By Israel Joel
Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong on Sunday assured citizens of the state that his administration would continue to do its best to foster peaceful coexistence among all citizens.

He further vowed to deal decisively with criminals and crisis merchants whose desire is to create chaos.

Lalong made this known while speaking at an Inter-denominational Church Service to mark the

held at the Government House Chapel, Rayfield Jos.

In his words “We count on the cooperation of all citizens in preventing crimes and also apprehending criminals. Please give us the information and we shall fish them out and deal with them.”

He added that in Plateau State, democracy has brought about many opportunities for popular participation and contribution to good governance over the years. “Our people have had the opportunity to elect their leaders at various levels and also hold them to account.”

“While popular participation in governance has removed the exclusion that existed during the military era, there is more room for strengthening the democratic system to ensure that those elected into office serve the people according to the social contract and deliver the dividends of democracy.

He appealed to the church to continue to propagate and advocate for accountability, truth, fairness, and justice from our political class in order to build the people’s confidence in democracy as a system of government.

“At the same time, we must also work on our political recruitment process to ensure that the people that emerge as leaders are prepared to serve and not be served. They should possess the leadership qualities such as love, peace, tolerance, accountability, selflessness, self-control among others.”

“Democracy is by no means a perfect system of governance, but it is globally accepted as an acceptable platform for running the affairs of the society. Indeed, some have referred to politics as a dirty game. If there is any truth in that saying, then the Church has a duty to encourage good people to join the game and clean it up. ”

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He added that ” When good people fail to participate in politics, then we are destined to be governed by people of questionable character who continue to make us go round in circles of confusion”.

Lalong appealed to citizens to join hands in working for the unity, peace, and progress of Nigeria and Plateau State even in the face of daunting challenges. It is important for all of us to realize that without a nation, the freedoms we enjoy to even practice our democratic rights will be unavailable.

“Just like I said during the recent Public Hearing on the Review of the 1999 Constitution by the Senate and House of Representatives Committees, the current attempt to alter the Constitution is a golden opportunity for us to address some of our governance issues. Let us closely monitor the process and ensure that it leads to the desired result.  ” he further added.