SPEECH OF THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF PLATEAU STATE AT THE PUSKAAT CULTURAL FESTIVAL AT THE MANGU MINI STADIUM, MANGU LGA, ON SATURDAY, 27TH APRIL, 2019

PROTOCOLS

1. I am glad for this opportunity to be in Mwaghavul land today for this historic occasion of the Pus Kaat Cultural Festival, where the people at home and beyond come together to cement the bonds of unity and celebrate their rich cultural heritage.

2. Indeed, the Pus Kaat has over the years played a significant role in the social, political and cultural orientation of Mwaghavul people. Hence, the prowess of your people in areas such as the academia, business and political cannot be questioned.

3. Permit me to commend Mwaghavul people for their great contributions to the education sector of the state, and for giving me a Deputy Governor whose loyalty cannot be questioned.

4. Ladies and gentlemen, I urge you to sustain the spirit of the festival. Our youths and children should not be allowed to be destroyed by the current wave of modernism which appears to glorify values which are strange to our culture.

5. As a Government, we have been able to make Peace and Security our number one priority. This has thereby created an enabling environment for festivals like this to thrive without let or hindrance.


6. It is in this spirit that government declared a state of emergency last year on the Tourism Industry to further sustain, promote and preserve our cultural heritage.

7. Pus Kaat must therefore be sustained and used as an avenue where the values of love, tolerance, peace and respect for elders and constituted authority are inculcated in the upcoming generations.

8. I urge Mwaghavul people to continue playing a significant role in the peace building agenda of my administration by living in peace with themselves and their neighbour, as well as with people of all tribes and religion who have settled on the land.

9. Permit me to use this opportunity to call on all tribes in the state to cooperate with my administration as we step up plans to produce a harmonized calendar for cultural festivals in Plateau State. This is to avoid a situation where cultural festivals of two tribes are held on the same day like we are experiencing today.

10. My administration remains entirely committed to its vision of creating more chiefdoms, districts and villages in line with the work of the committee which was set up for that purpose.

11. You will recall that we created new chiefdoms last year with a promise to create more, as well as look into the request for more districts and villages. As we do this, we expect absolute support of your people, as we steer Plateau State forward into the next phase and the next level.

Thank you and God bless.



Rt.Hon. Simon Bako Lalong
Executive Governor