PLATEAU State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has unequivocally dismissed the speculations making the rounds on social media trending that the State Working Committee (SWO) of the party and its gubernatorial candidate as well as the Presidential Campaign Committee (PCC) were at logger head. They described it as figment of imagination by confused people.
This was contained in a press statement signed by the state Publicity Secretary, Hon. Sylvanus Namang and made available to SUNDAY STANDARD in Jos, the Plateau State capital Thursday.
The statement stated that, “The attention of the All Progressives Congress in Plateau State has been drawn to an unsigned publication trending in some social media space centring on rift between the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Dr Nentawe Yilwatda and the party’s State Working Committee, SWC and the Presidential Campaign Council, PCC in the state.
“According to the cowardly and carefully crafted statement, the APC candidate has abandoned and frustrated the party machinery and even went to the ridiculous extent of accusing him of addressing the state Chairman as incompetent during his different consultations!
“The All Progressives Congress in the state hereby unequivocally and in no uncertain terms dismisses the allegations as figment of imagination which exists only in the realms of its propagators who are clear agents of disunity and hatred for the APC”, it stated.
The APC, however, said it was not surprised about this development because the incontrovertible emergence of Dr Nentawe Goshwe as the party’s gubernatorial candidate since June last year has unsettled the opposition and those who believe that Plateau State begins and ends with them.
“It also alleged that Dr Nentawe has turned the party in the state into a one- man- show and has promised to dissolve the legally elected Local Government Councils and the State Working Committee of the party when elected among sundry other weird allegations.
“His revolutionary, captivating and apt choice of GenerationNext and the ACEES programme which bother on the future of the youth and a new Plateau State has created great discomfort for people who believe in the old ways of doing things. This explains why several efforts have been made to scuttle his candidacy with multiple court cases which have collapsed like pack of cards.
These orchestrated and ridiculous challenges have gone to the extreme of resurrecting a court case by some willing agents and stooges of these disgruntled elements more than a year after a duly agreed out of court settlement which the complainants on their own volition withdrew the case in court but have now surprisingly gone on to the Appeal Court which is a clear distraction”, Namang enthused.
According to him, the APC in the state was fully aware of the insidious plans by the opposition and those who do not wish the APC and Plateau State well to destabilise the candidate and the party up to the general elections.
“Let us assure all and sundry that there is no stopping the youthful winning team of Dr Nentawe Yilwatda and Hon. Pam Bot Mang by God’s grace.
“The APC in Plateau State wants to inform, assure and reiterate that the party is solidly confident and stands by its gubernatorial candidate whose chances of winning the March 11, 2023, elections is as bright as the morning star. Dr Nentawe is a humble and loyal product of party in whom we are all proud of.
“There exists no rift of any sort between him and the party’s Chairman, the State Working Committee and all other party’s structures.
There is no activity he embarks upon without the tacit approval of the party’s leadership in the state. As an obedient and loyal party member, he intimates and visits the party’s secretariat quite often for consultations and approval of his iterinary”, Namang revealed.
He added thatthe party has carefully designed its programme to fit into the electoral timetable by INEC and Dr Nentawe Yilwatda has first embarked on a one- on- one reconciliation visits to all the gubernatorial aspirants he contested with to pacify and solicit them to key into his campaign programme.
The Publicity Secretary disclosed that “the workaholic, diligent and composed gubernatorial candidate who is more than prepared for the job, because he has met with the leadership of all the indigenous groups on the Plateau known as PIDAN and all other ethnic nationalities residing in Plateau State to solicit their support which has given the opposition parties in the state sleepless nights.
“His current Citizens Engagement with all strategic blocs in the state that began three weeks ago which would be concluded this weekend, has the full approval of the party in the state. In fact, the APC Chairman, Hon. Rufus Bature is fully involved in this strategic engagement. Why this is not treated as a full party affair is based on the selected audience for these interfaces.
This involves visiting traditional rulers at their various palaces across the state, interactive joint sessions with representatives of religious leaders, leaders of development associations along with their women and youth wings, strategic community stakeholders, Ardos, leaders of marketer’s association among others”, he explained.
