Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has distanced himself from rumours linking him with a possible defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that he remains committed to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the will of the Plateau people.
Speaking during a recent media engagement, Mutfwang addressed the growing speculation sparked by recent defections of PDP governors—most notably Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta and Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom—who both joined the APC along with their state party structures.
Reacting, the governor stressed that loyalty to the PDP is not only personal but also a reflection of the political will of his constituents.
“I haven’t had that conversation [of leaving PDP for APC] with anyone. The media has speculated a lot, but nothing has happened,” Mutfwang said.
He accused the APC of lacking a genuine political base in Plateau State, claiming their past victories were products of electoral manipulation. “There are two or three groups peddling that rumour. One group is well-intentioned. They know the APC has never really existed on the Plateau—I say that with every sense of responsibility. They’ve been in government by fraud for the past eight years,” he stated.
“In 2015, they didn’t win that election. There was a wave of anger in the PDP that led to anti-party activities, but even then, the APC did not win. I was a local government chairman at the time. We adjourned the collation at 8 p.m. to resume the next morning. But by 2 a.m., when I woke up to urinate, I found that the results had already been declared.”
Mutfwang also insisted that PDP’s 2019 candidate, the late General Jeremiah Usaini, was denied victory through “shenanigans in the system.”
He criticised the credibility of APC leaders in the state, saying that, “The majority of those who have led APC in Plateau carry a trust deficit. There are genuine APC members who wish we could lend our credibility to them. But Plateau politics doesn’t work like that.
“The majority of Plateau people have always been PDP—and they remain PDP. Even during the last eight years, some local governments couldn’t conduct elections out of fear of losing.”
Mutfwang added: “That’s why I have always said my political future will be decided by God and the people of Plateau State. Wherever Plateau people go, that’s where we go.”
“For us, this isn’t even a matter for discussion. I am a bona fide member of the PDP. I remain so. And I’m very optimistic that very soon, the PDP crisis will be a thing of the past.”
The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.
