Lalong, PDP bicker over Plateau LG polls

Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has said that the date for the conduct of local government election in Plateau State is no longer in his hands having inaugurated the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC).

Governor Lalong stated this at a media interactive section with Journalists held at Government House in Jos to mark his two years in office.

He said, “The choice to fix date for the conduct of local government elections, is not within my powers as PLASIEC is an independent body saddled with the responsibility to determine a date convenient for the elections.”

However, the Chairman of the People Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State, Hon. Damishi T. Sango, on Tuesday challenged the state governor to conduct the LG elections stating that Lalong is afraid of losing at the polls because the people has lost faith in him.

“Lalong is afraid of going through the elections because the people are not with him; the Plateau people are waiting to use the opportunity of the local government polls to demonstrate to him that he has failed and are rejected.

“The same people that voted him to power are still on ground and have rejected him and that is why he is hesitant to conduct the polls,” Sango said.

The PDP state chairman also alleged that Lalong has mismanaged the over N97 billion received as subvention from the Federal Government in the first one year that he assumed office.

Sango also accused the Lalong led administration of embezzling the N18 billion taken from commercial banks in the first three months of his administration, also, the N4.5 billion spent in the first one year on exotic cars, and other miscellaneous expenses running into billions of naira.