HAPPY FIFTY SEVENTH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION YOUR EXCELLENCY

On behalf of my family, the good and peace loving people of Plateau State, I wish to felicitate with our dear Governor and Chairman, Northern Governor's Forum, Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong on the occasion of his Fifty Seventh Birthday celebration.                                                                                     
Your Excellency,  you have no doubt provided credible leadership to Plateau people in the past five years. I recall on assumption of office in 2015, the challenges the administration was faced with seemed insurmountable and daunting, but you took the challenges headlong.  With your 5-point policy thrust, you reengineered governance and made it not only all-inclusive, but people-centred.  You made peace a watchword on the plateau, transforming the State from a byword to an exemplar.  You earned the title “Governor Alert” as you paid workers as and when due, reestablishing the morale of a hitherto comatose civil service.
Education was repositioned on a pedestal of excellence at all levels, while the State University was reinvigorated and lived up to its name by producing graduates for the first time.  Agriculture was not left behind as it became a focal point for the diversification of the economy, as farmers were availed relevant palliatives through subsidized fertilizers and implements.
Similarly, concerted efforts have been made to revitalize moribund economic/industrial projects such as BARC farms, JIB and the Jos Main Market.  The resuscitation of the annual Jos Trade Fair and the deliberate promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the creation of an enabling environment have sent a message of welcome to private entrepreneurs and investors.
You capped your concern for the well-being of a prosperous Plateau with your recent proactive and focused initiatives in the face of the challenge posed by the COVID 19 pandemic.
We join millions in celebrating you, wishing you more wisdoms and years of service to Plateau and the Nation.  Once more, Happy Birthday Your Excellency.

Professor Sonni Gwanle Tyoden
Deputy Governor, Plateau State.