Ministerial slot: Group urges Tinubu to appoint Gizo

A group, Plateau Progressive Movement (PPM), has urgrd President Bola Tinubu to appoint Chief Amos Gizo to replace former Labour Minister, Simon Lalong in the Federal Executive Council.

The group said Gizo is the right person to fill Plateau’ State’s position in the cabinetPPM, a group within the Plateau State All Progressives Congress (APC), has written an Open Letter to President Tinubu on its request.

Lalong recently resigned as to take the Plateau South Senate seat after the Court of Appeal sacked PDP candidate, Napoleon Bali, and ordered the electoral commission to retrieve his certificate of return.In the letter signed by its Chairman, by Mr Danjuma Song, Secretary, Alhaji Zakari Iliyasu, and eight other members, the group said Gizo would be the right choice.The letter reads in part: “Mr President, we are extremely concerned about the delay in the appointment of a minister from Plateau State to replace the immediate past minister from the state, Simon Lalong, who resigned late last year.

“We are also your die-hard supporters, who are deeply concerned about the need for you to make the right choices to enable you to succeed in office, in order to bequeath indelible legacies for posterity, which you have already started, so that we can equally thump our chests and share the bragging rights.

“We are also making this passionate and patriotic appeal to you as crucial members of the APC’s 2023 Renewed Hope Campaign Agenda at the National, State and Grassroots levels, having served as a members of the party’s pre-election and election Planning and Strategic Committees at various levels.

”The group, urged the President to micro-zone the appointment of Lalong’s replacement to Plateau Central Senatorial Zone, which has unfairly produced just one minister in 25 years, since 1999.

“It is noteworthy that Lalong is from Plateau South Senatorial Zone, which has produced six ministers since 1999, namely Pauline Tallen (twice), Fidelis Tapgun and his sister, Josephine Tapgun, Solomon Dalung and, lately, Lalong.

“Besides, out of the six ministers produced by Plateau South Senatorial Zone in the past 25 years (the zone has many ethnic groups), all of the above appointees are from Shendam, Lalong’s Goemai ethnic group, except for Solomon Dalung, a Taroh man, from Langtang South LGA.

“Like Lalong’s Plateau South, Plateau North Senatorial Zone, on the other hand, has similarly produced five ministers within the same period: “Damishi Sango, Mark Aku, Musa Izam, Dasuki Nakande and Sarah Ochekpe, and they were all picked from different ethnic groups in the zone, namely, Ganawuri, Rukubu, Afizere, Hausa-Fulani and Birom, in that order.

”The group said Plateau Central Senatorial Zone, on the other hand has only produced Bagudu Hirse as minister since 1999, in spite of its returning massive votes for APC in all elections.