Ismaeel Aleem
The North-Central APC Forum has reiterated its appeal to Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang to abandon the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that “the time is now” for such a move.
Speaking at the forum’s third-quarter meeting in Jos on Thursday, Chairman Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga declared that recent political developments strongly favour the governor’s defection.
He reminded attendees that the forum was the first political entity to urge Mutfwang to switch allegiance, a call first made before and after the 2023 elections based on strategic calculations that, he claimed, are now materialising.
Zazzaga highlighted the forum’s successes: securing the North-Central Development Commission, restoring the APC national chairmanship to the zone from the North-West, and rallying support for President Bola Tinubu’s policies while attracting figures from rival parties.
He argued that Mutfwang’s own administration slogan, “The Time is Now,” perfectly aligns with joining the APC.
“His good works and progressive governance would be better appreciated and amplified within the ruling party,” Zazzaga said, adding that alignment with President Tinubu who he described as having Plateau’s interests at heart and fellow North-Central APC governors would accelerate regional development.
The forum chairman noted that most Plateau legislators already belong to the APC, creating an opportunity for seamless executive-legislative collaboration on security and development.
“The relationship between the executive and legislature is vital for progress,” he emphasised.
Zazzaga dismissed opposition from some APC members to Mutfwang’s potential defection as shortsighted and self-serving.
“Their personal interests cannot override the collective good of the party and the state,” he asserted.
