Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has avowed his probity with councils’ funds, stating that he had spent or misused funds belonging to the third tier of government since his assumption on May 29, 2023.
Speaking yesterday at the inauguration of the newly appointed chairman and members of the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) in Jos, Mutfwang, who is a former chairman of Mangu Local Council, stated that he believes that the funds should be used to stabilise that tier of government.
He said: “It, therefore, pains some of us when they generalise that governors are stealing local government money. I think they should be specific rather than generalise.
“Let me say that I am a firm believer in the effectiveness and efficacy of the local government system. I believe that government must come closer to the people, and the only way we can get government and governance closer to the people is to allow the people themselves to elect those who they want to lead them.”
The governor said the appointees were carefully selected to lead the commission and bring integrity to the body, pointing out that his administration was lucky to have found a man who has been in the electoral sector all his life to lead PLASIEC.
He added that the commission also has people, who have experience in election management, as most persons in the team have shown passion for a better Plateau.
“It is unfortunate that when we came on board, we had to dissolve PLASIEC, and we did that on sound legal truth. First, PLASIEC as it was then, was improperly constituted by an illegal Speaker, and there was a court judgment to that effect.
“The Speaker, who confirmed their appointments, was set aside by the court. So, every action he took was against the law,” the governor clarified.
“And in order not to be primitive and just wake up and announce dissolution, we took the matter to the House of Assembly, everything we did was through the House, and so nobody should just accuse us of dissolving them.
“As this PLASIEC settles in, I want to guarantee Plateau that we are going to lift a ban on local government elections,” he added.
According to him, he believes that the people deserve to choose who would work for them, and that must be guaranteed, charging the PLASIEC members that they are coming at a time when the commission has a trust challenge.
The new PLASIEC Chairman, Plangji Chishak, thanked Mutfwang for the opportunity to serve the Plateau people.
Chishak, who until his appointment, was a staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), assured the people of credible and transparent elections that would be acceptable to all.
