Gov Lalong Makes Fresh Appointments

Governor Simon Lalong has confirmed the appointment of ten new Permanent Secretaries to his administration in Plateau State.

The development was confirmed in a statement made available to journalists on Monday (today) by Lalong’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr Makut Macham, in Jos, Naija News reports.

While noting that the new appointees would be sworn in on Tuesday, January 24, Macham said their appointment became necessary following the retirement/resignations of some Permanent Secretaries in the service of the state government.

The statement read: “The new Permanent Secretaries are expected to be sworn in on Tuesday, 24th January 2023.

“The new Permanent Secretaries are: Keziah Dung (Barkin Ladi); Yusuf Ayuba Gimba ( Bassa); Gongden Micah Sunday (Mangu); Lamu Michael Dennis (Mangu).

“Peter Wuyep (Kanke); Bapman Naankin Emmanuel (Mikang); Boniface Gwotbit Bankshuet (Mikang); Gotan Benjamin James (Pankshin); Salamatu Ritmwa Parlong (Pankshin); and Wuyep Zitta (Langtang South)”.

Top APC Chieftain Openly Dumps Tinubu, Declares Support For Peter Obi

Meanwhile, a member of the APC Board of Trustees (BoT) and the national caucus member from Abia State, Ochiagha Benjamin Apugo, has dumped the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a statement to journalists in Abuja on Sunday, the elder statesman declared his support for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, and the party’s governorship candidate, Alex Otti, in the forthcoming general election.

While distancing himself from the governorship candidate of the APC in Abia State, Ikechi Emenike, Apugo said he would be backing individuals with a proven track record rather than any political party in next month’s general election.

He disclosed that he told Emenike would lose the forthcoming election both at the state and national level during a courtesy visit to his residence, Naija News reports.

He said: “Emenike and his team paid me a courtesy visit as a chieftain of the party to inform me of his governorship ambition as well as the proposed visit of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to Umuahia, Abia State.

“I emphatically told Emenike that the APC would lose both the Abia governorship and presidential elections, and restated my uncompromising support for Otti and Obi.”

“APC will fail woefully in Abia State. PDP is already dead. I am supporting Otti. I didn’t endorse him (Emenike). I told him that APC will not win because there is nothing to show APC people. So, forget about endorsement.”

On why he is backing Obi or Tinubu, the APC noted that he has always associated with people of high moral standing and integrity, hence his support for Otti and the Labour Party presidential candidate.

Apugo maintained that both the APC and the PDP have failed Abians and should be roundly rejected.

He insisted that Otti was the only outstanding personality in the Abia governorship race with proven capacity and passion for developing the state. He added that he was not engaging in anti-party activities.