*List achievements within two years in office
By Pwanagba Agabus, Jos
The Plateau State Governor, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang, although lamenting the forceful occupation of over 100 communities by bandits and terrorists in the state, reeled out series of successes recorded in restoring security and peace in the state.
The Governor while hosting the National Executive members of the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) who paid him a courtesy call during their Working Committee meeting in Jos, Plateau State on Thursday, boasted that unlike some states in the north, bandits do not resident in Plateau, but come from States bothering Plateau, “to wreck havoc and retreat to their bases”.
He however disclosed that with a well-functional ICT-enabled Command and Control Center, well equipped surveillance equipments, including CCTVs and Unmanned Aerial Surveillance drones, the hitherto dire situation is being restored to normalcy.
He explained that the reports of an Independent Fact Finding Committee which submitted it’s reports to him last Wednesday, is being analysed for implementation.
“The committee toured all the 17 local government areas, interacted with people, received first-hand information and by the time we study their reports, we should be able to say something to the world. “I must tell you that we inherited humongous security challenges in Mangu, my own LGA and a few other LGAs.
“You remember the massacres in Mangu, Riyom, etc. when we took over in May 29, 2023, we convened a security meeting, the first for a long time, which we used to establish relationships with security chiefs here and in Abuja, where we educated them on the real security challenges on the Plateau.
He said the internal insecurity processes he put in place have help them successfully conduct peaceful LGA election in several years in Jos North LGA.
“We revived Operation Rainbow, which was moribund for a while, revived youth security outfits, built installed CCTV and drones operation centers for surveillance in the rural areas and bought equipment for the Agro-Rangers, among others.
“We recovered over 900 hecters of land belonging to internally displaced persons where we have now cultivated crops for them and they planted crops and trained over 100 youths across the agric value chain.
“We are working with international partners and IATA over a period of five years to raise over 5,000 young agro-preneurs across the value chain; deployed over 1,000 youths to the revitalized Back Farms where a lot is happening in processing.
“We hope to develop a new livestock economy that will ultimately eliminate Farmers/headers clashes and revitalize animal husbandry in the state with improved cattle varieties, which does not move around, to improve the cattle value chain and improve diary and milk yield.
“We are complementing these with modern abattoir, which shall be complemented with Cattle Feed plants, already played across the state worth billions of dollars to grow our economy on the Plateau,” the governor stated.
He added that in order to unleash the potentials of Plateau people and help them attain their potentials, “we had to first revitalise the transport sector which is why Plateau is accessible both by road and by air every day.
“We are also discussing with the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) to revitalize the moribund rail services, at least internally.
“We have signed an MOU with FAAN to upgrade the Jos Airport to a full Cargo airport.
“We introduced the Tin City Metro Bus services with 30 buses which has assisted tremendously via a fraud free system to provide subsidised transportation to our people, where in instead of transporters paying over N1,700 we brought it down to N400 per trip.
“We have done well paved 109 km of roads and flyovers in the state; we have assistance from the World Bank RAMP where we are doing 360km rural roads now at various stages of completion among others.
“Over 3,000 of roads initiated by the last PDP administration have all been completed; in all the LGAs we have one road or the other already completed.
He also spoke on the giant strides recorded by his administration in education, health, commerce and industry, tourism, as well as other sectors.
He added, “we have over 4,000 mining pits abandoned on the Plateau, but we are extending our hands for help both nationally and internationally to remediate such places and avoid health and other hazards associated with such uncovered pits.
He also assured of press freedom in the state, stressing that he never gags the press and has revived all moribund state media houses as well encourage correspondents of media houses perform their professional duties without any form of intimidation and harassment.
