It is a fact to state that, for over 16 months, the presence of Plateau State, and its citizens have not been felt nor heard at the round table of the National Executive Council (NEC), and that within this period under review, the people of Plateau State have used various possible platforms to draw the attention of President Bola A. Tinubu to this.
Within the last few days, these out cries have been looked into and an appointee has emerged for Plateau State in the person of Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, who is expected to head the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.
It is safe to say at this point that the Humanitarian and Poverty reduction Ministry is not all about bringing relief materials to areas affected by terrorists attacks, Human or Natural disasters, but it would be a technology driven Ministry, where data of Nigerians especially, the vulnerable are collated and intervention are carried out directly to the beneficiaries.
It is also expected that Technology would be deployed in intelligence gathering and early warning signals of how the poor and vulnerable can be compromised in aiding and abating crime and terrorism.
There is no gainsaying that Professor Nentawe Yilwatda’s insights when responding to barrage of questions posed on the floor of the National Assembly has shown that his background on the tech ecosystem would be brought to bear in big data generation that will impact humanity tailored towards genuine poverty reduction, and the youths and women empowerment with the vulnerable as the main target and final beneficiaries.
What is important at this point has therefore shifted to how Prof. Nentawe would relate with his primary constituency, Plateau State, and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) chapter in the State, currently led by Governor Caleb Mutfwang (Esq).
It is on record that out of the official records of voters in the state in the 2023 governorship elections indicates that, while Prof. Nentawe pulled 481,370 votes the incumbent Governor, Barr Caleb pulled 525,299 with a difference of 43,929 to win.
These figures does not differentiate the Plateau People, but indicates their political interests and differences hence, the quest to represent the people at the national level of the federation is not negotiable.
The current political structure in the state also calls for concerns, as the ruling party (PDP) seem not to have any significant representation of the state at the National Executive Council (NEC) or Legislative level, and sadly too at the State Legislature.
The need to harmonize the interest of Plateau State and present it to the nation and the world at large had eluded the state for long hence, the appointment of Prof. Nentawa should be seen as another open opportunity.
You would recall that historical records has it that since the rebirth of Democracy in 1999, the governors that have emerged in the state have never been on the same book or page with Ministers appointed from the state.
Sen. Dariye then governor, from 1999-2007, never had it well with John Kadiya and Dame Pauline Tallen, then as Minister. Sen. Jonah Jang, then governor from 2007-2015, had it rough with Dasuki Nakande, also as Minister. Although Sen. Lalong had it soft with Dame Pauline Tallen as Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development from 2019-2023, there was this constant recorded Face-Offs.
Therefore, the time to move “Plateau Interest” out of Party Lines is now here again!
The fact remains that Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, a seasoned, tested and trusted administrator and humanitarian of repute has come to the table with high expectations from the President and over 250 million Nigerians.
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