state. Many sons and daughters of the state have also benefited from federal appointments and these are coming because of the strategic relationship. One of the allegations against the governor is that he is not always on ground but more in Abuja than Plateau and tends to be more interested in national politics. How true is this allegation? We once had a governor who was playing clannish politics. He did not only elevate tribal politics, in fact he made it a clan issue. Now we have a governor that is out there looking for things to come. He is a type of governor that goes on hunting for the benefit of the state. You don’t expect him to just sit in Jos lamenting. As governor, he has to go out. Don’t forget that quite a lot of things come from the centre. It is only a governor without vision that will sit here fold his arms. So, he must go out in order to meet the huge demands on him from the state. He is not just going there for the fun of it; he is bringing result. To get anything from the centre, you have to lobby and this entails going around, that is why leaders with vision don’t sit down to enjoy the paraphernalia of office. That is why we are saying strategic partnership is necessary and that is what the governor is doing. Those complaining are the ones that will tell you what is the big deal about payment of salaries because they want the government not to pay salary so that they will come back to ask why he is not paying salary. They are operating through the prism of political coloration. They are not objective in their assessments. People in the state are happy with the governor that is why he is the only person that has picked the form to contest for the governorship. Are you satisfied with the arrangement that only the governor will run for the primary of APC without being challenged by any other person? The doors are open and anyone who wants to contest is free to do so and it is within the right of the governor and any individual who is qualified to declare his interest. The governor has fulfilled his constitutional requirement and declared his interest to contest. But like the party chairman said, the doors are open. What we are saying is that Plateau people have shown where there interest will be in 2019. And don’t forget that we have a tradition in Plateau and that tradition is that we observe what we call zoning. It will be recalled that Senator Joshua Dariye from the Central zone did two terms. Jonah Jang from the Northern zone did two terms. People are of the opinion that Southern zone should also complete the two terms for the sake of fairness and understanding. You will recall that when the last administration tried to jettison the zoning arrangement, it turned out to be its albatross and up till today they are still licking their wounds for that mistake. So, it is very clear that Plateau people have decided that Governor Lalong should run again because they are satisfied with his government. The ruling party in the state is somehow divided. I mean there is an unresolved internal wrangling. Don’t you think this would be a disadvantage to the party in 2019 if the issues at stake are not resolved? I am hearing this from you for the first time. I am surprised to hear this from you, and for your information, the party is one in Plateau. Unlike the other states where some members of the state and National Assembly have drawn battle lines with their governors, we don’t have such on the Plateau. We have a united party under one leadership in the state. What we have is people within the party expressing certain divergent views on certain issues but at the end of the day, the party has the mechanism to accommodate conflicting ideas by putting them on the table and ironing them out accordingly. In the past when election is drawing closer, there would be conflict but we don’t have that in APC. Governor Lalong, having been the longest serving speaker in the state, already knows the dynamics of party politics and how to carry everybody along. That is why we are enjoying relative peace in the party. The Minister of Youth and Sport Development, Mr Solomon Dalung and Governor Lalong were recently embroiled in a controversy over the recent visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the state. What is the party doing to reconcile both the minister and the governor? The party is one and the fact the people have divergence of opinion does not mean there is a conflict or they are at loggerheads. Everybody within democratic setting has the right to express his view. Democracy gives room for exchange of ideas, and the most important thing is that people should not do it with mischief. The fact remains that politics is about people; it is about numbers and it is about interest. So, whoever wants to run is free to pick nomination form. This will enable us to separate the wheat from the chaff. Is there any move for reconciliation between the governor and the minister? The governor has no problem with any appointee whatsoever. The governor is concerned about the delivery of dividends of democracy to the people of the state. When leaders make impact in a democracy, there are people that would want to raise observations and there is a proverb which says if you turn back to look at every fly that passes you by, you will never get to your destination. So, the governor remains focused on the delivery of dividends of democracy to the electorate who gave him the mandate. With what is on ground in the state, the governor, some observers have said, will have to struggle (cuts in) There is nothing like struggle. He is not going to struggle to get the second mandate as far as Plateau is concerned. It is not all about writing and posting something on Facebook. It is a practical experience. So, if people are interested they should come out and show interest and let the people decide. And if ten months to elections or even six months to primaries, only one person has indicated interest I don’t think you can interpret that as struggling. With the happenings in the Middle Belt zone, especially states that have been experiencing insecurity, Plateau State inclusive, do you think President Buhari can win Plateau in 2019? Thank God that we have peace on the Plateau and the state is leading by example. The state is showing that it is possible to have peace. The coming of Governor Lalong has brought peace to the state. Our governor is also becoming a problem solver at the national level based on the performance of his committee. The report of APC Committee which he chaired was what saved the party from crisis because the committee was able to proffer solutions concerning the congress or no congress that wanted to tear the party apart. President Buhari has approved about N19 billion for road construction in the state. He has assisted the state with bailout funds which have assisted the governor to pay salary as and when due. The president has helped Plateau in diverse ways. People are aware of this. This administration often posits that peace has returned to Plateau but in rural areas people are still being attacked on a daily basis by killer herdsmen… In the urban areas, people were killed in the past. In fact, in the last administration, the homes of people that were overseeing the affairs of Plateau were under siege. But today, insecurity has reduced to minimal level and this is not peculiar to Plateau. This is an invasion in the country and the governor has been doing what is constitutional to address the situation in the two affected local government areas. Credit:Tribune online