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By Taye Obateru
Monday, October 18, 2004
JOS - A PDP senatorial aspirant and Chief of Staff, Government House in the Dariye Administration, Mr Alexander Molwus has urged President Olusegun Obasanjo to resist pressures to extend the state of emergency declared in Plateau State as this could precipitate fresh crises in the state. He said in a chat Sunday that the popular feeling among the people of the state was that the same people who worked for the declaration of the emergency in the first place were also the ones pressing for an extension saying it would amount to over-tasking the patience of the people. He urged President Obasanjo to remember the support he had received from the people of the state at various times adding that the only way to reciprocate this is to restore the suspended democratic structures now that peace has returned to the state and ignore those he called the enemies of the state calling for an extension. Molwus accused the Council of Ulama which he alleged moved for the declaration of the emergency of pressing for an extension adding, “we hope the will of Plateau people will not be taken for granted again because you don’t oppress people to the extent of over stretching their endurance.”
He also joined issues with the state government over the 54,000 casualty figure released in relation to the crises in the state describing it as a “gross statistical constipation” which lacks any rational statistical basis. It was learnt weekend that an Abuja-based top politician from the state has told his supporters that he and those working with him, had succeeded in convincing President Obasanjo to extend the period of emergency. In another development in Jos, a challenge has been thrown to Nigerians not to leave the struggle for good governance and accountability to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and similar bodies alone but should rather see the struggle for a better country as a responsibility which every patriotic Nigeria must bear. Executive Director of Youth Adolescent Reflection and Action Centre (YARAC), a Jos-based non governmental organization, Dr. Tor Iorapuu gave the challenge at a one day interactive/capacity building meeting which focused on “Towards Stakeholder Participation in Issues of Good Governance, Transparency and Accountability. Revenue Allocation, Expenditure for Efficient Service Delivery.”
According to him as critical stakeholders in the country, Nigerians must begin to think of how they can initiate and demand for positive change at the community, ward and state levels. He said unless Nigerians rose with one voice to demand for accountable leadership rather than leaving the struggle to bodies like the NLC alone, the desired change in society would not come. “If for instance we are united to agitate to the House of Assembly that revenue generated should be properly accounted for; or that a bill to ensure stakeholder participation in revenue generation, allocation and expenditure; or a bill to ensure stakeholder participation in budgeting, contract procurement and expenditure; certainly the authorities will begin to acknowledge that the people can no longer be fooled,” he stated.
Iorapuu said every Nigerian from the civil society/NGO activist, media practitioner, private sector operator, market woman, trader, road transport worker to the politician had a stake in ensuring good governance, transparency and accountability hence they must join hands to formulate strategies to achieve these. He said the meeting was one of the capacity building interactions under the Nigerian governance fund project funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) organized in Plateau, Nasarawa and Kogi states and implemented by YARAC and two other NGOs - Peace, Charities and Development and Community Empowerment Initiative.
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