Ex-President Jonathan urges Taraba residents to prioritise peace for development
By Terna Chikpa, Jalingo
The former president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan on Friday urged citizens of Taraba State to prioritise peace for improved development of the state.
Jonathan gave the advice while commissioning the phase (I) 22km. Jalingo dual carriageway, expressed that the continued breach of peace among citizens contributed 60 per cent in thwarting the development of the state which placed Taraba among least developed state in the country in terms of infrastructure.
According to the former President, peace is generally the responsibility of the citizens to attract development while, development and unity was the responsibility of the government. He however, commended governor Darius Ishaku’s efforts in ensuring the improved security situation in the state.
“I am happy to be in Taraba today to celebrate development in infrastructure. This is coming because the citizens have chosen to embrace peace rather than continue breach of the peace.
“Taraba is among the least developed state in Nigeria in terms of infrastructure today and you will agree with me that the breach of peace among citizens contributed 60 per cent for that. As a former president, I believe that peace is generally the responsibility of the citizens to attract development while development and unity among people is the responsibility of the government. There can not be development if peace is not giving it place to stay, I urge you citizens of Taraba to embrace peace and prioritize it for speedy development of the state.
“I want to believe that the presence of infrastructure been celebrated today is due to the improve security situation here and I wish to commend governor Darius Ishaku and you the citizens for your efforts toward developing Taraba state,” Jonathan expressed.
Earlier, governor Darius Ishaku noted at the occasion that his administration’s development plan encapsulated in the (RESCUE MISSION BLUEPRINT), has delivered the dividend of democracy to the people of Taraba State from socio-economic backwardness through the massive provision of basic human infrastructure with road development as the pivot.
Ishaku also claimed that his administration funded all the road projects inherited from the previous administrations and embarked on other new ones which among the new ones is the 22 Km Dual Carriageway in Jalingo.
“This project was awarded by this administration in December 2019 for a Contract Period of 18th months to Messrs Craneburg Construction Company Ltd of Lagos. The general public will bear witness to the fact that in 2020, soon after the contract was awarded the COvid-19 Pandemic set in. This in all facets affected the world economy with the attendant devaluation of our currency and dramatic increase in prices of petroleum products which in turn led to an unprecedented hike in the prices of construction materials.
“This dual carriageway and all its features is the climax of all the road projects executed by my administration; many of which have been completed and commissioned, while some are still ongoing. We despite all odds, awarded road project contracts across all the geopolitical zones of the state.
“This decision, some people criticized as a proliferation of projects but we believe it is plausible because these roads even though not completed have already eased the movement of people and goods along those communities.
“This project has been constructed to ease vehicular movement and for the safety of the residents of the state capital. It is a project that has gulped a lot of resources therefore, it is incumbent on all to protect the road from misuse and vandalism,” Ishaku noted.
