Herders’ invasion of states, governance failure – Dalung

Abuja

Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Barrister Solomon Dalung, has shocked many when he against expectation hinted that he won’t be contesting for governorship position in Plateau state.
While fielding questions from journalists yesterday in Abuja, the Tarok-born politician, who had been a local government chairman, however, insisted that he never at any point contemplated getting involve in governance at the state level.
Dalung said the position of governors in the country was not for the feeble-hearted who daily run to federal government at every slightest security issue despite receiving amount monthly for similar purposes.
He said: “I have not made up my mind whether to contest any election in 2019, not even councillorship let alone governorship. I don’t know where the speculations of my contesting for the governor of Plateau state are coming from.
“One office I don’t envy in my life is the office of the governor in Nigeria. I told the governor of Lagos state so. The responsibility of the governors is so enormous and anybody occupying that office should know it. He has the responsibility to protect the lives of Nigerians living within his territory. He has the responsibility of developing policies that will move the state forward and the responsibility of developing economic policies that will fast-track economic development in the state.
“The governors are the custodians of lives in the whole state and hold it in trust for the people. They also collect and manage monthly statutory allocations including what the APC government introduced like the Paris Club bailout. The governors just manage this for the benefit of those living in the state.
“Do any of these governors run back to the State House with the Paris Club fund or the bailouts they have received in the past? When I became a local government chairman, there were security issues in my locality and young boys who possessed arms were disturbing the people, but after few months in office, I personally drove myself round communities and discovered that people freely gather at various outlets without fear of any such.”

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