Taiwo Popoola
The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has declared that its push for Plateau State governor, Caleb Mutfwang, to join the party is based on a “directive from above”.
The Forum has been calling on Mutfwang, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to defect to the APC.
However, the Forum’s attempts to woo Mutfwang are being resisted by some leaders of the APC in Plateau State, who believe the governor’s defection would automatically hand him the party’s structure, as well as the governorship ticket for the 2027 election.
Opposition to the North-Central APC Forum’s campaign to recruit Mutfwang heightened after the group adopted the Green Cap Movement for the 2027 governorship poll in Plateau State. The green cap is associated with Mutfwang and his supporters.
While the Forum explained that the decision to embrace the Green Cap Movement was part of moves to bring Mutfwang to the APC, some leaders of the party in the state described the development as an anti-party activity that should attract sanctions.
Some Plateau APC leaders have, as a result, called for the suspension of the Chairman of the North-Central APC Forum, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, the APC candidate in the 2023 governorship election, had recently raised questions over Zazzaga’s commitment and membership of the party.
In a statement released on Saturday in Abuja, Zazzaga, a member of the APC campaign council in the 2023 election, hinted that the North-Central APC Forum’s campaign to bring Governor Caleb Mutfwang to the APC is backed by the national leadership of the party.
Warning APC leaders in Plateau State to desist from frustrating efforts to bring Mutfwang and other prominent opposition politicians into the party, the Forum said those working against the efforts are the ones guilty of anti-party activities.
“The North-Central APC Forum is warning those who are against calls for Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, to join the APC to desist from their unprogressive disposition because our campaign is based on a directive from above.
“This warning especially goes to political office holders, officials and other leaders of the party in the state who have been working against our efforts to strengthen the party, which is what we intend to achieve by calling on the governor to join the APC.
“We advise those who have constituted themselves as cogs in the wheel of progress to tread with caution, as they cannot succeed in working against the interests of the party. No sort of intimidation or blackmail will stop us from our quest to get Governor Caleb Mutfwang to join our great party, the APC.
“It is imperative to emphasise that the party does not belong to anybody and as stakeholders who are committed to the progress of the APC in the North-Central, we believe that progressive elements such as Governor Caleb Mutfwang should be welcome in the party,” the statement added.
Pointing to recent defections from opposition parties to the APC, particularly the defection of governors Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta and Umo Eno of Akwa-Ibom, the Forum stressed that Plateau State should not be left behind.
“It is our wish that the entire North-Central should be APC. At the moment, Plateau is the only state in the zone that is not APC, which is why we are working to get the governor to join our party.
“We believe that in addition to the establishment of the North-Central Development Commission by President Bola Tinubu, having all governors of the zone under one political platform – APC – will ensure accelerated development of the region. This conviction informed our quest to bring Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State to the APC.
“Plateau State should not be left behind in the wave of progress that is sweeping through the country as evidenced by the defection of the governors of Delta and Akwa Ibom states, as well as several opposition members of the National Assembly, to the APC,” the statement noted.
The Forum observed that, already, Mutfwang has a cordial relationship with President Bola Tinubu and leaders of the APC at the national level.
According to the Forum, the Plateau governor spent the Sallah with President Tinubu in Lagos.
“Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State is a progressive, which is why we want him in our party, the APC. We believe that all right-thinking APC members in Plateau State and the North-Central at large should support this noble cause.”
The North-Central APC Forum, in the same vein, advised the executive committee of the party in Plateau State to work with Mutfwang.
“We advise that if there is anything they (Plateau APC EXCO) need to sustain the party in the state, they should align with the state government,” the Forum said in the statement.
The Forum equally issued a warning to those behind calls for the suspension of its chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, noting that their efforts are counterproductive.
“Calling on the governor to defect to the APC is not anti-party activity; rather, it is a move that should be commended by all stakeholders as it is in the interest of the party for a sitting governor to join its ranks. Indeed, we expect all members of the APC in Plateau State to support us in calling on Governor Caleb Mutfwang to join the party, like his colleagues in Delta and Akwa Ibom have done.
“Working against our efforts is the real anti-party activity, and that is why we feel it is necessary to point out that calls for the suspension of the leaders of the North-Central APC Forum for calling on Governor Caleb Muftwang to join our party are counterproductive.
“Those involved in this self-serving agenda should have a rethink, otherwise they will have themselves to blame,” the statement added.
