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From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
The alleged moves by the Plateau State Governor, Mr. Caleb Mutfwang, to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the centre appears to have been dogged in steep controversies.
However, the prospects of the governor joining the APC are becoming too glaring, Daily Sun investigations reveal.
Since most of the governor’s allies have joined the APC and the seeming inability of his own party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to close ranks ahead of the 2027 general election, the governor himself has found himself at crossroads as to on which political platform to thrust his political future to.
Various sources have linked the governor with moves to defect to other smaller parties, but speculations linking him to alleged APC seemed to have been more strident.
Though the governor had, at different occasions, dissociated himself from such a move, the movement of his most rusted allies to the ruling party appears to have punctured his chances of retaining the Little Rayfield Government House in 2027 if he should contest on the platform of the PDP.
At a recent event, where he hosted the elected members of the state executive council of the PDP, Mutfwang cried out that he was being coerced to defect to APC. This was in response to the resolution taken at an APC stakeholders’ forum, which barred the governor from joining the party.
Festus Fuanter, former Deputy Legal Adviser of the APC, had raised the motion at the meeting, which had in attendance the party’s National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, former Governor Joshua Dariye, Senators Simon Lalong and Diket Plang, members of the National and state Assemblies and party stalwarts, and it was overwhelmingly adopted.
However, since then, there had been discordant tones for and against Mutfwang joining the party both from the APC and PDP.
On the one hand are some APC members who held the view that with the dwindling fortunes of PDP, Mutfwang’s entry into APC will boost the chances of APC towards the 2027 general election. This group is made up of members of the party at the federal level and even at the presidency, who reasoned that it will boost President Bola Tinubu’s chances of winning the state in 2027. However, some other adherents of this school of thought want Mutfwang to remain in PDP and work for Tinubu in 2027.
Other advocates in this school of thought were some members of the national and state assemblies who were beneficiaries of the Appeal Court judgment that sacked all the elected PDP lawmakers at state and national level. This group think that their re-election would be much easier since they will be seeking for another term under APC. This group feared that if Mutfwang remains and re-contests under the PDP, it may be a hard nut for them to crack. On the other hand, those lawmakers who lost in the power equation in PDP know their fate is sealed if Mutfwang makes a move to APC. They are therefore fighting tooth and nail to convince Mutfwang to remain in PDP so that they can reclaim their seats in 2027.
Yet, other group is PDP members who expressed fear that if Mutfwang eventually moved to APC, they might relapse into political irrelevance. This group is populated by current political officeholders, who may be displaced by new entrants.
As one of them said, “It’s a dicey situation. If Mutfwang moves to APC, there will be the need to accommodate APC members in political offices. That means they will displace those of us who have been loyal to PDP. Where do you want us to go?”
Also included in this group are APC members, who expressed the fear that they could be displaced by Mutfwang’s core loyalists in the PDP. Indeed the voices of this group are louder as they are afraid that their secured positions in APC are seriously threatened.
Incidentally, the APC national chairman himself has been accused of blocking attempts by Mutfwang to join the APC. The Saleh Zazzag-led North-Central All Progressives Congress Forum, in a statement, said it regretted championing the return of the party’s national chairmanship to the zone, alleging that Yilwatda is blocking Mutfwang, from joining the APC.
But the the APC Elders Advisory Council led by Elder Danladi Wuyep, did not agree with him. The Elders’ Council told newsmen that Mutfwang’s entry into the APC will threaten the internal cohesion which the party had struggled to build. The council accused Mutfwang of trying to smuggle himself into APC through the backdoor.
The elders described Mutfwang’s alleged moves as “increasingly disruptive manoeuvres aimed at securing entry into our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), through channels that are neither recognised nor acceptable to our established processes.”
They further said, “As elders of the party, we wish to state unequivocally that the APC in Plateau State has, over the past several months, undergone its own internal challenges, reconciled contending interests, and emerged stronger, more united, and more focused. This renewed cohesion is evident in the unprecedented wave of defections of respected political actors from various political platforms into the APC especially from the PDP, most of whom left as a result of the pariah status of Gov Caleb Mutfwang. These individuals followed due processes and were accorded a dignified and well-organised reception at the Polo Field recently; an event that symbolised the new era of unity in our party.”
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The APC elders’ advisory council expressed regrets that “this unity is now being shaken by the governor’s unorthodox and hostile attempts to join the party. “
Ironically, the rejection of Mutfwang joining APC was also echoed by Forum of APC Former Councillors. Chairman of the Past Councillors Forum, Debit John Dashe and Secretary, Choji Williams Wusho , while addressing newsmen, denounced calls by groups and individuals for Mutfwang to join APC.
They called on the National Chairman of APC, Nentawe Yilwatda, Senator Simon Lalong and Chairman of APC in Plateau, Rufus Bature, to reject Mutfwang joining APC.
The past councillors said that their aversion to Mutfwang’s joining the APC was because he had, on several occasions, denounced the party, describing it as non-existent on the Plateau and questioned why Mutfwang should be interested in joining a non-existent party.
They also complained that the governor had in the past victimised members of APC by sacking more than 400 civil servants.
“I think the issue of whether we are afraid of Mutfwang to join the APC does not arise. What we are looking at are his policies, they are anti-people’s policies and as a progressive party, we don’t need such a person with anti-people’s policies in our own party.
“You cannot destroy people’s homes, you destroy people’s businesses, people are running away from you, defecting to our own party and we still allow you to join our party. What would be the stake of those that are leaving you to join our party? So it means we have done nothing.
“So Mutfwang himself, has on several occasions said there is no APC on the Plateau. Why do you want to join? Why do you want to join a non-existent party when you say there is no APC on the Plateau?
“We commend Plateau people for enduring the Mutfwang regime’s maladministration, which has led to suffering, homelessness, and job losses. The Mutfwang’s government has disengaged over 4000 Plateau youths in the state; the same government ignored the Supreme Court judgment and sacked democratically elected Chairmen and Councillors from all the 17 local governments of Plateau State. Such actions disqualify Mutfwang from joining our progressive party, APC.
“And if we make a mistake and bring Mutfwang to our own party, our dear party, It means we have to inherit a lot of enemies into our own fort. And that is why we are running away from it.
“We cannot take you with your sins. Cleanse your sins before you come to us. We are rejecting Mutfwang in totality. Let him stay in the PDP and contest election. He won election on the platform of PDP. He did not win election on the platform of APC.
“If he’s defecting, we have YPP, we have APGA, we have Labour Party. He can as well join any of these and let’s meet at the polls so that we know that whether people Plateau doesn’t like APC or not,” the group said.
The former councillors counseled Mutfwang not to struggle to join the party as there are other free platforms for him to realise his aspirations.
The former councillors were particularly hard at the Coalition Of Concerned Former APC Councillors and Grassroots Mobilisers (CFACGM), urging Mutfwang to join APC, saying that they viewed the call by CFACGM as a desperate attempt by the governor and his agents to smuggle him into the party through the backdoor.
But the APC North Central Forum is in agreement with coalition of former APC councilors that Mutfwang will boost the political chances of APC and Tinubu, not only on the Plateau, but in the entire north central region.
Be that as it may, despite the views of all the contending forces, there appeared that Mutfwang’s entry into APC is a foregone conclusion.
According to political analysts, with the strong support of the powers that be in Abuja and Jos, Mutfwang is as good as being a member of APC. This, according to sources, will be finalised in a few weeks.
