ISAAC SHOBAYO writes on the ongoing scheming among political stakeholders in Plateau State for the sole ministerial slot of the state in the new cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Elections at various levels have been lost and won but this seems to be the season of compensation for loyalty and hard work in the course of the election. Party faithful who worked assiduously for their party’s victory are expectant in terms of reward and patronage. Though the Plateau State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) could not deliver the state for President Muhammadu Buhari, there was a remarkable improvement in the performance of the party in the 2019 presidential election than in 2015.
The stalwarts of the party made spirited efforts to deliver Plateau for Mr President, but the age-long factors responsible for his inability to penetrate the state remain unbroken. However, in spite of this performance, this state is entitled to a ministerial slot, in line with the Nigerian Constitution and the principle of federal character.
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The appointment of Mr Solomon Dalung as the Minister of Youth and Sport in 2015 was contrary to the collective position of the APC in Plateau State. Names submitted for such position were flagrantly rejected by President Buhari and Dalung, who is considered as ardent supporter of the president and also an ally of the far North, was appointed for some obvious political reasons.
The appointment of Dalung caused serious animosity in the party and further degenerated to a face-off between him and Governor Simon Lalong. The cold war between the duo started during the APC governorship primary in 2015 when Dalung, as a governorship aspirant, petitioned the party’s national secretariat, alleging sharp practices in the primary. The face-off came into the open during the last presidential visit to Plateau State when Dalung took to the social media to castigate the governor over some of the projects the president inaugurated, even as the governor, through his political appointees, fought back in defence of their boss and policy of the administration.
Though there were several attempts to reconcile both the governor and the minister, their supporters refused to let go. The wrangling became more visible in the course of campaign for the 2019 general election in the state. Apart from the presidential campaign in which Dalung took part, he did not align himself with the governorship campaigns, though one of his aides put up a defense saying the minister was out of the country during the campaign for an engagement.
With the tenure of this administration coming to an end, coupled with directive by the president that all ministers should handover to pave the way for new appointments, it was learnt that the outgoing ones were lobbying for reappointment.
Nigerian Tribune learnt that despite the fact that the Minister of Youth and Sport has tactically indicated his interest to be reappointed, quite a number of APC stalwarts in the state are also lobbying Governor Lalong for their names to be submitted for the plumb job in Abuja.
Some of those lobbying for ministerial appointment in the state include the state chairman of the party, Latep Dabang; former Secretary to the State Government, Rufus Bature; former Minister of State for Communication, Dasuki Nakande; chairman of the APC campaign council, Mr Pam Dung Gyang; former chairman of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Mr Chris Giwa and Lumumba Dah Adeh, among others.
Apart from Plateau State APC chairman who is from the Plateau Central Senatorial District, others jostling to be minister are from the Plateau North Senatorial District. From all indications, they are all relying on the governor to scale through the hurdles of the nomination.
A political observer on the Plateau posited that Governor Lalong holds the ace as far as who becomes the minister in the state is concerned. According to him, the situation has changed, unlike 2015 when the governor was not deeply entrenched in politics of the APC at the national level and was hardly known within the party cycle.
The observer further said as a result of the governor’s involvement in political activities at the centre, he has deeply endeared himself to President Buhari, adding that Lalong could be considered one of those tagged “Buhari Boys” among the governors based on his romance with the president.
Analysts believe that unlike 2015 where the president picked Dalung without any consultation with APC stakeholders in Plateau State and also refused to attend to their petition over Dalung’s nomination, the scenario may not be repeated because of Lalong romance with the centre. Though the influence of Dalung at the centre and far North cannot be wished away, this time it would be difficult for him to get the nomination on a silver platter. If Mr President requests states to forward their nominees to his office, it is certain and obvious that Plateau will not forward the outgoing Minister of Youth and Sport, Solomon Dalung, based on the existing frosty relationship between him and stakeholders of APC in the state.
To avoid the pitfall of 2015, groups have been mounting pressure on the president to allow the state to nominate its minister. As a result of this, one of the associates of Mr President in Plateau State who is also the chairman of the Plateau State APC Elders Forum, Captain Joseph Din (rtd), recently appealed to President Buhari to seek governors’ inputs in the appointment of new ministers to avoid the repeat of 2015.
Captain Din said the president should consult state governors because they have fair knowledge of those who worked endlessly for the re-election of the president and ensured the success of the APC in the 2019 general election.
“The president should consult the governors. It will be better this time around because the governors know those who worked for them. He cannot just ignore the governors because they know who is who. I know he will consult the governors in some areas; they will give him some ideas on who to appoint into his next cabinet,” he added.
A section of APC members who spoke with Nigerian Tribune in Jos, the state capital, implored the president to allow the governor to do the nomination, adding that if the advice is jettisoned, it could cause crisis within the party at the state level and further lead to the nomination of non-party members.
Apart from the issue of who to nominate, there is also the problem of which senatorial zone should get the nomination. Those angling to take over from Dalung in Lalong’s camp are his cronies who worked assiduously to secure his second term. They saw the victory of the governor at the poll as an opportunity for reward. It was learnt that the governor is presently at a crossroads over who to present from within his camp to the president, if the need arises.
However, the prevailing campaign within the party is that the northern zone should take the ministerial slot since the southern zone has produced the governorship and the Chief of staff, while the central zone has the deputy governor. But some party members argue that the North is a stronghold of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This was demonstrated in the just-concluded election: the PDP polled the highest number of votes in four out of the six local government areas that made up the zone.
The APC members, therefore, posited that the ministerial slot should go to the southern part where the governor hails from. They quickly added that a precedent was set during the eight-year tenure of Governor Jonah Jang. The former governor is from the northern zone, even as the then minister from the state, Mrs Sarah Ochepe, is also from the same senatorial constituency with the governor.
Analysts say the governor has become a better politician and has learnt from his past mistakes and would not want to have a minister that would later turn out to be a torn in his flesh.
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