North-Central APC Forum urges Tinubu to review Plateau appointments

…says supporters are being sidelined

The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has called on President Bola Tinubu to revisit recent federal and party appointments linked to Plateau State, expressing concern that loyal supporters who campaigned for the President during the 2023 elections are not being adequately represented.

The Forum made the appeal in a statement on Thursday while reacting to opposition from some Plateau APC leaders over the potential defection of Governor Caleb Mutfwang to the party. Despite the Forum’s sustained push for the governor to join the APC, several key stakeholders in the state recently passed a resolution rejecting the idea.

In the statement signed by Saleh Zazzaga, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in 2023, the Forum noted that those benefitting from national appointments are not necessarily individuals who worked for Tinubu’s victory in the last election.

It urged the President to intervene, especially as the Forum intensifies efforts to convince Governor Mutfwang to join the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.

According to the Forum, several prominent Plateau politicians have secured national roles in recent months. APC national chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, was appointed earlier in the administration, while Dr. Bernard Mohammed Doro was recently nominated as a minister from the state, replacing Yilwatda.

The Forum also pointed out that Yilwatda, the APC’s 2023 governorship candidate, lost to Mutfwang of the PDP.

It further expressed concern that some individuals who failed to secure victory in their polling units during the last election are among those being considered for federal appointments.

Reiterating its commitment to wooing Governor Mutfwang, the Forum maintained that his entry into the APC would significantly strengthen the party’s structure and influence in Plateau State.

Parts of the statement read, “We want to inform President Bola Tinubu that he is making wrong appointments in Plateau State. We want to bring to his attention the glaring and unfortunate fact that those who worked for him are not being given appointments, they have been left stranded while those who did not even vote for him are getting big appointments at the national level.

“These people that are being nominated for federal appointments from Plateau State did not even win their polling units in the last election. In most of their polling units, the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, won the election.

“What makes the situation even more unfortunate is that we are trying to bring a person that has capacity, in the person of Governor Caleb Mutfwang into the party but these same set of people who are feasting on what they did not work for are frustrating our efforts by taking different actions to block the governor from joining the APC.

“We are still calling on Mr President to intervene on this issue, because all our concern is for his second tenure. These people are not telling him the truth, they are deceiving him about the state of political affairs in Plateau State.

“We urge the President to check the results from all their polling units in the 2023 election to confirm what we are saying. He will notice that none of them delivered their polling units, talk less of local governments or even wards. 

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“The opposition won in all their areas. Instead of joining hands with us to woo the governor to join the APC, which will surely strengthen the party, they are busy frustrating the movement.”

The Forum alleged that some APC members opposing Mutfwang’s defection are driven by personal political ambitions ahead of 2027, adding that the Plateau APC leaders resisting the governor’s entry lack the electoral strength to defeat him.

“These people that are getting appointments did not vote for President Bola Tinubu in the last election. In fact, most of them are not even politically active, they lack knowledge of national politics. 

“They have not even served as party delegates or in any other capacity. They are getting big federal appointments even when they don’t know anything about politics.

“We are also asking Mr President to warn these people to desist from frustrating efforts to get Governor Caleb Mutfwang to join the APC. We are pushing for Governor Mutfwang to join the APC because we need him to produce the six million votes we earlier promised President Tinubu from the North-Central.

“The President should call them to order because they are trying to block Governor Mutfwang simply because they want to contest election even when they know they don’t have the capacity to win.