PLATEAU STATE TRANSITION COMMITTEE REPORT: is this witch-hunt or accountability?

The current political configuration in Plateau State is a
sharp departure from what had obtained since the
return of democratic structures in 1999.
Prior to the 2015 governorship polls in the State, the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had enjoyed a
monopoly of power in such a manner that mere
acquisition of the party’s ticket gave the assurance of
victory at the polls.
But the emergence of Barrister Simon Lalong of the APC
as the governor was like an eye opener to the political
class in the State, who rallied round him in the days of
his travails.
Prior to his victory in the April 11, 2015, elections,
Lalong had on several occasions raised alarm about
the debt profile of the State, which he said was over
N100 billion. In another forum, he alleged that it was
over N200 billion, but the immediate past
administration had always denied his allegation,
urging him to wait for handover notes.
After his victory at the polls, the Governor had on the
7th of May, 2015, inaugurated a Transition Committee
to study all aspects of the structure, organisation and
operational modalities of the preceding government and
to advice government accordingly.
Presenting the report of the Transition Committee to the
Governor, on the 11th of August, 2015, Chairman of the
Committee, who is also the Deputy Governor of the
State, Professor Sonni Tyoden said, “From the findings
of the transition committee, this State has been
rendered prostate. As a result, the task ahead is not
going to be easy, thus the need for the government and
the people of Plateau State to brace up for the
challenges ahead.
“This government is not out on a vendetta to witch-
hunt anybody, but it has a duty to correct whatever
mistakes might have been made, so that we can have a
more prosperous and united future on a platform of
equity, fairness and justice for all.”
Tyoden added, “From our findings, we wish to observe
that while governance between 2007 and 2011 can be
said to have been conducted along familiar lines, with
some semblance of respect for known rules of
procedure and civilized democratic governance, after
2011, there was a sharp decline and the descent of
governance to the level of bestiality, where impunity,
nepotism, sectionalism became the order of the day,
with dire consequences for good governance, the unity
of state and the collective welfare of the vast majority
of the people of Plateau State.
“For a poor state like Plateau, the management of
government funds and finances left much to be
desired.”
The Chairman maintained that the committee
encountered many instances of “wanton irregular and
doubtful expenditure, misapplication of funds and
disregard for laid down known financial rules and
regulations”.
“Day-to-day administration witnessed the grotesque
monopolization of power by a clique and the
personalization of authority and the instruments of
government”, he added.
The Deputy Governor cited an example thus: “there
was an individual who was a jack of all trades, who
appropriated three titles to himself, each conveying
separate and identifiable functions.
“He was a ‘Statistician-General’, a ‘Salary
Administrator’ and a ‘General Manager’ all at the same
time. With such arrogance of power. Your Excellency,
you can imagine the damage that was visited on the
process of governance.
“First, is the issue of the need to settle the discrepancy
between what the State got as income and what was
left at the exit of the
outgone government. From the records, between May
2007 and May 2015, the sum of N525.35 billion was the
total income accruing to the State, statutory
allocations inclusive, but the state was left with a debt
of N222.3 billion by May, 2015.”
He further said, “In other words, the sum of N747.65
billion could be said to have expended on Plateau State
citizens, in the last eight years.
“Looking at the State in its current condition, we are at
a loss where all these money went to,” he further
lamented.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria remitted the sum of N2
billion to the coffers of Plateau State Government for
the benefit of small and medium scale industries in the
in the State.
“However, about 90% of this amount which was
remitted to the state on the 17 th of March, 2015 was
drawn in two days between 24th and 26th March, 2015,
for unexplained expenditure, without a small and
medium enterprise in the state benefitting from the
money, yet the hand-over notes dated 29th, May, 2015,
stated that the government was yet to access the
fund.”
The Deputy Governor added that various sums totaling
N6.1 billion were transfered from the accounts of
SUBEB, SURE-P and Ministry for Local Government and
Chieftancy Affairs, to the State Government’s accounts,
without justifiable explanations on how the funds were
used.
“On the 27th of May, 2015, four political appointees of a
certain government agency who were not entitled to
severance allowances as specified by the Revenue
Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission, illegally paid
themselves the sum of N30million, severance
allowance”, he disclosed.
The Committee urged the Governor, to study report
carefully with a view to implementing the
recommendations made.
Responding, Governor Simon Lalong said, “The
summary at the disposal of government is quiet
revealing, particularly the abuse of civil service rules
and regulations and the huge debt profile steering this
government and its people in the face.
Lalong added that “Government has deliberately
allowed the submission of the report to guide it in her 5
policy thrust of redefining governance and charting a
new course of affairs that will be beneficial to the
people of the state. These are: Peace, Security and
Good Governance, Human Capital Development and
Social Welfare, Agriculture and Rural Development,
Entrepreneurship and Industrialization and Physical
Infrastructure and Environment.”
