Ugar Ukandi Odey, Jos
The “Concerned Elders of Plateau” has called on the Plateau State government not to go ahead with the elections as scheduled, noting particularly that the security situation especially in Jos North, Bassa, Jos East, and Jos South is still embarrassing and vexatious, making the atmosphere for the conduct of elections there so dim that the outcome could degenerate the situation.
A statement signed by Elder Dr. Dachollom D. Jambol, said “you will recall that following the breach of the peace which led to the killing of no fewer than 38 people in the Yelwa Zangan community, a village behind the University of Jos while the 24-hour curfew imposed by the PLSG was still subsisting, State governments and parents of students across the entire country had to make emergency arrangements to evacuate their children”.
Accordingly, the Statement noted, “while we do not pray for any re-occurrence of the mindless violence that necessitated the closure of the University, we strongly insist that any event that could result in breach of the peace in the State, or any part thereof, be postponed to allow students finish their 2019/2020 academic year without any threat to their lives”.
Also pleading hindsight, the Concerned Elders said “our demand is justified by the contentious history of local government elections in the State from 1999 to date. It is on record that these elections have most of the time resulted in violence”.
The group also called on the Plateau State government to “show more empathy towards the situation of numerous indigenous communities who are still living in IDP camps, having been displaced from their ancestral homes due to the violence unleashed on them by land grabbers. It will be a great betrayal to disenfranchise these thousands of people by being in a haste to conduct elections”.
Apart from waspish timing of the elections, the group also criticized the fiscal propriety of the exercise, saying “we are informed that the election expenses were not captured in the 2021 Appropriation Law. We are also informed that no supplementary budget has been presented to the State House of Assembly to appropriate funds for this crucial public expenditure”. Thus, the group asks Lalong, “who is actually funding the elections?”
