By Marie-Therese Nanlong.

Amammoth   crowd yesterday took over the Rwang Pam stadium in Jos and its adjoining streets to witness the inauguration of Mr. Simon Lalong as the governor of Plateau State Immediate past governor, Jonah Jang was however absent at the event but his deputy, Mr. Ignatius Longjan handed over the mantle of leadership to the new governor.

Mr. Simon Lalong being sworn in as governor of Plateau State.

The Chief Judge of the State, Justice Pius Damulak administered the oath of office to Lalong and his deputy, Prof. Sonni Tyoden. The event was witnessed by political bigwigs from the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Religious leaders and traditional rulers also made impressive turnout at the event that was closely monitored by armed security agents.

Shortly after taking the oath of office, Lalong who was dressed in a dark blue suit, white shirt and lilac tie in his inaugural speech described the process which led to his victory as “an act of God.” Lalong said: “We have witnessed the hand of God in our dear state. Never before in our history have we witnessed such yearning for change in the direction of governance. Never before have our people demonstrated such unity.

“Now is time for looking ahead, I am determined to create an environment of commitment, trust and cooperation rather than command and control. We will revisit the issue of the creation of districts, chiefdoms and development areas. The policy thrust of our administration will anchor on peace, security and good governance, human capital development and social welfare.

“To boost commerce and trade, the government shall re-examine all options for reconstructing our markets especially the burnt ultra-modern Jos Central Market. We will reposition the civil service for better productivity. Our government will re-invigorate the civil service and review appointments, postings to conform with extant civil service rules and geo-political balancing.”