Lalong reveals why Jang is in prison

The Plateau State Governor, Simon Bako Lalong has said that he is not witch-hunting the former Governor of Plateau State, David Jonah Jang.

Lalong made the statement during a congress conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) at Crest Hotel in Jos during the weekend.


DAILY POST recalls that Lalong was arraigned by Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on a 12 count charge of alleged corruption and misappropriation of N6.3 billion before the Jos High Court and remanded in prison till may 24.

Lalong, reacting to comments accusing him of witch-hunting the ex governor because of his 2019 presidential ambition, said that it was just a good move to recover the monies of the state that were siphoned.

He said, “I took my time before reacting to the comments about what has been happening in the state, I said look some people would say we have been vindictive and the president is vindictive, he just says somebody must go an answer for his crime, is it a crime for Mr. President to say go an answer for your crime? No, it is same thing in Plateau.

“A widow come to me yesterday and she was crying; she said I have taken somebody to prison, and I said Madam is not me, he ate our money and he took the money that was supposed to train you to get some skills, what they were doing now was how the money would be back to me before I give you your money.”

Jang, a serving senator, is being accused of embezzling special funds released to the state by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, two months to the end of his tenure as governor in 2015.

He was specifically alleged to have pocketed N2billion released by the CBN for disbursement to small and medium scale enterprises in the state under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Funds, MSMEDF, just a month before the expiration of his tenure in April 2015.

The former governor was also said to have abused his office as the governor by collecting money to the tune of N4.3billion from the state coffers through the cashier of the Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Yusuf Gyang Pam.