Plateau ex-governors rate Lalong high
Former governors of Plateau State, including past military administrators, yesterday rated Governor Simon Bako Lalong high.
They said the All Progressives Congress (APC) governor has done well by returning peace to the state, and has earned the support of majority of the people and initiated development projects across the 17 local government areas.
The governors, who spoke through Admiral Samuel Atikum (rtd), a military administrator of Plateau State between 1984 and 1985, said they accorded Lalong with a score card of B plus.
“When you have limited resources, it is not possible for development to be even, you have to ration it and gradually all the other local governments will get the projects. But presently, under Governor Lalong, the projects are even, it is not lopsided at all,” Atikum said.
He however said not everyone will be happy with the achievement of the present government.
Earlier, Governor Lalong said despite the various challenges in the last two years his administration has made progress by approaching development from a holistic perspective.
Lalong said in the last two years, achievements have been made through the return of peace to the state, the revitalisation of moribund industries, payment of outstanding salaries and sustenance of prompt salary payments as well as various road rehabilitations, among others. Kaduna State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has called on registered intending pilgrims in the state to hasten payment of their balance of Hajj fare as approved by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) last week.
NAHCON had last week approved a flat rate of N1,535,505 as the Hajj fare for Kaduna State pilgrims for this year’s hajj in Saudi Arabia.
A statement by the Public Relations Officer of the board Yunusa Muhammad Abdullahi yesterday quoted the Overseer of the Board, Imam Hussaini Sulaiman Tsoho, as saying that pilgrims have only one week to make the payment or forfeit their slot as NAHCON has also fixed deadline for remittance of the fare.
The Hajj fare, according to the statement, was arrived after computation of all hajj components, including accommodation in Makkah and Madinah.
He said registered pilgrims in the state have already made deposits of between N800,000 and N1.2m with the board adding that the Board had registered over six thousands intending pilgrims for this year’s Hajj.