Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has opened up on his relationship with President Bola Tinubu, while responding to questions relating to his alleged defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The PDP governor made the clarification while speaking on the report that many first-time opposition governors are joining the APC to secure their second-term chances
Mutfwang’s clarification came after Akwa Ibom Governor recently reported to have concluded a plan to dump the opposition and join the ruling party. …CONTINUE READING
Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has maintained that it was too early for him to talk about defection from the PDP to the APC.
There has been a rumour that some of the first-time governors of the PDP are planning to defect to the APC to secure their second term in office. However, some of them have come out to deny the claim, while others have posited that they maintained a closer relationship with the president.
Speaking on the development in the party, Mutfwang, another PDP governor, explained that President Tinubu attested to the fact that they are doing well for the people, which was why he had been identifying with them.
The governor ruled out the option of dumping the PDP for the APC, stating that it was too early to discuss that, because there was so much yet to be done for the people of Plateau State. He said his administration is dealing with lots of issues, and he cannot be distracted by alignment discussions.
His statement reads in part: “I believe that if we were doing poorly, Mr President would not like to identify with us and encourage us. And so, I think some of these political decisions and commentaries are a little bit too early for me, because we still have a lot to do for our people.”
One of the first-time governors of the PDP, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, recently dumped the party for the APC. He left the PDP with all its structures to the APC, including his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa, who was the party’s vice presidential candidate in the 2023 election.
With Oborevwori’s defection, the claim became authenticated, increasing the tension within the PDP and other opposition parties. Opposition leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, have accused President Tinubu of planning to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
The endorsement of Tinubu’s second-term ambition by Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, another first-term PDP governor, heightened the tension in the opposition camp. Recently, Eno reportedly told members of his cabinet to resign if they would not follow him to the APC.
