Twist in Plateau guber battle The governorship contest in Plateau State no longer looks the one horse race that it did only recently as a couple of developments now show.
our political parties have candidates for the February 28 governorship election in Plateau State. They include: African Democratic Congress (ADC), Hon Sabiu Ibrahim Musa; All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon Simon Lalong; Labour Party (LP), Ambassador Bagudu Hirse, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Gyang Pwajok.
Sabiu Musa has been the flesh and bone of ADC in Plateau State. As the state chairman of the party and as head of a coalition of opposition parties in the state, Musa sought, towards Plateau North senatorial by-election in 2012, to midwife a consensus senatorial candidate to square it out with Gyang Pwajok of the PDP but failed because each candidate wanted to contest.
Musa is out again today preparing to confront Gyang Pwajok, under the ADC, in a battle which Musa could only be a David against a Goliath. To start with, ADC is a dwarf that Plateau people rarely hear about. Importantly too, ADC has little money to project Musa or any other of its candidates.
Conversely, Gyang Pwajok has money, fame, political pedigree and the support of incumbent Governor Jonah Jang. His greatest headache ironically is his link with the governor. Jang powered Pwajok into the race, but in doing so, he incurred the wrath of many in the state for daring to sponsor his fellow Plateau North kinsman; with whom he even speaks the same Berom language, to be the next governor, thereby “seeking to impose a Berom dynasty,” as many critics of the Pwajok candidacy coin it.
A good number of the critics are from even Jang’s Du village, while the majority are from southern Plateau and the rest from central Plateau, but they mostly contend that because Central Plateau had the governor in person of Senator Joshua Dariye from 1999 to 2007 and Plateau North has had it from 2007 to date, Plateau South should have the governor from 2015; instead of which Pwajok, from Plateau North, looks good now to take his seat from fellow Plateau North kinsman, Jang.
Some youths in Kanke LGA of Plateau Central took their protest against Pwajok’s candidacy to street level on the 10th of this month. Pwajok’s supporters are worried about this because Kanke happens to be the birth place of Arch Yilji Gomwalk, whose selection as running mate was widely regarded as being meant to soothe critics who appreciate the success of Yilji’s father, the late CP Joseph Dechi Gomwalk, who was military governor of the state between 1966 and ‘75.
Also, opposition to Pwajok over the zoning question was fierce following his open adoption by Governor Jonah Jang, and after he went ahead to clinch the governorship ticket last month. 12 of those who sought the ticket kicked loudly against it, describing the December 8 PDP governorship primaries as a fraud that must be cancelled. They said at a press briefing on December 10 that they had actually submitted a petition to the PDP national headquarters seeking Pwajok’s election to be nullified.
However, Pwajok’s campaign flag off last week in Plateau Central’s Mangu town was a most colourful event, made more so by the attendance of Senate President David Mark and governors Babangida Aliyu and Gabriel Suswam of Niger and Benue respectively.
Pwajok’s opponents in the primary who openly rejected his victory are still believed to be bitter. While Professor Sonny Tyoden has long crossed to APC and is today APC’s deputy governorship candidate, Professor Longmas Wapmut had his hand held up as APC member in the Saturday presidential rally in Jos. It was even rumoured that no less than nine of them would take same step - with others either bidding their time or had opted to fight the PDP from within.
What may make the difference is Pwajok’s personal commitment to become the next governor, according to leader of one of his support groups, Chief Nanya Daman of Community-toCommunity for GNS Network. Daman said, “Senator GNS Pwajok is working 24 hours a day. He is consulting with people from all walks of life across the state. He is up and doing. And look at how GNS campaign organisations are all over the place. Look at the radio, TV, online and print media publicity. The guy is everywhere and he is going everywhere. He hardly sleeps.”
It would sound logical, however, that one who does not have the sort of encumbrance that zoning controversy presents, such as Simon Lalong, who hails from southern Plateau, should consider himself blessed for the forthcoming governorship election in Plateau State.
