Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau pleaded with residents on Sunday to forgive government over the current hardships being experienced following the cashless policy and fuel scarcity.

The governor made the plea at an interdenominational service at St. Monica Catholic Church, Jos, to mark the 2023 Plateau Forgiveness Day.

“On behalf of all of us, we apologise for the pain being inflicted on the society, and we ask for forgiveness,’’ the governor said.

He said the situation had been of concern to governors who were having a series of meetings with the president to address the situation.

Mr Lalong prayed that the federal government would look into the hardships and review the policy.

He said the Plateau Forgiveness Day celebrated annually on February 7 was conceived as part of efforts to continue the restoration of peace.

The governor explained that the day was marked to strengthen peace processes, using the Plateau Peace Building Agency to coordinate its initiatives.

“The Day of Forgiveness, which was unveiled and launched by Mr President in 2018, has since then been implemented by the Plateau Peace Building Agency.

“The day is to appeal to our conscience and take us to the path of forgiving the past and looking ahead to the future that will be devoid of ugly experiences,’’ Mr Lalong said.

He thanked the church for supporting him in discharging his duties and for preaching forgiveness, which is one of its pillars, stressing that forgiveness is not a sign of weakness but strength.

The governor added that the Anti-Land Grabbing Law of 2020 was enacted to prevent such a situation and urged communities to report such attempts instead of going to social media to politicise it.

In his remarks, the Catholic Archbishop of Jos Diocese, Matthew Audu, thanked the governor for conceiving the Forgiveness Day and urged him to legislate it for continuity.

He advised the involvement of stakeholders, especially those in the rural areas affected by insecurity, to achieve the objectives of the Forgiveness Day.