By Seriki Adinoyi in Jos
A former governor of Plateau State and the senator representing Plateau North in the National Assembly, Jonah David Jang, has described the list of alleged looters released by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government as a testament of the desperation with which the party wants to hold on to power having failed Nigeria on all fronts.
The senator however said APC has no such powers to indict him of any wrongdoing, adding that: “It is only a competent court of jurisdiction that has the powers to indict and convict.â€
Jang, who was reacting in an interview to the publication that he allegedly looted N12.5 billion, also expressed disappointment in the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, noting that: “I know Lai Mohammed in our National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) days when we fought for the return of democratic rule to the country putting an end to military dictatorship. I know him to always stand for the truth. Alas, I can finally say that he is not that same person these days.
“In Nigeria today, it would seem that once you join the APC, you become baptized into the order of lies, falsehood, deception, and propaganda. Nevertheless, Lai Mohammed must make amends by recanting the phantom allegations he made against my good person within a reasonable time frame or face the consequence of his indiscretion in the foreseeable future.â€
He said before going to the Senate, he was governor of Plateau State from 2007-2015, adding that: “For eight years, I did my best for my people. The landmark achievements recorded within that period remain unmatched till date. They are a legacy of diligence, service and accountability in governance.
“A computation of the value of the projects we executed throughout the 17 local government areas of the state reveals a massive gulf of inequality between the insufficient resources we got as subvention and internally generated revenue, and the ambitious strides we were able to accomplish. I remember vividly how former President Goodluck Jonathan was unable to commission half of those projects while moving through the state by helicopter. Before the day was over, he couldn’t hold back his amazement at what he saw, wondering where we got funds considering what comes to us from the federation account. Recently, some of such critical infrastructures were commissioned over two years after I left office as governor of the state.â€
Details later…
