(L-R): Mutfwang, Nentawe
By Moses Pam
A political group called Concerned Plateau APC Legacy has described the alleged attempt by some APC supporters in Plateau State to block the rumoured plan of Gov Caleb Mutfwang to defect to their party as an act of gross misconduct and a serious anti-party activity.
The group made this known at a press conference addressed by its Convener, Emmanuel Dankasa in Jos on Friday.
According to the group, the rumoured expected defection of the governor to the APC will be the biggest catch the party would have recorded in Plateau State since its formation in 2013.
The group leaders said that those who are trying to stand in the way of Mutfwang joining the APC are, probably, people who currently benefit from the status quo, and fear that any alterations would render them politically inconsequential.
The text of the press conference reads in full as follows:
The Concerned Plateau APC Legacy Members is a group of pioneer members of the All Progressives Congress, whose membership transmuted from the legacy parties that metamorphosed into the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Our membership of the APC dates back to its formation on the 6th February, 2013 and since then, we have never looked back nor switched allegiance to any other party, as we remain resolute that the formation of the APC is the most patriotic act we have taken in moving Nigeria forward.
Our members in Plateau State can bear witness to how we started on patchy grounds until we were able to wrestle the governorship, some National and State Assembly seats in what was our first major election in 2015, to complement our winning the presidency, and since then the party has grown with notable presence in every ward in Plateau state.
As we are trying to consolidate on this growth, however, having lost the governorship seat in 2023, we have cause to be deeply concerned by the current spate of shameful display of crass opportunism by groups alleging to be members of our great party, who have variously staged protests and addressed press conferences, presumably on behalf of all APC members on the Plateau to deny us an opportunity to return to our status as the ruling party in the state.
These groups of disgruntled individuals who lack the backing of genuine APC members in Plateau State are saying, presumably on our behalf, that His Excellency, Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, is not welcome to join the All Progressives Congress if he so desires.
To those of us who know the rigours of party building from foundation, we find such utterances and actions as not only ill advised but counterproductive and puerile.
As genuine party members who are more concerned with the success of the All Progressives Congress at all levels, we consider such infantile behaviors as acts of gross misconduct and the height of anti-party activity that deserves to be reprimanded with the full weight of disciplinary sanctions.
The primary objective of the All Progressives Congress, like any other political party recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, is to win elections at all levels and control the machineries of government.
A veritable vehicle for achieving and sustaining this objective is to spread the party’s dragnet far ashore to ensure bountiful catch. This motive explains the pomp and pageantry with which defectors are often welcomed into the APC fold. This was demonstrated at the Jos Polo field not long ago, and most recently, in Lokoja, the Kogi State Capital, despite the wave of insecurity bedeviling its neighbouring states of Niger and Kwara.
In the light of the foregoing, we are perplexed that the same party that spent hundreds of millions of Naira to organize grand reception for defectors, will sit back and allow its supposed members to organize protests to block a sitting governor from joining the party.
We are talking about not just any state governor, but the governor of the state of National Chairman of the APC which ought to be celebrated as a fulfillment of the National Chairman’s prophecy that many governors would join the APC, in tandem with the aphorism that: ‘charity begins at home’.
Much as we try to understand the motive behind such actions, we cannot but surmise that their actions smack of sheer hypocrisy and a brazen display of political immaturity.
It is without doubt, that the protesters are persons known to the leadership of the APC in Plateau state, but wether such individuals are card-carrying members of the APC is a fact that needs to be investigated and if found to be so, be meted with sanctions proportionate to their actions.
Failure to fish out perpetrators of this disgraceful political suicide and sanction them accordingly, would leave discerning members of the society with no choice than to believe the protesters are mere pawns, executing sinister motives of vested interests within the party hierarchy.
The billion dollar question on many lips is, in whose interest is the blocking of the alleged moves by Governor Mutfwang to join the APC? So far, there is no official statement from Governor Mutfwang or his spokesperson, of his intention to defect to the APC but feelers from the governor’s ardent foot soldiers indicate that such idea is being mooted.
Before taking side in the political dilly-dallying that shrouds the governor’s alleged defection move and the barrage of protestations that heralds his switching political allegiance, the pertinent question to ponder upon is whether Governor Mutfwang would be a quality addition to the APC or a liability to the party.
