Plateau State governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has clarified that the State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is running a single, unified campaign with the intention of voting for the party’s candidates in all the elections.
Speaking on Monday at the inauguration of the APC Campaign Council at the Government House, Little Rayfield, Jos, Mutfwang said that the party in the State is unified under one agenda, which is the re-election of President Bola Tinubu and his Vice, Kashim Shettima; himself, the governor; his deputy, Mrs. Josephine Piyo; and all candidates in the State and National Assembly elections.
He said: “We’re running a unified campaign and not a Rainbow Coalition, and Plateau people have decided to go in one direction under the APC for the 2027 general elections.”
The governor acknowledged the current national challenges of hunger and insecurity. However, he pushed back against critics, arguing that while these problems exist, the administration is taking deliberate, sustained and intentional steps to solve them.
He argued that the administration has delivered tangible results that are visible to all, adding that governance is a “relay race”.
The governor asserted that they need a second term to complete the projects they had initiated and to bring the State to a “glorious height”.
Mutfwang emphasised that the 2027 election is a mandate to ensure that Plateau State remains aligned with President Tinubu’s administration.
He also cautioned against publicising security strategies, noting that such complex issues could not be solved by simple “tap water” solutions or television rhetoric.
Mutfwang said that Tinubu inherited a Nigerian economy that was “tottering on the brink of collapse” from the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023, a country that could no longer service its external debts, while the Federal government had resorted to printing money to manage the economy.
“Where did President Tinubu meet Nigeria in 2023? He met Nigeria tottering on the brink of collapse; Nigeria that could not service its external debts; Nigeria that would not even allow businesses outside the country to take their proceeds back home.
“And that is why some international airlines stopped flying to Nigeria, because they could not get the dollars to take back their money.
“Our external reserve was down to just a little over $3 billion, from the over $40 billion it had accumulated for decades.
“Today, by the grace of God, we have a healthy external reserve of over $50 billion.
“When the President took over in 2023, the government that he succeeded had run out of ideas on how to manage the economy and they resorted to printing money in Central Bank.
“They printed over N30 trillion, which went down the drain.
“Today, by the grace of God, Central Bank has stabilised and that deficit has been done away with.
“When the President took over, at that time, there was a national fraud that was taking place called fuel subsidy.
“I say it was a fraud because we were borrowing money to pay people who brought fictitious documents. They never brought any wealth.
“They brought fictitious documents, claimed monies and subsidies.
“You cannot continue to borrow money to give to thieves. You have to stop it at some point. And when it is stopped, there will be a payback; there will be a recovery time.
“Today, by the grace of God, we have solved one side of the equation. Today fuel is available. It may not be cheap, but it is available.
“Those of us who are of my age bracket or a little below will remember the times when we spent days in petrol stations queuing for fuel that we could hardly get.
“And that is why, in Plateau State, we have already agreed that it is two terms per senatorial zone. Except the northern zone does not want to produce a governor until 2035, then you can toy with my mandate.
“So, can we leave this venue today and tell everybody, whether it is Rainbow or K-Like or anything, tell them there is no vacancy in Little Rayfield.
“We must therefore go about this campaign with facts, with honesty, with seriousness. Part of the reason why people are still apprehensive is because we have not communicated the real message, and we have a responsibility to ensure that that message is properly communicated.
“I’d like to urge all our candidates for the various positions: you must lead from the front. You must be bridge-builders. You must be people that bring others together. You must humble yourself and make sure that we do not allow divisions to continue amongst us.
“I am confident that, come January 16, 2027, by the grace of God, Plateau State will return President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with a resounding victory. And that, two weeks later, the people of Plateau will renew their mandate for us to continue on the good journey we have started.
“I want to urge you to go back home. It is time to go back home. Mobilise your own community. Mobilise your ward. Mobilise your local government. Mobilise your constituency.”
The governor urged all electorates to go home and ensure a seamless campaign in their localities.
He acknowledged the dire security situation in the State, adding that insecurity is fuelled by political opponents.
“On security, I know our opponents will say there is hunger in the land. We don’t deny it. They will say that the insecurity situation has not abated. We don’t deny it.
“But if they say we have not taken steps at all to address those issues, they know they are lying.
“Insecurity is not like tap water, where you simply turn on the tap and it flows down. It requires concerted, deliberate, intentional, sustained efforts before you get results.”
The Director-General of the APC Campaign Council in Plateau State, Joe Ari, promised that the campaigns would be inclusive, involving the grassroots.
He promised that the campaign would lead to the ultimate aim of re-electing Tinubu/Shettima and Mutfwang/Piyo.
- Media Report