Lalong Inaugurates 18-Man Steering Committee For Plateau Agenda 2050

By Daniel Agada, Jos

Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has inaugurated about eighteen (18) man steering committee that would work out modalities to lay the foundation for the growth and long-term development of Plateau State over the next thirty years. That is, the focus of Plateau State Agenda 2050.

The 18 man steering committee will be led by the deputy Governor of the state Professor Sonni Tyoden, were to focus on 14 terms and references.

Performing the inauguration ceremony at new Government House Little Rayfield, Jos Wednesday, Governor Lalong revealed that in our continuous efforts to leave behind positive and lasting legacies for the people of Plateau State, I had charged the Programme Management and Results Delivery Office (PMRDO), to work with our State Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Office, to leverage on the experiences and the lessons learned from our participation at the 2019 session of the United Nations General Assembly to craft a development plan that will outlive this current administration. 

“I was therefore excited to receive the report that these two offices successfully collaborated to attract the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the development of the Plateau State Agenda 2050. It is our intention to maximize this opportunity which the UNDP has provided for Plateau State to prepare for a better future.

“The Plateau State Agenda 2050 will not only build upon the gains of the current Plateau State Development Strategy 2019 – 2023, but will also deliberately align our aspirations as a State to the global development targets and indicators captured in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

“We are conscious of the dwindling inflow of resources from the centre, and the resultant agitations from various States in Nigeria for a review of the revenue sharing formula. 

“Our aspiration as a State is to continue to grow and develop in such a manner that in no distant time, we will no longer need to depend on the inflow of resources from the centre. Already, we have started looking inwards and achieving modest results.

“Plateau State is blessed with so many natural resources in agriculture; solid minerals; and tourism, which should make this State a significant net surplus contributor to the national coffers. 

“I believe Nigerians have not forgotten the fact that Plateau State in the past played a key role in sustaining the Nigerian economy with the tin and Columbite from her mines for several decades before the advent of oil in this country”, Governor Lalong stated.