The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State has challenged Governor Caleb Mutfwang to identify those allegedly pressuring him to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
Mutfwang had, over the weekend, told an audience at the Government House banquet hall in Jos, the state capital, that several APC members had approached him to join their party.
However, the governor maintained that only divine direction and the will of the people who elected him could influence such a decision.
“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.
“So, those who are rejecting me for what I did not seek are only hiding their desires. 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,” he added.
Reacting to the governor’s comments in an interview with reporters in Jos on Monday, the APC’s acting publicity secretary in state, Shittu Bamaiyi, dismissed the claim as “self-denial,” saying the governor was attempting to divert attention from his administration’s failings.
Bamaiyi argued that if Mutfwang had performed to the satisfaction of Plateau residents, there would be no need for discussions about defection or political alignment.
“If he truly meant well for his supporters and the state, he should have courageously named those pressuring him and explained why,” he said.
“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,” Bamaiyi added.
