The group said after a detailed review of events, it is compelled to declare that Plateau State has collapsed under the leadership of the state governor, Mr. Simon Lalong, under whom the misery index of citizens in the state attained a new low.
In a statement issued and signed by its Secretary-General, Jonah Bot, the group said while it is true that Lalong inherited some security challenges upon assuming office as governor, it is also true that the security woes of Plateau state further degenerated under his watch as he incompetently failed to address the underlying issues contrary to his campaign promises.
Bot said the Middle Belt Conscience found it tragic to discover that the failure of Plateau State Government under Lalong is a matter of weaponized incompetence because the insecurity and violence that have continued to plague the state are direct results of his government focusing more on making money off the constant tragedies that befall the people.
He said the excuse that security challenge is a nationwide problem for Nigeria does not hold true for Plateau State, which faces ethnically motivated violence that is fueled by the governor’s bigoted obsession with placing his ethnic group above all others. He turned the administration of the state into an exclusive club of his clansmen and those that can offer him the highest returns on government contracts.
“Consequently appalling is the industrial-scale corruption that has been the hallmark of Lalong’s administration, which has combined with his sponsored insecurity to collapse Plateau State. He effectively created a dark industry where corruption feeds off the sense of insecurity he has created in the state while the feeble efforts to address the security challenges in turn become avenues for further corruption.
“The Middle Belt Conscience is alarmed that despite the myriads of crises that Lalong has inflicted on Plateau State in recent times, he remained callous and insensitive enough to occupy himself with a vice-presidential ambition, an enterprise that would further ruin whatever is left of the state and its treasury.
“It is now clear to all that Lalong spent his two tenures as governor pillaging the resources of Plateau State to set up a campaign chest to bankroll his ambition of becoming Nigeria’s number two citizen, an enterprise that is already a classical case of failure because Lalong has proven that he cannot be trusted with the national resources of Nigeria going by the way he ran his own state.
“There was much hope that Lalong would break the curse of corruption that had seen his predecessors committed to jail terms for stealing state funds, but it is now apparent that he is resolute on keeping his date with anti-corruption agencies, the fear of which has made him more desperate in his bid to become Nigeria’s vice president” he added
The group further call on the long-suffering people of Plateau State all discerning Nigerians to demand that Lalong accounts for his years of failure in office before attempting to step upwards in a bid to desecrate the future of Nigeria.
