The Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong has revealed why he would not support a Northern presidential aspirant under the All Progressives Congress.
Lalong stated this while expressing his support for the former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
Amaechi had stormed the state on Friday to seek the support of delegates of the party ahead of the presidential primaries.
Lalong in a statement released on Saturday stated that Amaechi has contributed greatly to Plateau state and would get the support from Plateau leaders, including former Speakers of the House of Assembly, and current state lawmakers.
The Governor said, “Amaechi has all the qualities of a good leader, and would save the country from its insecurity problems, as well as bring development to all parts of the country, adding that Plateau State has benefited a lot from Amaechi and it’s payback time.”
Lalong further stated that the former minister has all it takes to tackle insecurity in the country.
The APC governor recall that Amaechi helped party chieftains in the northern states, especially Plateau State, to join and register with the APC.
He also said that the former minister spoke for the state at the Federal Executive Council meetings whenever it needed the urgent intervention and approvals from the Presidency.
Lalong said, “Sir, you invested in Plateau State, that is why you are going to reap in Plateau State. We came back, we had security issues, you were our minister. For most of the approvals you saw from the President, it was this man (Amaechi) that was pushing for us. Amaechi was our minister, not minding that he is from Rivers State. We got almost everything.”
“They mentioned railway, but you brought Shipper’s Council to us, you restored our inland container to us, so many things that you did. As I’m talking, the first set of people you took to China, seven of them are Plateau boys, and very soon they are coming back as experts in engineering. We can go on and on.
“We had already taken a decision; all former members of the Houses of Assembly decided that wherever you go, we would follow you. So, if you calculate the number of former Speakers that we have in Nigeria, I think you already have 30 per cent votes.”
The Majority Leader of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Yakubu Sande, also declared bloc support for Amaechi.
Sande said, “I have the privilege to move this historic motion and say categorically, that members of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Chairmen of the 17 Local Government Areas, we have super delegates and national delegates, all represented today, and what I’m doing today is an endorsement by the delegates of Plateau State.”
