Lalong to Jang: You lack morals to condemn me
Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong yesterday replied former Governor Jonah Jang, saying the statement credited to the senator on the issue of ranching and the killings in Benue State was a “shameless display of an unrepentant hypocritical character”, adding that Jang was only trying to exploit the grief of people.
A statement by Jang on the recent controversy surrounding Lalong’s stand on cattle ranches and colonies as well as the governor’s advice to his Benue State counterpart had heated the polity. Jang had stressed that his constituents will not accept cattle colonies and urged Lalong to apologize to the Benue State government.
However, a statement signed by Lalong’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Samuel Emmanuel Nanle yesterday reminded Jang that hundreds of people had been gruesomely massacred under his leadership and that the then governor did not show empathy to the people.
“Lalong does not consider himself superhuman as is the case with Sen. Jang, and as such he feels the pain of the tragic loss of innocent lives in the Benue attacks. Without prompting, Governor Lalong extended condolences and solidarity with his Benue State counterpart and by extension all the victims of the barbaric attacks in Benue.
“The likes of Jang and the PDP leadership on the Plateau should know that the Plateau people and all citizens of Nigeria who have lost thousands of loved ones in the years of their leadership, know their crocodile tears and no amount of their playing to the gallery with the unfortunate situation surrounding the misconstrued statement of the governor, can make them come clean on the empathy that was lacking in the dark days of killings under their stewardship,” the statement read.
It added that Lalong and Ortom are on the same position with President Muhammadu Buhari on the urgent need to use conventional and human security approaches to bring to an end the criminal onslaughts of marauding herdsmen.
“Lalong and Ortom know the common heritage which their states share, and the bond created by that common ancestry and heritage gives them every reason to stand strong together in finding a solution, to the common threat to peace which they are both confronted with,” the statement added.