Group demands for financial update on Plateau resources, threaten to expose Govt.

By Eagle Eye News24

The Global Center for Media and Human Empowerment(GCMHE),has called for detailed information on Plateau State’s finances since the inception of  the Simon Bako Lalong’s administration in 2015.

The interventionist group said it was acting under section 1(1)(2)of the Freedom of Information Act 2011,which gives every Nigerian the right to have access to vital information and documents that concern the people.

The group made this call in a statement signed by its Ag.Director-General,Charles Ejoh,made available to newsmen on Thursday.

The GCMHE demands that since the state Ministry of Finance and Budget and Economic Planning are in purview of the state’s finances, it should explain the financial standing of the state within 14 days.

The statement said that the Plateau State government should give account on how it has expended some of its capital budgeted project like the completion of the Inland Container Port by Duncan Nigeria Ltd and the completion of the burnt down Jos Main Market at Terminus which were all captured in the state’s 2019 budget.

Others are :construction of the Kabong Satellite Market-Tudun Wada with spur to Mado Tourists Hotel and Sabon-Gari which the sum of 200,000,000.00 million was apriopprated in the 2020 budget: completion of the Zaria Road Stadium including road network within the stadium complex at a cost of 600,000,000 million as captured in the 2020 budget of the state.

The GCMHE is also demanding explanations on the performance of the 2021 and 2022 budget as it relates to implementation and performance before delving into next year budget for the state.

The group further posited that the state’s  budget performance did not aligned with the present economic reality as inflation has quadruple in Plateau State causing untold hardship for the people.

Adding that the key performance indicator is  very poor for the state, like the revenue growth, which has placed Plateau amongst the poorest states in Nigeria according to the recent National Bureau of Statics(NBS)report that placed the state among the fifth poorest state in 2022 with an 84 percent figure.

The Group noted that the residents are suffering from the financial recklessness of the APC administration in Plateau State,led by Simon Lalong who is busy campaigning for Senator Bola Tinubu.

The GCMHE threatened to further exposed the government and mobilize people to demonstrate peacefully against the alleged missappriopration of the state funds, if the government refused to give details on how it utilized the state’s resources.