Seriki Adinoyi in Jos
Former Governors of Plateau State, Chief Joshua Dariye and Senator Jonah Jang have congratulated the governor-elect of the state, Barrister Caleb Mutfwang on election victory at the governorship polls, tasking him to work to unite the people of the state.
In a recorded phone call to Mutfwang, Dariye also urged him to bring Plateau back on the path of glory.
Dariye described his victory as the collective expression of the people of Plateau State.
He said: “Your Excellency, Governor-elect, let me congratulate you on a well-deserved victory. This is a collective expression of the people of Plateau state, and you deserved their mandate and you earned their confidence.
“We could not sleep yesterday, I had to speak with former governor Jang and you remember I called you and said it is not about you but about Plateau.
“I am happy we have crossed the Red Sea. Be rest assured of our support, prayer, and loyalty. May God give you the wisdom that you need like that of Solomon so that you will leave enduring legacies.
“I said I must leave Plateau better than I met it; you must leave it better than myself, Jonah Jang and Lalong. You have to bring Plateau back on the path of glory.”
Meanwhile, in a statement signed by his media consultant, Mr. Clinton Garuba, Jang observed that “the keenly contested election had an array of some of Plateau’s finest crop of politicians, and now that the people have decided in favour of the PDP, we rejoice with the winner.”
He said he was aware that others who participated in the election along with their supporters had mixed feelings but as he had always maintained, Plateau first over personal and provincial pursuits.
He said: “The wild jubilation which accompanied the announcement of the result of the gubernatorial elections is instructive. Plateau people have had to experience untold hardship to come to terms with the fact of the need for a change to return home to the PDP which has had a tremendous impact on the lives of the people in the past.
He admonished Mutfwang to embrace everyone and bear in mind that he will now be responsible, for the wellbeing of not only his party members and supporters across party divides but for everyone who is on the Plateau.
Jang said: “A lot of sacrifices were made by the Plateau people to give him the mandate to govern over them, some even paid the supreme price with their lives. All these sacrifices were borne out of the passion to see a new Plateau, the incoming governor therefore, cannot afford to fail Plateau people.
“As part of his campaign promises, he pledged to carry everyone along irrespective of tribe, religious affiliation, political inclination or other kinds of leanings. The time to prove to the world that he meant every word is now; be magnanimous in victory and be the leader everyone will love to have.”
He called on the governor-elect to rise above any primordial sentiments and show leadership qualities of character, trust, and capacity, the same which have endeared him to the Plateau people, adding that the governor-elect is the man of the moment; all eyes are on him.
