By Gbegbe Sunday.
Governor Simon Lalong and Rev Yakubu Pam, during Pam’s visit to the governor at Government House, Jos on Friday
The Plateau State Governor, Simon Bako Lalong, has commended the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission, NCPC, Rev Dr. Yakubu Pam, for making a success of the first-ever Jordan pilgrimage.
Governor Lalong gave the commendation when Rev Pam paid him a thank you and condolence visit at the Government House, Rayfield, Jos.
He said Plateau State was proud of the exploits of the NCPC boss, describing him as a true son of the state, who despite the odds that stood against him, especially the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, he pioneered the holy journey to the Kingdom of Jordan successfully without hitch.
Governor Lalong promised to sponsor more Christians to the holy land in the next pilgrimage.
On the crises that bedeviled the state, the governor said normalcy was fast returning and was happy with the way his government handled the crises, nipping it in the bud.
According to the governor, the state was making plans to establish a Plateau Development Commission should the federal government turn down their request a second time to be included in the Northeast Development Commission.
He said the state needs to return all Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, to their ancestral homes and would stop at nothing to ensure it works, adding that the federal government has to reconsider its commitment to the state by including the state in the Northeast Development Commission, NEDC.
The governor further said the federal government has sent in huge palliatives to the displaced persons.
He commended the President for his quick intervention by sending additional troops and ordered the supply of relief materials to carter for the victims in the state.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary had told his host that he was there to thank him for his support during and after the 2020 Christian pilgrimage, which was kickstarted in Plateau State.
According to Rev Pam, the Governor did exceedingly well and above any other Governor by supporting him 99 per cent.
He said the Governor spent huge sums of money in putting certain facilities at the Jos Airport and sent the highest number of pilgrims to the holy land aside from the financial backing, which enabled the trip to be a success.
Rev Pam said the Plateau contingent was well behaved and praised the leadership of the State Pilgrim Board for providing good leadership before, during, and after the exercise.
He said Jordan houses a lot of tourism sites with some of the best hospitals in the world and intimated his host that an MoU on medical tourism between Nigeria and Jordan would to be signed. He promised Plateau state will be given a prime position as the state is renowned for its peace and tourism slogan.
He however expressed sadness over the crises that killed many people including children, women, and the aged who were hacked to death.
Rev Pam said the gory pictures of what happened was a sad commentary of the dark forces of evil and expressed thanks to God that the governor exhibited leadership by ending the crises within days, shaming enemies of the state who had thought and wished the crises lasted more than unnecessary.
He commended the humility of the governor in handling every situation and showed appreciation to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, and other friends of the state who came visiting.
Rev Pam pledged to stand by the government in fishing out those behind the crises, adding that justice must be established by ensuring that those found wanting should face the wrath of the law.
He called on the federal government to assist the state as over 60 per cent of its meager resources was committed to handle the problem.
He said that but for the lack of money, IDPs would have been returned to their homes.
The NCPC Boss said he is planning to bring together religious land traditional rulers in the state to sit at a round table to dialogue on intelligence-gathering amongst communities as key restoring peace to the state.
