Governor Mutfwang Under Renewed Pressure to Join APC
The All Progressives Congress North-Central Forum has revived its campaign to persuade Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, to abandon the Peoples Democratic Party and align with the governing APC, insisting that political realities now favour such a move.
Forum Chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, made the renewed appeal on Thursday in Jos during the group’s third-quarter meeting. In a statement issued after the session, Zazzaga said the forum first mounted the pressure shortly after the 2023 elections, arguing then that shifting alliances and regional political interests made an eventual defection both strategic and inevitable.
According to him, several of the forum’s earlier projections had since materialised, including sustained advocacy for the creation of the North-Central Development Commission, the push for the APC national chairmanship to return to the zone, and the bloc’s vocal support for President Bola Tinubu’s policy direction.
He added that the body had continued to lobby political leaders from other parties to cross over to the APC.
“Among all our calls, one that stands out is our consistent appeal for Governor Caleb Mutfwang to join the APC—a call we initiated in 2023,” Zazzaga said.
He noted that although other political groups were now echoing the same message, the forum remained the originator, driven by “political sagacity, investigative insight, grassroots mobilisation and commitment to strengthening party structures.”
Zazzaga urged the governor to act in the spirit of his “The Time is Now” slogan, arguing that Mutfwang’s governance style was progressive, development-driven and broadly aligned with the APC’s national agenda. He added that joining the ruling party would put the governor “on the same page with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has demonstrated genuine interest in Plateau State and its advancement.”
He also claimed that political alignment would enable Mutfwang to work more closely with other APC governors in the North-Central and foster improved cooperation on security and development issues.
With most Plateau legislators now under the APC banner, Zazzaga argued that unified executive-legislative leadership would strengthen governance outcomes.
The forum dismissed internal party voices opposing the defection push, with Zazzaga describing them as lacking strategic awareness.
Governor Mutfwang had, in October, acknowledged that he was facing increasing pressure to defect. Addressing guests at the Government House on 27 October, he admitted, “It is not a lie that they also put pressure on me. But I told them only two people would authorise me to change my party. One is the God of heaven, then the other is you, the people.”
The intensifying debate comes as the PDP continues to bleed high-profile members ahead of the next general elections. Recent defectors to the APC include governors Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Duoye Diri of Bayelsa and Peter Mbah of Enugu. Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, is also widely rumoured to be weighing a similar move.
