No rest, no leave for Lalong

Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has spent the last one year in office without going on annual leave, but his media aide explained that the governor was held down on duty by a plethora of problems in trying to fix a broken state.

“A combined liability of financial debts, a steady fall in revenue accruals from the internally generated sources, as well as the federation accounts; in the face of mounting financial commitment of the state could not allow my boss the leverage of going on leave in the last one year,” Mark Longyen, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, told Daily Trust. “It is like one’s house is on fire. Do you have the luxury of time to seek rest? You can’t rest until you tackle the fire.”

A growing concern over the governor’s preference to stay on duty without proceeding on leave in the last one year fuelled speculations that he does not want to leave the state in the management of his deputy, Professor Sonnie Tyoden who is constitutionally empowered to take act in the event of the governor’s absence from duty.

But the governor’s spokesman said leave for his boss, as it applies to all public officers, is after all, discretionary, but added that “challenges can’t allow my boss some sleep, let alone proceeding on leave.”

Longyen gave a breakdown of the pressing challenges that have denied the governor sound sleep, naming a colossal bond of N28.2 billion collected by Lalong’s predecessor, Senator Jonah Jang on the eve of his hand over in 2015, attracting a monthly source-deduction of N600 million from the monthly federal allocation; and other commercial-bank loans of the former administration’s eight years, attracting the monthly deduction of N300 million.

“Plateau now receives allocation fluctuating between N1.2 billion to N1.5 in recent months. There is a cumulative deduction of N1.1 billion at source, leaving the state with barely over N100 million. The internal revenue sources are yielding barely half a billion monthly. There is a monthly wage bill of N1.7 billion to settle in the face of unstable accruals, and debt services. How would the governor have a sound sleep, talk more of proceeding on leave?” Longyen said.

But he said the governor has outlined various measures he is implementing to salvage the situation, and added that “who knows, he may proceed on leave after May 29. It is not too late.”