By Pwanagba Agabus, Jos
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Plateau Peace Practitioners Network (PPPN) on Thursday challenge gubernatorial candidates of the State on providing good governance.
The PPPN threw the challenge through its chairman, Comrade Pwakim Jacob Choji, while speaking at a colloquium it organised for gubernatorial candidates in the state, held in Jos, the State Capital.
He said, “Over the years we don’t really have much say pre and post elections at this point we want to have like agenda setting, where we listen to the politicians who want to govern this State in the next four years, so that we ask them questions and we also tell them our areas of interest.
“For the Plateau Peace Practitioners Network(PPPN) we are very much interested in the funding of the Plateau Peace Building Agency (PPBA).
According to him, “It is an excellent idea to have the Agency, through the enactment of the law, but when the Agency is not funded, it becomes counter productive.
“For us, we are drawing the attention of the gubernatorial candidates, by saying hey, if given the mandate come 2023, the Plateau Peace Building Agency must be empowered to also serve as a credible coordination platform for other local NGOs, like the Plateau Peace Practitioners Network are able to also collaborate with them because we have one purpose”, he explained.
“Beyond the funding of the Plateau Peace Building Agency, the State is a signatory to the Open Government Partnership (OGP), we are also much interested in; how do we have a governor that would follow through with the ideals of the OGP.
Choji who is also the Executive Director of the Youth Initiative Against Violence and Human Rights Abuse (YIAVHA) acknowledged that the Governor Simon Lalong led administration in the State has accented to the OGP, “We don’t want a situation where another governor will come and will say, he is not interested in OGP; but we are telling them that we are interested.
“The issue here is, we want to see the Governor leading in fundraising”, he maintained.
The chairman also decried that, “There are alot of Internally Displaced Persons still wallowing in communities, feeling dehumanised; how much has been done to alleviate their plight in the last eight years!
“We want a governor that will first agree that there is s developmental challenge on the Plateau, then development partners should be able to come in.
“Until we have that kind of governor, humans will feel less humans on the Plateau”, he stressed.
Speaking at the event, gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in the State, Barr Caleb Mutfwang said, “In trying to address the issues of security, what we are promising the people of Plateau State is that, we will exercise leadership, we will make sure that we summon the political will to deal with the challenges at hand.
“I can tell you confidently that alot of the challenges of security in our society today have to do with the lack of the will to address them; and God willing, we will not lack the will to address them” he assured.
Mutfwang further stated that if given the mandate, the Plateau Peace Building Agency will be supported with funds to run its activities.
He also pledged to ensure that Internally Displaced Persons are returned to their ancestral homes.
The governorship flag bearer of the ruling APC in the State, Dr Nentawe Yilwatda, said “If elected, we shall use modern technology gadgets to address insecurity.
“We will equip the vigilante groups with the modern equipments, like night vision goggles to curb insecurity, especially in the rural communities”, he maintained.
Yilwatda assured that his administration if given the mandate would attract funding for security in the state.
Also speaking, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sam Abashe, said if given the mandate as governor of the state, he will improve on “early warning/response as a way of curbing insecurity.
