by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
Some members of NULGE, called ‘Tarzarce,’ in supporting its current President, Chief Arandong Yohana Makwin, for second term said last week that, some “busybody” members of the Union, led by Comrade lzere Maxwell Igyem – with a clandestine motive to defame the integrity of Comrade Arandong – had made some unsubstantiated and baseless accusations through the media against the incumbent President of NULGE, Plateau State, which they said is highly condemnable.
Director-General of the Tarzarce Group for Chief Arandong Yohanna Makwin, Comr. Hillary G. Shown, stated that, “Those false accusations against Comrade Arandong were part of the peace and reconciliatory meeting held at the National Secretariat of NULGE and presided over by the National President of the Union where an agreement was reached and signed regarding the conduct of the forthcoming Plateau State NULGE election.”
Comrade Hillary G. Shown disclosed this during a Press briefing (today) Monday at NUJ Press Center Jos.
According to him, “Some persons last week, led by one Comrade Izere Maxwell Igyem, briefed journalists with the clandestine motive to defame the integrity of Comrade Arandong, our own Presidential candidate and the incumbent President of NULGE, Plateau State, by making some unsubstantiated and baseless accusations through the media; and we are here to set the records straight.”
He explained that, the reasons for the disqualification of Comrade Ezekiel Musa Yelwa and Comrade Dauda Aku, both contestants for the position of the President as well as few candidates for other positions were clearly stated by the Screening Committee, in line with Union’s constitution.
“We will like to also educate Comrade Igyem and his group as well as the general public that, laws guiding our Union’s modus operandi do not demand an incumbent official to resign or step aside before re-contesting in an election. NULGE Plateau State cannot be on autopilot because of their selfish interest and fears of losing election.
“The powers to conduct NULGE branch Executives elections or even extend their tenure is vested on the State Executive Council, in line with the dictate of the Union’s 2024 constitution, as amended,” he said.
Comr. Shown further stated that, Comrade Igyem and his group should also know that State Executive Council does not go to preside over how delegates emerge from the Union branches to participate in any State Delegate election.
According to him, “The Union constitution stipulates that, the Union Branch Chairman will submit a signed copy of Delegates list from his or her branch to the Union State Secretariat, and this was duly adhered to.
“We will like to ask, why the hullabaloo and dragging the incumbent State Union President into the matter of selecting branch Delegates?”
He, therefore, noted that “The callous, mischievous and unacceptable attempt to stain the good image of their Union President and their Presidential candidate in the forthcoming election by accusing him falsely regarding workers enrollment with the Federal Housing Mortgage Bank (FHMB) is condemned, and we demand an apology from Comrade Igyem and his group.
“For clarity, NULGE transaction with the bank on behalf of workers is laced with watertight evidence of workers’ contributions remittance.
“It is laughable that, in demonstration of their huge ignorance on the matter, Comrade lgyem and his group accused NULGE of deducting N500 from each staff’s monthly salary through the bank, saying that from their findings, FHMB deducts 2.5 percent of staff monthly basic salary and, it is evident that most staffs have benefitted from this same Bank loan scheme, based on their contributions.”
The DG added that, “As a Campaign Organization, we will like to note that our candidate, Comrade Arandong, and his team are not desperate for leadership, as their monumental achievements during their first term of administration necessitated the calls from members for them to return for another term.
“Some of these landmark achievements he made were the facilitating the seamless promotion of over 8,000 staffs as well as conversion and the implementation of their benefits.
“While he lobbied for the upgrade of staff promotion to Grade Level16, this is first in history, and over 150 staffs have benefited so far, and payment of palliative wage award by government to Local Government workers.
“He also facilitated Mortgage Bank loan facilities to workers, ensuring all outstanding workers’ salary arrears are cleared in all LGCS, and initiating negotiation for harmonization of Local Government workers’ salaries with State Government, which implementation is on the pipeline, among others,” the DG stated.
He noted that, “It is rather unfortunate that, one of those, who threatened fire-and-brimstones over our Union affairs, is actually among the ones who have some ugly past record of commandeering NULGE properties, while serving as a branch official in Jos North LGC and sold them off.
“The same set of people he is trying to promote is an unqualified candidate with criminal records in his previous work station for our Union State Executive Council election.
“The wise Local Government Workers in Plateau State will surely separate the wheat from the chaff when the time comes. As a Campaign Organization, we thought that the peace accord reached after discussion with NULGE National President in Abuja and the signing of MOU will serve as a common ground for peace in our Union affairs in Plateau State.
“But, to our dismay, some few, who fly the kite of ethnic jingoism, are still bent on tearing us apart. We must warn that, NULGE is not an exclusive preserve for any tribe, and its election must not be viewed like a tribal election. The sky is wide enough for every bird to fly,” the Director-General stated.