Even his archenemy, would attest to the fact that his rumoured defection to the APC would be the biggest catch the party would have recorded in Plateau State since it’s formation in 2013.
Sponsors of the shameless protests to block Governor Mutfwang from joining the APC must be wallowing in the false belief that the surging goodwill of President Tinubu across Plateau State translates to an automatic acceptance of the APC, hence their claims that APC has the capacity to win the 2027 elections, even without Governor Mutfwang joining the party.
Nothing could be farther from the truth as every true politician knows the value of additional strength and the foolhardiness of unnecessary risk taking.
The governor of a state controls all the structure of his party from the wards to the local governments and state levels, elective positions of his party and the loyalty of his appointees and constituencies that have benefited from his government. These are assets that could be harvested effortlessly by any party he is moving into.
As truthful members of the APC, we are not unaware that the surging goodwill of President Tinubu in Plateau State is bolstered by Governor Mutfwang/Baba Jang and the Presidency/Wike cordial relationship.
That goodwill does not in any way translate to the total acceptance of the APC in Plateau State to contemplate winning the 2027 elections for the APC against the incumbency of Governor Mutfwang.
This is a fact that would be realised too late if the protesters and their sponsors are left to wallow in their follies. Those trying to stand in the way of Governor Mutfwang joining the APC are probably, people who benefit from the status quo, and fear that any alterations would render them politically inconsequential. We however encourage them to put the interest of the party above their personal benefits.
Governor Mutfwang’s alleged defection move to APC, should it eventually materialize, would be the magic wand to lift Plateau to higher height. The existing mutuality between the Governor and the Presidency, with the soft spot the first family has for Plateau State, would guarantee seamless political assimilation that Plateau State needs to propel it to national spotlight.
We wish to remind those sponsoring those miscreants to recant as Plateau by sheer providence has learnt to play it’s political card right by being in line with the party at the center since 1999 and this has earned the state enormous benefits in terms of projects and relevant appointments.
The current administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu has honoured Plateau with positions like the Chief Executive of North Central Development Commission, APC national chairmanship, minister for humanitarian affairs and lately two ambassadors.
We also have an orthopedic center, a federal University of education, national open university center in Wase, a federal polytechnic in Shendam and many others to show for being at the right party at the right time.
There is no better way to pay back and attract more of such rewards than aligning with the party at the center. Let us not allow ourselves to be dragged back to the 2nd Republic era when the NPN saw the administration of NPP administration in Plateau as an antagonist and denied the state many projects on account of that.
More than supporting the Tinubu presidency to clinch a second term in office as an opposition governor, aligning with the central government is a necessity impetus for Plateau State to occupy a pride of place in the renewed hope agenda of the Tinubu administration. This could indisputably be the driving force behind Governor Mutfwang’s desire to join the ruling party at the center.
Those citing Governor Mutfwang’s utterances prior to the 2023 elections as the basis for their rejecting his alleged advances to join the APC, should measure the weight of his alleged comments against those of Daniel Bwala in 2023, vis-a-vis his current position in the Tinubu government. This is the spirit of Renewed Hope administration that any scholar of the Jagaban political school of thought must imbibe.
Similarly, those asking the governor to recall the 4000 sacked workers of Plateau tertiary institutions as a precondition for accepting him in the APC should tell the world if the affected persons were initially appointed as Plateau citizens or as APC members?
While we share in the grievances of the able-bodied Plateau youths who lost their sources of livelihood by reason of the sack, we strongly admonish that serious act of governance should be divorced from petty party politics.
Rationalizing the sacking of Plateau workers as a ground for rejecting Mutfwang from joining APC is an unwitting admission that the exercise that gave them the jobs was a mere political compensation, rather than the needful hiring of competent hands, thereby justifying the governor’s action.
We passionately appeal to Governor Mutfwang to compassionately look into the plight of the sacked workers, scrutinize the beneficiaries and recall those who are truly deserving of the opportunity, regardless of their political loyalty.
As card-carrying and foundational members of the APC, we add our voices to the patriotic calls on Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, by genuine lovers of APC to join the mainstream national politics.
