Atiku-Mutfwang Youth Campaign Council interfaces with Youths in Bassa LGA

The Atiku-Mutfwang Youth Campaign Council was in Bassa LGA today Monday 13th February 2023 to interface with Youth groups within the LGA in order to market the candidates of the PDP from the Presidential Candidate HE Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Gubernatorial Candidate Barrister Caleb Mutfwang and all National and State Assembly Candidates in the State.

Director General Atiku-Mutfwang Youth Campaign Council Hon Hitler Joshua Pwajok led his Directorate to the palace of HRH Ati Adamu Adiwu, the Utu Ugo Kiche of Rukuba, where the team was received by the District Head of Kakkek HRH Ati Adamu Ingmala on behalf of the Royal Father who is reportedly sick. The Royal Father blessed the team and wished them well as they engage peacefully with the youths of Bassa LGA.

The team then proceeded to Amamma’s Park, Jebbu-Bassa, Bassa LGA, venue of the town hall meeting with various youths groups domiciled within the LGA. Hon Hitler Joshua Pwajok took time to admonish participants with facts and reasons why they should support and vote for the candidates of the PDP from the Presidential Candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Plateau State Gubernatorial Candidate Barrister Caleb Mutfwang and all National and State Assembly Candidates.

Questions and reactions were received from Non-Natives, Plateau State Youth Council (PYC) Bassa Branch, Jama’atu Nasir Islam (JNI), Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities and Persons Living with Special needs. The non-natives cautioned participants about over-voting in polling units, as well as the fact that the APC may also sponsor over voting in some polling units if they know they won’t win such units. They requested that empowerments going forward should capture Non-Indigenes because according to their representative, non-natives are usually not carried along and given that they can’t be employed by the State or Local Governments, a separate empowerment intervention be introduced for non-natives.

The PYC asked to know what Youths stand to benefit after elections if they support the PDP at all levels, this according to them is informed by the fact that usually youths are used to campaign and win elections but are soon left out and forgotten when the candidates win.

JNI asked for inclusiveness of their members during and after elections, stressing that the Muslim community in Rukuba/Iregwe are not being carried along. CAN raised concerns and asked for assurance that they will be carried along if the PDP wins, they stressed to be assured that policies will be favourable to their members after elections.

Representative of Youth Ethnic Nationalities requested that BARC farms be revived, a tomatoes processing plant be introduced, the Bassa-Jere Road initiated during the PDP era be completed, while the Zaria Road – Jingre Road should be Rehabilitated. They also asked to know what Barrister Caleb Mutfwang will do to improve Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) given the huge debt profile of Plateau State. They in addition requested for Inclusive governance when the PDP forms Government. The leader of the group also raised concerns on the need to meet with Barrister Caleb Mutfwang in person, stating further that with the huge trust deficit between the people and government, it was important for them to know how the PDP intended to regain the confidence and trust of Nigerians.

Students asked that the people of Bassa should be involved and given more opportunity in the disbursement of scholarships as much as possible.

Persons with disabilities called for consideration for their members on elections day, to ensure that they are able to vote before others. They decried that persons living with special needs are not being carried along but expressed optimism that when PDP returns to power, they will be a change considering that the PDP administration is the first to introduce the Disability Rights Commission.

While responding, the Director General Hon Hitler Joshua Pwajok gave opportunity to the candidate of the PDP for Rukuba/Iregwe Hon Ibrahim Agbalak to respond to some of the issues. Hon Agbalak who said that though the main function of a legistlator is to make laws and oversights functions, he already has a proposed Bill for the Establishment of the ICT Trust fund, Tomato Processing Plant and Truck Mordern Park. He also talked about efforts for skills acquisition trainings for youths, which he has already started with the ITF in training youths from his Constituency.

Hon Hitler then went on to caution those present to ensure that persons who have not been duly captured by the Biometric Verification and Accreditation System (BVAS) are not allowed to vote because it will lead to cancellation of votes. He assured Non Indigenes, CAN and JNI that Barrister Caleb Mutfwang is one who fears God, he will treat everyone equally and will consider every community including non natives alike. He assured them that after securing Plateau for natives and non natives, Mutfwang will ensure infrastructural development and a prosperous economy for all residents.

On the issue of BARC Farms, Hon Hitler lamented that every candidate has made it a marketing point before elections, but however said that Mutfwang will not only focus on the issue of BARC farms/ agriculture but will look into huge existent potentials in other sectors such as the mining sector to boost the IGR of the State. He said that there are people who are making billions from illegal mining in Plateau State but don’t remit taxes to the Plateau State Government. He assured that Barrister Caleb Mutfwang has publicly advocated for the establishment of administrative and legal framework to guide the mining sector in order to create opportunities for young people for employment and wealth creation, to also ensure that host communities are not left out of the sharing of the proceeds of mining.

On agriculture, especially farmers of perishable products, he noted that government should be able to build cold rooms in strategic LGA that produce perishable food products will be handy before the long-term plans of processing factories can be implemented with the right funding.

He said that Mutfwang won’t work miracles to bring infrastructural turnaround within days after assuming office, but will take time and gather resources to ensure that these interventions come at the right time, he called for patients among citizens to allow leaders implement developmental plans for all when the PDP assumes office.

On the issues of trust deficit between government and the people, he said that the PDP can be trusted considering that the PDP had introduced interventions that benefited the people, compared to the misplacement of priorities by the current administration who left existing hospitals and schools could have been equipped for better service delivery to Plateau people, have been abandoned and some projects which are now also abandoned projects that have gulped huge resources. He said that the PDP will do better considering track records.

While responding to the concerns of students, Hon Hitler assured them that he will press for an upwards review of scholarship stipends for students in other to ameliorate the sufferings of students given the harsh economic realities that have overtaken the current N5,000 per year scholarship stipends per student.