I Will Do One Term In Office, Says ADC Gov’ship Candidate

The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Plateau State, Brig-Gen John Sura (rtd), says if elected into office, he would serve one term to avoid truncating the state’s zoning arrangements.

Sura said any focused leader such as himself does not require a lengthy period in office to achieve his aim, because he has an agenda.

Sura told reporters in Jos, the state capital that he was not running to overturn the state’s zoning arrangement, but rather to complete Plateau Central’s final four years’ tenure.

“And I know I’m only going for one term. It’s about understanding what to do and setting goals for yourself. I know what Plateau’s problems are,” Sura said.

He described zoning as sacred which must be strictly adhered to, stressing that any attempt to rock the boat or scuttle it would have serious consequences and would be entirely rejected by the people.

“It has been agreed that each zone must serve two terms of eight years; therefore, I am not contesting to rock the boat or undermine the existing  zoning arrangement. The zoning was devised to make things easier. As of today, the zone that will take over in 2031 has started warming up.

“Any attempt to truncate the arrangement would cause a lot of damage to me in terms of integrity. So, if I win the election, four years will be enough for me to make an impact and lay a firm foundation for the state and for future generations to build on. So I ask the people of Plateau State to take me at my word,” Sura said.

According to him, Plateau State is experiencing a leadership failure.

It is time for a true leader to emerge, adding that the state at the moment needs someone who will think and work for the state.

“If I win the election, leaders at  all levels will be carried along, so I believe it is time to restore Plateau State’s lost glory.”

He also accused the present administration of not making significant progress in the last two years.

He said that after leaving PDP and APC, he settled on ADC, which he described as the only party capable of bringing the desired change in Plateau State.

The retired military officer further identified ethnic and religious rivalries as the main drivers of the sectarian strife in Plateau State, insisting that the security challenges in the state have both internal and external dimensions.

According to him, his priority would be to unify the people and end the cycle of violence in the state.

He said that he’ll use the experiences he gathered while on a peace mission in Darfur, Sudan, to unite all the tribes and competing interests in the state to achieve a peaceful Plateau.

“We were part of the second set of military observers that were sent to Darfur when the crisis started, and it was between two tribes, the Black Arabs and the White Arabs. I was in charge of civil-military cooperation and interfaced with all the tribes, and I know how we managed the ethnic wrangling between the two.

“I studied the behaviour of internal wrangling there, and it’s the same thing happening here; ethnic and religious cleavages here and there. So, leveraging on my military experiences, I will be able to bring the whole of Plateau together.

“There are structures which I will be building on, like the peace-building committee, the reports of various commissions on the Plateau. We will have no sleep until we eradicate crises on the Plateau.

“We will constitute a leadership committee to find out why there are failures in leadership. We will vest local leaders with the authority to resolve local issues. We have a lot to do to restore confidence among the tribes and nationalities on the Plateau,” he said.