Shendam — Gov. Jonah Jang of Plateau says he has no grudges against the resolve of his deputy, Pauline Tallen, to challenge him at the April polls.

"Tallen wants to exercise her constitutional rights. She asked for freedom to unseat me and I granted that to her; I have no ill-feelings at all," Jang said in Shendam.

He made the statement at the launching of his re-election bid held in Tallen's home town.

Jang expressed optimism that he would defeat Tallen and other challengers in April because he had done enough to secure a second term from the people.

The governor promised to perform better with a second term and challenged his opponents to unfold their plans for the state.

Jang, who also presented his running mate Ignatius Longjan on the occasion, described him as "an accomplished diplomat, who had served Nigeria in various capacities".

He said that his administration had reduced corruption by releasing local governments' funds directly to them and expressed happiness that they were performing well.