Plateau APC Dares Mutfwang To Name Members Pressuring Him To Defect

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State has challenged Governor Caleb Mutfwang to identify members of the party whom he claimed were pressuring him to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mutfwang had at the weekend told an audience at the Government House banquet hall in Jos that several APC members had approached him to join their party.

Speaking during the event, the governor insisted that only divine direction and the will of the people who elected him could influence such a decision.

“It is not a lie that they are putting pressure on me. But I told them that only two people would authorise me to change my party. One is the God of heaven, and the other is you, the people,” Mutfwang said.

He further claimed that many APC members in the state would welcome him if he defected.

“The truth is that 60 to 70 per cent of APC members in the state would be glad to have us in their party. They are just biting their fingers because they know I won’t join them,” the governor added.

But in a swift response on Monday, October 27, the APC’s acting publicity secretary in the state, Shittu Bamaiyi, dismissed the governor’s claim as “self-denial.”

Bamaiyi told reporters in Jos that Mutfwang’s comments were an attempt to divert attention from what he described as the administration’s failings.

“If he truly meant well for his supporters and the state, he should have courageously named those pressuring him and explained why,” Bamaiyi said.

The APC spokesman maintained that discussions about defection would not have arisen if the governor had performed to the expectations of Plateau residents.

“Whatever the case, it is a big minus for a sitting governor when the opposition openly objects to his joining its ranks, even when that party’s goal is to win future elections,” Bamaiyi added.