ADP Unveils Plateau State Guber Candidate, Jon Temlong, Promises Citizen Centred Government

By Jide Afolabi, Jos

The Action Democratic Party, ADP, Plateau state Chapter today, Monday at the party’s state secretariat in Jos, unveiled its governorship candidate, General Jon Temlong (Rtd) and his running-mate, Dr Mwanmut.

During the unveiling, the Chairman of the party in the state, Gideon Adamu said that the party’s aim was to contest elections and win and that other parties in the state are jittery because of the rising profile of the party that was formed barely one and half years ago. He noted that the party’s National Chairman who doubles as his Presidential candidate, Y.Y Sani loved to be in attendance at today’s event but left the country yesterday for consultations in the United Kingdom and United State as 2019 election draws closer.

In his declaration speech, Jon Temlong said his interest to contest the election is a divine project and the cry of the people of Plateau for ‘good governance and development’.

Temlong said his, “motivation to contest for the governorship of Plateau state is to restore security and sustainable peace, provide good governance and foster inclusive and equitable development in all the constituent parts of the state.” He added that his vision was to build, “a Plateau state that is peaceful and secured; socially inclusive and cohesive; politically stable and progressive; and economically vibrant, resilient and equitable”.

The candidate said that his government would be people centred and anchored on a three point’s agenda; Security and Sustainable Development, Good Governance and Development.

He said under his leadership, “our approach to tackling the security challenges in the Plateau will be based on clear perception and understanding of the strategic environment of Plateau state. Responses to insecurity will not only be based on an articulated understanding of the ethno-religious, cultural, economic, social and political dynamics of the state but will be proactive. The geography of the state will also be factored in developing appropriate and effective citizen centred security architecture to respond to the state’s numerous security challenges.” The candidate promised that all displaced communities will be returned to their ancestral homes with adequate security provided to protect them from experiencing the horrors they went through.

On good governance, he said, “policies and programmes will be driven by citizen centred governance. Every action of my government will be aimed at making the conditions of the citizens better.” He said that he would make deliberate efforts to give citizens a sense of inclusion and belonging in the governance process regardless of their religion or socio-economic standing in the society. “Governance will be driven by the values of ethics and accountability, transparency, efficiency, rule of law, due process, participatory etc”, he added.

While commenting on development, Temlong said, “We have an agriculture sector that needs to be fully supported with policies, programmes and funds that will make it overtly productive and yielding maximum output. Under my administration, agriculture will be given primacy in the political economy of the state. If the resources of Plateau state are optimally accessed and our potentials fully harnessed, Plateau state can internally generate 10 times more than we do from the agricultural sector, mining sector and all other viable sectors in the state”.

Temlong is a retired Brigadier General and holds a Master of Military Arts & Science, MMAS, from the United States, a Fellow of the War College, fwc, Abuja, and a former Director of Policy, Department of Army Policy and Plans at the Nigerian Army Headquarters. He also served as Commander 23 Armoured Brigade, Yola and Commander 241 Recce Battalion, Kaduna. His Battalion was adjudged the best in the Nigerian Army at the time. He is also the first Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force from 1998-1999. Due to his successes in the Lake Chad Basin, the President of Chad honoured him with the National Honour of “D’Officier de l’Odre National du Tchad’, OON, the second highest national honour in the Republic of Chad. Temlong was a leading vocal member at the 2014 National Confab. He is also an expert on community security and conflict resolution.