Gloom In APC Ahead Of Plateau LG Election

After about eight years of dominance on the plateau, the fortunes of the former ruling All Progressives Congress, APC are nosediving with calamitous consequences for a party that held sway for two terms in government.

The slip in fortunes follows the serial defections by some of the strong men who directed the pace and pattern of the party in the state in the days of yore.

For some the defections were inspired by the disorder in the party on the plateau. For some others they have been won over by the continuing ascendancy of the Caleb Muftwang led administration in the state.

Indeed, in the past few weeks, the tsunami in the APC in the State is blowing away even the ardent stalwarts, leaving pundits to wonder if the recent reconciliation meeting the Party held in Lafia, Nasarawa State, and the stakeholders meeting held in Jos, about three weeks ago was fruitful.

In the last month, the ranks of the APC, especially in the Kanam and Kanke local government areas, have been decimated with the defections of Mr. Dayyabu Garga, who served as a Commissioner in the APC government for two terms between 2015 and 2023 and later, the Chairman of the Kanam local government area. He left with his lieutenants and joined the PDP.

The woes of the Party in the State were compounded by the defections of a think tank, a renowned journalist and essayist, Nde Jonathan Ishaku who tendered his letter of resignation of his membership of the Party to the Gwamlar Unit Chairman in Shiwer-Seri  Federal Ward (and Shiwer State Ward), Kanke Local Government Area, Plateau State.

He said, “This is an expression of my disappointment with the treatment meted to the Party and people of Plateau State by the very national ruling Party we, the members, fought very hard to install… My resignation is a protest against the indefinite exclusion of Plateau State by the ruling APC Government.”

Before the Party could adjust to the development, a former Deputy Speaker in the State Assembly, Mr. Saleh Yipmong from Kanam, also left the Party with his lieutenants, including Ahmed Musa Koli, who stated that he could no longer continue to associate with a Party that has consistently demonstrated disregard for its loyal members.

Koli’s withdrawal marks another high-profile exit from the APC, further solidifying the PDP’s position as the Party of choice in the State.

In the last few weeks, key APC stalwarts in Kanam holding significant positions in the Party have jumped ship to swell the ranks of the PDP in the State.

The waves of defections have troubled the leadership of the Party which linked it to the coming local government elections.

The State Acting Publicity Secretary of the Party, Shittu Bamaiyi, in a statement issued in Jos recently, said, “Information at the disposal of the Party reveals that a group of persons under the name “‘foundation members” is mobilizing some people to create confusion and rift in the Party.

“The Party is not unaware that some people have not been happy with the ongoing reconciliatory exercise and would, therefore, go all out to sabotage the moves for some reasons best known to them. The Party suspects the “voice of Jacob and hands of Esau” in the ill-intentioned, ill-conceived, and ill-timed agenda of the group.

“What smacks suspicion and misgivings about the motive of the group, is the timing of its actions, particularly when the local government elections are about to take place. Intelligence gathered points to the fact that the main purpose of the group is to ferment trouble for the Party not to be able to face the local government elections squarely.

“The APC is appealing to its members to remain calm and resolute, as well as disregard any misinformation that might come from the group, as it is nothing but a hatchet job to frustrate the Party from actively participating in the local government elections in the State.”

However, with the calibre of defectors from the APC to the PDP in the Kanam local government area, their political weight might be tested as the local government elections are held next week.

It would be seen if the PDP can win Kanam, a local government that has always been a tough nut for the Party to crack.

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