Summary Of Governor Suswam's Discussion On A Live Phone-in Programme Today On Radio Benue.

Governor Suswam was today answering questions from members of the public on a live phone in programme "On The Line" to mark this year's Democracy Day Celebration on Radio Benue.
Suswam who is the NGF Vice Chairman released a smoking gun in the aftermath of the controversial NGF election saying his Rivers State counterpart, Gov. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi smuggled ballot papers he printed into the election venue where and was wrongfully declared winner.
Governor Suswam also disclosed that the action of Governor Amaechi portrays him as a black sheep in the face of other governors.
The Governor who disclosed this while speaking a live phone-in programme “On The Line” to answer questions from members of the public to mark this year’s Democracy Day celebration on the state owned Radio Benue yesterday, and monitored by our correspondent, FAULTED Gov Amaechi for thinking the position of NGF was a birth right for him.
He insisted that the only accepted person to majority of the governors and Nigerians at large is Governor Jonah David Jang of Plateau State.
Suswam who boasted that “being a governor’s forum chairman does not make any of his colleagues better than him”, said, Gov. Amaechi printed ballot papers and brought them into the election venue, pointing out that the action of the governor shows he is desperate for power.
“As for me, I voluntarily want to be member of the forum, nothing compels me to attend any meetings of this forum, its because we are governors and there is need for us to peer review ourselves. We attend the meetings to assess ourselves, show intelligence and collaborate so that we can effect development in our various states”.
“But people have taken that to become very personal and so we said no, we will not accept that. So what we have and what is acceptable to the majority of the governors is, Governor as chairman of that forum and that is exactly what happened, so we have Jang as our chairman”.
“And we are suspicious of the intensions of some governors that they must be chairman of this forum. And so once something is not clear to me as governor of Benue State, I will not join that because I cannot explain that to anyone. So what we have that I can explain to the people of Benue State is that Governor Jonah Jang is the chairman of the forum”.
“This is because, the election was transparently done, and after the election, we resolved at a formal meeting of our forum which I hosted at Benue State Government Lodge in Abuja where 18 of us attended. So I don’t look at this issue as a thing that will break up the country”, said Suswam.
Responding to a question bothering on his senatorial ambition, Governor Suswam said he has not made his mind to contest any election, adding that such calls were rather a distraction for him from concentrating on the provision of dividends of democracy to the people of the state.
Alluding to the protracted issue of minimum wage for teachers, the governor said if he must implement the pay increase, the local government system in the state will have to be closed down, insisting that at the moment government is operating with lean finances and as such cannot implement it.
Governor Suswam stated that the local government system in the state needs a proper surgical operation, as thousands of workers on the payroll of government are fake ones, and further denied tampering with council funds as widely reported.


From: Cephas Iorhemen. Makurdi