The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State has called on Governor Caleb Mutfwang to disclose the names of those allegedly urging him to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
Governor Mutfwang had, over the weekend, claimed during an event at the Government House banquet hall in Jos that some APC members had approached him to join their party. However, he maintained that only divine direction and the will of Plateau people could determine such a move.
“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,” the governor said.
He further claimed that a majority of APC members in the state secretly desired his defection, saying, “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.”
Reacting on Monday, the APC’s acting publicity secretary in the state, Shittu Bamaiyi, dismissed Mutfwang’s statement as “self-denial,” accusing the governor of using the claim to divert attention from what he described as his administration’s failures.
Bamaiyi argued that a well-performing governor would not need to raise discussions about defection or political realignment.
“If he truly meant well for his supporters and the state, he should have courageously named those pressuring him and explained why,” he said.
The APC spokesman added, “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.”