The Governor assured that details of the Committee’s
findings will be made available to the public, to guard
against misrepresentation of facts.
He said he was giving the immediate past Governor of
the State, Sen. Jonah Jang, his appointees and cronies
two weeks to return funds taken illegally from the State
treasury to avoid the wrath of EFCC.
“We’ve started implementing some of the things, I
didn’t want to wait, because we understand that a lot of
vehicles were bought but from what we inherited, we
didn’t see any government vehicle, even as a governor,
the only vehicle we inherited were two rickety vehicles.
“The first day we attempted to travel to Abuja, they
broke around Riyom LGA. But I was made to
understand that government bought more than a
hundred vehicles and so we saw people running away
with government vehicles.
“I want to advise you, if you still have government
vehicles, we set up a committee, in your own interest
return those vehicles, to avoid embarrassment”, he
warned.
He said, “In line with the advice of President
Muhammadu Buhari, who urged past government
officials to return stolen public funds in their
possession, I’m giving two weeks to government
officials in our state to return monies taken illegally,
even before government begins the implementation of
the recommendations of the committee.
“Like the President is doing, tell us that you are going
to refund this money. Because we have received the
backing of EFCC, any moment from now action will
start,” he warned.
“When President Buhari invited and said, I have seen
you have a huge debt, I said yes sir, he asked how
much, I told him over N100 billion, he said it may be
more than that, but I told him what I received is over
N100 billion, then he said just go and look at it and
come back. So, I was shocked to hear that it is now
N222.3 billion.
“I think the Executive and the Legislative arm of
Government need to sit down and make some serious
sacrifice on behalf of the people of Plateau.
“Even before receiving the report, I have heard
comments going round, some people say the Governor
has bought a house for N700 million, bought plots here
and there, I stand here to swear to God that I have not
bought any plot or house, I don’t even have the money
to buy them.
“I challenge anybody who has seen any plot in the
name of Simon Lalong to call the EFCC. My desire is
not to acquire wealth. If I had wanted to acquire wealth
as a speaker, I would have done so, like my colleagues
did. As a government, our responsibility is to serve the
people of Plateau State”, Lalong stressed.
However, the immediate past Governor of the State and
Senator representing Plateau North, Jonah Jang has
described the report of the Transition committee as
untrue, insisting that he left debt and liabilities of
N103.9 billion.
A press statement signed by his legislative aide,
Barrister Olivia Dazyam, observed that the new debt
figure paraded by the transition committee was
mischievously manufactured.
It maintained that a comprehensive breakdown of the
debt was well documented in the handover notes and
left no one in doubt, urging the committee to go back
and study the handover notes properly.
“The Committee’s report is a clear distortion and
manipulation of facts, aimed at personal vendetta,
witch-hunt and smearing the good name and
achievements of the outgone PDP government led by
Dr. Jonah David Jang.
“A quick look at the composition of the committees
reveals that they were deliberately selected and made
up of persons that have grudges with the immediate
past administration,” it read.
Dazyam, who was the Commissioner for Justice and
Attorney General of the State, during the Jang
administration, gave a long list of the projects executed
by the Jang’s administration across the three
senatorial zones, which include roads, bridges,
hospitals, schools, among others.
The statement describes as baseless the allegations by
the committee and advised the APC government to
focus on development and stop picking holes with the
giant strides of the Jang’s administration.
He stressing that, “The bar of governance in the State
has been raised high by Senator Jang, and the Plateau
people now use it as a yardstick to measure all
succeeding Governors, and Lalong must live up to this
expectation from the people of the state.
“The committee itself clearly reveals its inadequacies,
in view of its recommendations for set up of a more
specialized technical or audit committees to conduct
further investigation.
“This therefore means that the report is at its best a
draft that lacks the relevant technical and professional
inputs. How can such a draft report be implemented?” It
asked.
The statement further said, the contemplated review of
appointments and promotions made by the Jang’s
administration suggested that the APC government
simply intended to substitute those appointees with
their wards, relatives and cronies, as it had illegally
succeeded in doing with the local government
transition/management committee after ousting the
duly elected PDP Chairmen.
“While we are not opposed to inspection of the
previous administration’s activities, any such exercise
should be done within the ambit of the law, due
process and fair hearing.
“Despite the misinformation, mischief and provocation
by the APC government in the State, we call on our
supporters to remain calm, resolute and focused in
their support of the PDP. It’s just a matter of time”.
In all of these, the one million dollar question is what is
the true debt profile of the State? Do we have here a
case of accountability or pure witch-hunt?
However, how does the current government intend to
settle the debt? These are pertinent questions that need
answers, which only time will tell.