From Jude Dangwam, Jos
Youths in Plateau State on Monday protested against threats to the peace of the state arising from what they termed as conflicting judgments that have led to the removal of many elected lawmakers on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang has, however, called for calm as he reiterated his confidence in the judiciary.
The placard-carrying youths who patrolled the streets of Jos, the Plateau State capital subsequently stormed the Press Centre, where they asked the judiciary to allow peace to reign in the State as they are tired of unnecessary tension.
One of the protesting youth groups, the Forum of former Youth Leaders (Veterans) in the State led by the Chairman, Yakubu Itse at the press conference asked the National Judicial Council, NJC to urgently address what they termed as a “lack of morality and justice in the judicial system” and called on President Bola Tinubu to defend the evolving democracy in Plateau State and Nigeria.
The group further urged the judiciary to refrain from “any efforts towards destabilizing our fragile peace with inconsistent judgments.
Meanwhile, Governor Mutfwang, who was welcomed back to Jos on Monday by a huge crowd of supporters following a working visit to the United States called for calm and asked the people not to take the law into their own hands.
Addressing supporters, he reported some of the gains from the trip and assured that the State would benefit immensely from the fruitful discussions he had while abroad.
“I’m well informed and have all the judgments that have been delivered and I know Plateau people who have voted the PDP massively are not happy with some of the judgments.
“But let me appeal for calm that in a contest, the wind blows but it doesn’t mean it will bring you down. And I would like to assure the people of Plateau State that by the grace of God that the victory they gave us will be sustained.
“We have had some setbacks, we will be looking at it in the coming days and see what we will be able to do to remedy some of these situations. We are on top of the situation, but there is no cause for alarm,” he said.
The governor reiterated there are still good judges in the temple of justice in the country.
“Our confidence in the judiciary is not yet broken, we have confidence the judiciary has men and women that will still do what is right when the times come.
“I, therefore, appeal to citizens of Plateau State to be patient and calm, by the grace of God our victory is not taking away from us,” Mutfwang said.
The governor further gave an insight to his visit in the United States of America which he said Plateau will stand to benefit from the efforts so far made during the visit.
“I travel to the United State of America in search of investors for the Plateau State and to build relationships with the government of the United States and some state governments of the United States towards attracting global attention to Plateau State and it was a very successful visit,” he said.
He said the visit will, in the coming days, yield positive fruits for Plateau State, especially in the area of agriculture.
“We have gone far with discussion with the African Development Bank to set up a special agro-processing hub on the Plateau. This is going to become an economic game changer for us on the Plateau,” he said
The visit, he said, looked into areas of collaboration in enhancing education in the state as well as secured commitment from establishments to help with medical equipment to help equip the hospital towards better healthcare services in the state.