By PETER TITLE and EZEKIEL DONTINNA
Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has flagged off the payment of compensation to over 179 Project Affected Persons (PAPs) at the Plateau Club-Bingham Teaching Hospital Gully Rehabilitation Site, amounting to N278,649,455.60 for the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project in Jos.
This took place recently at the conference hall of Crispan Suites and Events Centre, Rayfield, Jos, where stakeholders from both the government, ACReSAL and the benefitting communities gathered.
Presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries, Governor Mutfwang observed that the management of land was critical to human existence because, if the land was not well, human beings would also not be well, hence the need for human beings to take good care of the land.
He said, “It is due to poor management of the land that this erosion was allowed to get to this extent and we had to run it for a cost and graciously the World Bank was able to put this resource to our disposal.
“But, it is an indictment on us that the World Bank cannot just carry money and give us, they have to monitor us so that we do not misuse it because our attitudes have always been wrong.
“It is therefore a challenge to those of us who are managing this project to know that we are holding trust on behalf of our people. I challenge all of you who are involved in implementing ACReSAL project, to show commitment, patriotism and resilience against temptation for misuse.”
He charged the Project Team to give him a monthly briefing about the project and ensure they progressed at the required speed so that challenges they may encounter in the course of carrying out the project would be adequately addressed.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Environment, Climate Change and Mineral Development, Peter Kanang-Gwom, highlighted property for compensation included buildings, business areas, lands, economic trees and recreational centres owned by individuals.
On his part, the Plateau State Project Coordinator, ACReSAL, Garba Gowon Gonkol, thanked Governor Mutfwang for agreeing to pay the counterpart funds for the state to benefit from the project and promised to ensure its successful completion.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Barrister Timothy Parlong, thanked the governor for approving the money for the compensation and promised to cooperate with the contractors to see that the project sees the light of day.
