Only a political novice or moron could have anticipated a smooth sail of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the Plateau, especially, in the way the party was hurriedly put in place with little or no focus on filling the gap of governance.
When the APC was put together on the Plateau ahead of the 2015 general elections, they were only interested in political power. They paid little or no attention to the fact that they were planning to take over from a gigantic Governor Jonah Jang and therefore would need to think outside the box to match him.
What brought them together, (mostly miscalculated aggrieved PDP stalwarts) was the choice of the PDP Governorship candidate, Senator GNS Pwajok in which the nakedly ambitious hide under the guise of zoning to find reason to defect.
Even after Buhari won the Presidential polls, the likes of Simon Bako Lalong, the self acclaimed “Rescue Ambassador”, were not sure of winning the polls so he was said to have rushed to Abuja in search of a ministerial slot as a Governorship candidate then. He was discouraged because Buhari, the APC presidential candidate failed to win Plateau.
The primitive political mindset of the APC folks brought together a marriage of very strange and treacherous bed fellows, who were in different political parties and with irreconcilable ideologies, but were deceptively arranged for the purpose of getting political power.
When the power finally came, the same people could not sit to decipher between power and responsibility, and who was to do what at what time and place. It became a football game with more than 22 players, more than 3 referees, while the rules were suspended in such a way that, one does not differentiate the game with handball.
Lalong was lost to have believed that he knows Hon. Letep so well just because, they served together as members of the defunct Joshua Dariye administration.
It looked like an ambush! Despite all denials, pretentious political pussy-footing and claim that all was well with the party, the cat is now out of the bag: Governor Simon Bako Lalong and his political ally, Chief Letep Dabang , the metaphoric masquerade, have been engaged in a bitter supremacy battle for the soul of the state chapter of the party.
Because of rare opportunistic privilege, the duo, are now behaving as if, they have conquered the polity of Plateau. Having being local champions of the Plateau APC, both Lalong and Letep have shared the party among themselves with no credible intra- party challenge, hence this long overdue show of shame.
On the surface, it appears as if, the feud is on normal disagreement on party activities as claimed. But the truth of the irreconcilable bitter exchange between the Governor and his best friend is over, who takes over as Governor, come 2023. This has opened the door for the complex structural defects and internal contradictions being witnessed within the Party.
Consequently, the wrangling between the two former allies has been accentuated by the indisputable fact of the animosities fueled by the vaulting ambitions of some entrenched political interests in the APC.
And given the crude nature of supporters of the two gladiators, the Plateau APC’s political emergency has become a curious metaphor for the structural defects and wider battle for the soul and survival of the party.
Now it is clear that, the battle line has been drawn along the following:
Lalong and his appointees, as his foot soldiers versus, Hon. Letep and his loyalists, who are more on ground than the Governor. This has led to the fear of the unknown from the Governor and his appointees, most of whom have no political pedigree to defeat the craftier Hon. Letep.
Gentlemen and ladies, it is shameful, that at this moment when the APC is supposed to be celebrating successes after 6 years, it is most unfortunately, the party is now blindly contemptuous of the basic governmental duty expected of it. It is shamefully struggling to identify who its supreme leader is.
This crisis obviously presents the failure of Lalong to show leadership. He is only basking in the euphoria of raw political power without knowing what to do, perhaps because he was not prepared for such a high office’s leadership.
Today Plateau state is ranked far below and behind in the map of Nigeria as a result of leadership deficit, while the Governor has continued echoing the praises of external collaborators to encourage himself even with nothing to show.
The People are greatly appalled at this very low rating within the comity of the ruling party in the country.
He is so physically, mentally, psychologically, spiritually, educationally and socially dwarf among his peers that, the only way to shoot his height among them to be noticed, is to accept the Greek office of the Chairmanship of the Northern Governors Forum that has become a curse instead of blessing.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has been thoroughly vindicated on the Plateau with such a man on the saddle. We pray the eyes of understanding of the APC be enlightened to this political reality. He has not added a single block to democratic governance on the Plateau neither has he represented the state well at the national level.
Objective people of Plateau need no lobby or any form of push to rebuke this national disgrace brought upon us by the APC and join the fray of the PDP to restore normalcy to our thinking cap.
The PDP assures the people, particularly the oppressed that, the Peoples’ Party has adequate accommodation for returning and new members.
The party reassures of ample and unhindered accommodation to all individuals, genuine political interest and returning or freshly coming into the party’s fold from other political parties.
Finally, the PDP remains a People oriented party, belonging to all Plateau people and indeed Nigerians and, as such, will continue to accommodate and provide equal opportunity for all to freely aspire irrespective of creed, tribe or any party affiliation.
God bless Plateau state!
God bless PDP!!
