From Teryima Ajijah, Jos
The Plateau State government has said it will amend the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jaiz Bank towards the proposed rebuilding of the Jos Main Market.
This was made known Friday by Chairman of the government sub committee on the rebuilding of the market and Head of Civil Service in the state, Engr Sunday Hyat, during a media parley at the State Secretariat in Jos.
According to him, the government accepts that it was an oversight that media and other major stakeholders were not consulted before going public on the MoU, therefore, more stakeholders shall be engaged on the issues.
Engr Hyat thereby, pledged that necessary amendments on the proposed MoU will be made to meet the yearnings of citizens, since the MoU is yet to be signed with Jaiz Bank.
He had explained that, when rebuilt and put to use, the market shall step up Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of Plateau State, and general economy of the citizens.
According to the head of service, the state government was generating more than N15 million monthly from the Jos Main Market.
The committee, met with Journalists at the state Secretariat in Jos, chaired by the Head of civil service in Plateau state Engr Sunday Hyat on Friday, brainstormed on the way forward, for citizens to accept that an MoU be signed with Jaiz bank rebuild the said market.
A cross section of journalists, who spoke at the meeting blamed government for not engaging more stakeholders in the decision to sign an MoU with Jaiz Bank, which has generated lots of misgivings about the proposed re-building of the said market by the bank.
Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Paul Jatau, who led the media delegation commended government for seeking the opinion of media practitioners on the proposed re-building of Jos Main Market; and called for wider consultation.
Earlier, Plateau State Council Secretary of NUJ, Mr Peter Amine, told government representatives at the meeting that views of members presented by individual journalists at the meeting were findings from the public, not their personal opinions.
Mr Amine urged government to disregard any insinuations that the media could represent unpopular opinion about the market.
The committee is tasked with the responsibility of meeting with professional bodies in the state over the planned re-building of Jos Main Market.
