Plateau State politics after defections

North Central Bureau Chief, ISAAC SHOBAYO, writes on the unfolding scenario in Plateau State in the aftermath of the defection of the state governor, Caleb Mutfwang and executive councils from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)

THE political atmosphere in Plateau State is currently fraught with uncertainty as nearly all of the political gladiators who have been scheming to contest in various political platforms have joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) due to the recent gale of defection from other political parties in the state to the APC.

Since Governor Caleb Mutfwang defected to the ruling party, the PDP has become a shell of itself, the once ruling party in Plateau State is consigned to the background and its becoming a party without a voice. Also, those who gave the Labour Party (LP) a lifeline in the 2023 election, including its gubernatorial candidate, Professor Patrick Dakum, and Plateau North Senatorial candidate, Gyang Zi (SAN), among others, have subsequently switched to the APC.

Lately, the senator representing Plateau North on the platform of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Senator Pam Mwadkon Dachungyang, abruptly switched sides and joined the ruling APC as well.

Nigerian Tribune findings revealed that those who would have acted as an impetus, played legitimately, and kept the ruling party on its toes are on the platform of the APC.

Though various grounds have been offered for this, they did not appear to be compelling enough to make Plateau a one party state.

This development contributed to the lull in the politics of the state; the PDP and other parties’ remnants are like a lonely voice in the woods, reverberating without making impact.

Those who have followed the trend of political events in Plateau State over the years said they have never seen politics devolve to the point where nearly all forces are centered on a single party. Tracing the state’s political history back to the Second Republic, they swiftly added that no single party has ever dominated the political space in the manner the state is experiencing at the moment.

It should be noted that since 1999, Plateau State’s political scene has been dominated by gladiators from different political parties, although this has frequently resulted in high stakes defection between parties rather than tilting to one particular party, as it is in the current case.

Apart from the pioneer national chairman of the PDP, late Chief Solomon Lar, who maintained his membership in the party until his death, others have moved from one political party to another in the course of their political careers in this dispensation.

Prominent individuals such as former Governor Joshua Dariye, who was elected on the PDP platform in 1999, later switched to the Labour Party to run for the Senate but today he is in the APC. Jonah Jang, the former governor, was once a fervent supporter of the All People’s Party but later became a governor on the platform of the PDP. At the moment Senator Jang is like the last man standing in PDP. Virtually all his disciples have switched to the APC.

The former governor who is currently a senator for Plateau South on the platform of APC, Senator Simon Lalong, was once a speaker in the Plateau House of Assembly on the platform of PDP.

From the beginning of this dispensation, Plateau State politicians have regularly switched parties, either due to their inability to get party tickets or their desire for other chances. Nevertheless, the majority of them never abandon their parties in such a manner as is being experienced today to join the ruling party.

Additionally, religious, ethnic, and regional sentiments have always had an impact on the political climate. A typical Plateau politician will take great care to support political parties with strong ties to the far north.

All these have become a thing of the past.

Plateau State at the moment is like a one party state controlled by the APC. Though other parties are still breathing, they are like a patient in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital, gasping for survival. Though the PDP is making concerted efforts to reinvent itself, there is an air of uncertainty hovering over the party. At the moment, only a handful of people have shown interest in running on the platform of the party.

People are skeptical to run; the general impression is that unless the party overcomes its political crisis at the top, it might likely not be on the ballot in 2027. This postulation alone is scaring quite a lot of aspirants from launching out to contest the party ticket at different levels.

However, the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in Plateau State, Dr. Felix Choji, dismissed all of them with a wave of his hands, stating that the PDP still remains relevant and a powerful force in state politics, emphasizing that many party members have expressed interest in contesting the upcoming primary at different levels.

“The PDP is fielding candidates at all levels of election; those who deserted had their reasons. Nonetheless, our supporters across the state remain intact and ready to vote for party candidates. Politics is about a group of individuals rather than a specific name of an individual. Given what happened in Abuja council elections, the PDP will definitely be on the ballot.

“Politics is not about names or individuals but collections of people. With what happened in the Abuja council elections, with the PDP participating, certainly the PDP will be on the ballot come 2027. Those who defected certainly have names, but politics is not about individuals.

More so, Plateau can never be a one party state, and likewise Nigeria by extension. PDP is on the ground as a fully registered party, as are other political parties. We are contesting the local government election scheduled for September this year, and people have indicated their interests to contest,” he assured.

Also responding to the state of political parties following the mass defection of political bigwigs to the APC, the state chairman of the Africa Democratic Party (ADC), Ambassador Hannatu Gangara, disclosed that the party is rapidly making inroads into Plateau State politics despite the recent defection to the APC.

According to her, the rate at which people are flocking to the ADC Secretariat to register is startling, adding that ADC is a force to be reckoned with in Nigeria at the moment.

“We are contesting the forthcoming local government election in all the seventeen local government areas of the state; people have begun to express their interest. The so called political actors might have shifted base, but the electorates remain intact. It is incorrect to estimate a political party’s strength based on its current cast of characters in Nigeria. The ADC in Plateau State is out to square off with any political party on the ground,” she stated.

Those who have been monitoring the political development in the state agreed that the APC parades who is who in Plateau politics at the moment but quickly added that how it manages its primary election will decide its ability to win elections in the state.

There are those who claimed that the forthcoming primary election for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, and Senate would serve as a litmus test to establish the party’s viability, given the number of persons that have signified their interest in running for the different positions.

From all indications, Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang is the only one who is almost certain to obtain the party’s mandate.

Aside from him, hopefuls will face a grueling primary election to pick the party ticket at different levels.

Those who were considering running for offices before defecting to the APC have not abandoned the idea, and those they met in the party are not giving up either. In Plateau South, there are strong indications that the incumbent senator, Senator Lalong, and Senator Napoleon Bali, who defected to the APC with the governor, will contest the senatorial primary.

The situation is similar in Plateau Central, where a commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, Hon. Ephraim Usman, is likely to be up against incumbent Senator Diket Plang, a founding member of APC.

In Plateau North, Senator Istifanus Gyang, Senator Simon Mwadkwom, and Hon. Musa Bagos is neck deep in the race. The same with the House of Representatives and State House of Assembly positions.

Political observers in the state believe that there may be an implosion ahead of the 2027 general election if various interests are not aligned. A source close to the APC told Nigerian Tribune that some critical stakeholders of the party are attempting to persuade some to shelf their aspirations, but they are unwilling.

Repositioning the APC ahead of the general election will mostly depend on how individuals like Professor Nentawa Yilwtda the national chairman of the APC, Governor Mutfwang, and Senator Lalong handle the situation and ease the concerns of some aspirants before the primary election, which is scheduled to start in April.

Political watchers said there might be a possibility of some who might miss out on the probable horse dealing to defect to another political party or remain to rock the boat due to the high level of desperation being displayed by some of the hopefuls.

However, it appeared that the APC leadership in the state was unconcerned about the fear being expressed. Governor Mutfwang, while addressing members of the APC at the venue of the state congress, stated that the All Progressive Congress is only running the 2027 elections against itself.

Even though the APC’s current image looms large due to the caliber of politicians within the party, how well it handles the different interests participating in the primary will decide how far it can advance in the general elections. The remnants of PDP, LP, SDP, and ADC have undoubtedly not given up and they appear to be holding out.