Indeed, if there was ever a perfect time for the opposition APC to take over the mantle of leadership in Plateau State, this will be it. Governor Jonah David Jang who had often boasted that Plateau State was 100% for the PDP no longer sounds as confident even after successfully pushing his kinsmen and presumed relative, Sen. Gyang Pwajok into the governorship race.
Indications of a plot to ensure Jang and his anointed candidate lose the governorship position in the state is thickening even within the PDP. Nine aspirants who contested for the PDP governorship primaries and lost to Pwajok are said to have donated their campaign structures and offices to the APC candidate, Simon Lalong. To lend credence to this, the campaign office of former governor and a PDP aggrieved member, Fidelis Tapgun, was commissioned as Lalong’s campaign office in Jos a day before Gen. Buhari’s January 17 visit.
And at the APC presidential rally in Jos, former deputy governor Dame Pauline Tallen, confirmed a piece of information confided to Daily Trust. She was received formally into the APC by national chairman John Oyegun. Also received from PDP into APC at the rally were one of PDP’s aggrieved governorship aspirants, Professor Longmas Wapmut and former member of the House of Representatives for Pankshin/ Kanke/Kanam under PDP, Leo Dilkon.
With such string of happenings favouring Lalong, it is increasingly becoming difficult to predict a clear win for Pwajok despite his political advantage, especially as there is also a growing rumour of some serving PDP members, especially from the southern and central zones, working to ensure that the APC wins the election in the State. The PDP members are said to be angry with President Goodluck Jonathan for looking the other way while Governor Jang disregarded the zoning arrangement to “impose Sen. Pwajok on the people”.
Despite the pro-APC developments, however, some party members believe Barrister Simon Lalong is not rising to the occasion. They are saying Lalong’s closeness to former Governor Joshua Dariye, may suggest a hidden agenda. It is regarded as the reason why he lost his position as speaker when he refused to impeach then Governor Dariye. Looking at this relationship, some members of the Buhari Integrity Group (BIG) are now alleging that Lalong’s emergence as the party flag bearer with the help of the state APC chairman, Dabang, another close ally of Dariye, may be a charade to sabotage the APC, particularly since Dariye has returned from Labour Party to PDP.
The Buhari Integrity Group, headed by Jamilu Baba and Mohammed Hassan, also claimed that Lalong was marginalising Jos North LGA, an area known to have the voting strength of about four local government areas in the state. Baba, while expressing his displeasure to Daily Trust, said: “Anybody that is serious about winning election knows that he needs the support of Jos North.”
Also, some APC members in the state now say former Interim party chairman, Senator John Shagaya may have been right when he challenged the April 31, 2014 congress that saw the emergence of Dabang as the party chairman. Sen. Shagaya had written to the APC interim national chairman, Bisi Akande, asking him to cancel Dabang’s election based on allegations that the chairman was an employee of a sitting Senator (Dariye) under the Labour Party and a legislative aid in the National Assembly. “This position if allowed to pass through, the strength and followership of the APC in the state could be compromised in the near future,” he had said.
Attempts to get Lalong and party secretary Bashir MusanSati to speak on the issue yielded no fruit, but publicity secretary Chindo Dafat said earnest campaigns would start this week. Dafat said Lalong had held several meetings with stakeholders in Jos North and the community had shown cooperation to the APC. According to Dafat, “the PDP may have the financial strength because they are using government money but we are not afraid, we know the people are with us and now that we have finished our rally, campaigns will commence in earnest.”
On the relationship between Lalong, Dabang and Dariye, Dafat said, “We can’t deny that there used to be a relationship between Lalong, Dabang and Sen. Dariye. You know that while Lalong was speaker and Dariye was governor, Dabang was the Chairman of Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC). So, the relationship developed necessarily, but I can assure you that Dariye is not interfering with APC activities.”