The Hon. Commissioner, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Hon Sylvester L. Dongtoe, addressing the visiting delegation.
The government of Plateau State, through the office of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Hon Sylvanus L. Dongtoe has passionately urged residents, home owners and Estate Development Agencies in the state to partner with the administration of ?Governor Caleb Mutfwang to maximize infrastructural development in the state capital by fully complying with the provisions of the State’s Urban Development Master plan.
Mr. Kenneth Darreng, Spokesman of the delegation, introducing members of the delegation.
The Hon Commissioner made the call when Community Leaders of Ji Kabong, a suburb of Jos North Local Government Area paid him a courtesy visit to congratulate the Ministry on its rapid developmental strides and plead for inclusion of the community’s dilapidated road network in the government’s om-going projects in their neighbourhood.
Hon Bernard Njin, explaining the mission of the delegation.
Led by the community’s Mai Ungwa, represented by Mai Ungwa Obed and the Community’s Development Association Chairman Mr Lawrence Mbaegbu with Community spokesman Kenneth Darreng and Hon Bernard Njin, a retired Commissioner from the State’s civil service speaking on behalf of the community, the visiting delegation explained that their mission was a double -pronged one. They said while the community felt obligated to come forward and congratulate the government through the Ministry for opening up the nooks and crannies of the State capital with economic live enhancing infrastructural projects, they also came to plead for the train of development not to leave their community behind. They informed the Hon Commissioner that they had in the past written series of request letters to the government in this regard which led the listening government to send its officials to collect essential data and costings on the needful project but these efforts have not yet led to actual actions. They said they were therefore visiting to cry out to the government through the Ministry to please take advantage of ongoing projects in their neighbourhood to extend the project to cover their badly ravaged roads. They informed the Hon Commissioner that the community’s voters have solidly stood behind the Executive Governor of the State in all elections in the past and the long time neglect in their badly eroded roads was not good for the people’s morals.
Group photograph of the delegation with key Management staff of the Ministry.
In his response on behalf of the Ministry and government of the State, the Hon Commissioner described the all inclusive composition of the visiting delegation as a mini-Nigerian team and acknowledged the fact that the community has a history of voting for the the government of Barrister Caleb Mutfwang over the years and therefore felt duty bound to forcefully convey their congratulatory message and project request to His Excellency for his consideration even in the face of contending demands. He then called on the visiting delegation to preach to the citizenry the doctrine of cooperation with the government on the spirit and letters of Jos Urban Development Master Plan as deviations from the plan by developers often led to disasters and the payment of avoidable compensations when such structures have to be p8ulled down, thereby depleting the scarce financial resources that are badly needed in areas such as Ji Kabong which the delegation represented.
Cross-section of the visiting delegation
He requested that when officers of the Ministry come knocking on their doors they should be welcomed and availed of documents and information they seek for the collective interest of all the parties. Others present during the courtesy visit were the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, the Director of Engineering Services and a Protect Sight Engineer on the side of the Ministry. Ji Kabong ‘s delegation included the Mai Ungwa’s representative, the Onowu of the community, and Engr Peter Ocheme, a resident, amongst numerous other representatives of the community.
Cross-section of the visiting delegation
The courtesy visit and frank dialogue between the community leaders and the Honorable Commissioner with the Ministry’s management team highlights the prevailing era of open-door policy of The-Time-Is-Now administration of Governor Caleb Mutfwang in Plateau State.
