“10 Dames where? In the Moon, Sky, or where? This is very dubious”! Dalum tells Beni

Yakubu Busari

The former Minister of Sports and currently the Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the race for the seat of Langtang North/South Federal Constituency ,Hon. Solomon Dalung (Esq), has condemned the personality attack on him by Hon.Beni Butmak Lar , saying the indices and rating of her poor performance and wasteful 16 years would have proved it. But of course, the indices on education in Taroh land is nose-diving, most of the projects she claimed to have done, may have been done in her dream.

Hon. Dalung, in an interactive session with some Journalists in Jos said, the achievements rolled out by the Campaign Organization of Beni Lar in defense of her 16 years’ failure “is amorphous”.

According to Hon. Dalung, he reiterated that the incumbent member representing the constituency has wasted 16 years of the people’s mandate on the seat.

He also questioned why the information about the projects was not published in detail to enable the constituents to trace them, especially, the 60 schools allegedly constructed in the 24 Federal Wards in the constituency.

Hon. Solomon Dalung in part said: “Good afternoon men of the pen profession. Let me begin by saying compliments of the season. Today, I decided that we should engage ourselves and discuss certain developments specifically, that have to do with one of the interviews I granted to some of you last week.

“It has come to my attention that, the campaign team of the honourable Member representing Langtang North/South Federal Constituency, Hon. Beni Lar has reacted to a statement I made that, “I am not intimidated by her 16 wasteful years” and I want to re-emphasize that, 16 wasteful years of an elected member of the House of Representatives cannot in any democracy constitute a threat.

“I have conducted my campaigns within the rules of being very modest and it has been issue-driven. I have decided to also avoid attacking personalities, but attack issues.

“The response from the honourable Member and her Campaign Organization to say the least, does not at all represent the language of an elected representative, who has been in the green chambers of the National Assembly for 16 years. This is because I believe that, as a Honorable Member, the choice of words would have been very decent and should represent Honourable People. But in that text, I realized that, “Gutter Language” was employed by an Honourable Member, which again, brought down the standard and quality of representation for Taroh people.

“That seat has been occupied previously by great Taroh people, who under such pressure conducted themselves very well. But, disappointingly, we have again been portrayed in a bad light by the reply from the Campaign Organization of the Honorable Member.

“In their reply, they indeed confirmed that, 16 years as a Member of the House of Representatives were wasted! Because, the projects she rolled out as an elected representative for 16 years were amorphous (formless, unstructured). They do not even have sites, names of places, or values.

“I expected that, as an experienced Member of the House of Representatives, she should be able to say that a contract of so..so and so millions were executed in villages A, B, and C and have been completed. I thought that is how Honourable Members talk. But, from the statement they rolled out as their achievements here with me, it consists of 10 Dames. 10 Dames where?

“Are they in her constituency in the Moon, in the Sky, or where? This is very dubious!

“They stated that they built and equipped a Library, with furniture and books in Mabudi. The library in question today, if you go to Mabudi, the structure is used as a Magistrate Court. So, we don’t know whether it was constructed by the Member or the State Government because, where she is alluding to is currently a Magistrate Court.
“They say they built “Standard Town Halls”, including the one in Sabon Gida. There is an ongoing project in Sabon Gida. It has not been completed! If that is the town hall she is referring to, I will concede since something is going on there. But, it is still uncompleted!

“So, where did she get the adjective “Standard from”? This is bereaved of real definition because anything that is standard must have been concluded and used to measure others. In this case, this project is still ongoing and cannot be standard.
“Construction of roads across the constituency which she said I am driving on. I know for a fact that, there was surface dressing, an improvement on our rural roads in some of the places she mentioned. However, there was no signpost indicating these were the roads she was referring to. So, I could not have seen such improvement and imagined that they are the contributions of 16 years from my elected representative. But of course, some of our rural roads have some improvements. They were graded with heavy earth-moving equipment. But as it is now, they are so dusty that if you drive there, you will have to apply caution. Otherwise, if you drive there, there is the risk of a serious road mishap. In the rainy season, you don’t venture into those places. This is because they would have become inaccessible!
“So, if these are some of the achievements of our honourable member in 16 years, they have confirmed that, they wasted the whole 16 years!

“She claimed she built over 60 schools. Langtang North/South is made up of 24 Federal Wards. Building of 60 schools in this Federal Constituency would have raised the educational index/indices and school enrollments. It would also have been noticed by the National Bureau of Statistics. So, do these schools exist? It is not for me said!

Any day I am at home, within working days, I receive children in my house from the ages of 5 to 15, coming to inform me that, they have been sent out of school, as their parents cannot pay their school fees. I have been paying those school fees. This is very pathetic!
“So, where are these Hon. Beni Lar’s 60 schools? I also know for a fact that at the primary school I attended in my village in Sabon Gida, (Private Primary School Sabon Gida) when I was a Minister, the pupils were learning under the trees. I built two blocks of six classrooms for them, which they are still using to date. To my mind, these 60 schools were built in a dream by the Honourable Member, but not in her Constituency!”