Plateau North Equity Project (PNEP) has raised concern over what it described as the concentration of major political offices in Plateau North in the emerging 2027 political arrangement.
The group alleged that one community was positioned to control the Plateau North Senate seat, Deputy Governorship, All Progressives Congress (APC) State Chairmanship and two of the three House of Representatives seats in the senatorial zone.
PNEP spokesman, Dr. Muru Song, raised the concern on Tuesday while addressing journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Jos.
Song said the group had engaged government stakeholders and other communities in Plateau North on the issue, including writing to Governor Caleb Mutfwang to draw his attention to what it described as an imbalance in the distribution of key political offices.
He said the zoning of the APC State Chairmanship to Plateau North presented an opportunity for a qualified candidate from one of the minority communities to emerge, particularly as the Deputy Governor and Plateau North Senator were already from the same community.
“Just recently the position of APC State Chairman was zoned to Plateau North, and considering that both the Deputy Governor and the Senator representing Plateau North already emerged from the numerically advantaged community in the zone, PNEP and other stakeholders advocated for a process that would allow a qualified candidate from the minority ethnic nationalities to emerge
as State Chairman.
” Such an outcome would have helped balance the political equation within the zone and reinforced the party’s commitment to inclusivity. Unfortunately, these appeals were not heard,” he said.
Song also alleged that the process leading to the emergence of the APC senatorial candidate for Plateau North had again favoured the same community, saying the development had further heightened the group’s concerns about political representation in the zone.
He said the community would have occupied the Plateau North Senate seat for eight out of nine electoral cycles since 1999 if the APC candidate wins in 2027, while also alleging that it currently controls two of the three House of Representatives seats in the zone.
“Our concern is not to question the right of any individual or community to aspire to political office. Rather, we believe that where a political party or government has the opportunity to influence or zone offices, such opportunities should be used to promote fairness and a sense of inclusion among the constituent communities”
The PNEP spokesman said the group had appealed to the governor to review the distribution of the Senate and Deputy Governorship positions but claimed that its requests had not received the desired response.
He called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC national leadership and Governor Mutfwang to intervene in the matter.
“We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC National Chairman, leadership and the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Barr Caleb Mutfwang, to urgently intervene and correct this imbalance before it destroys the party,” he said.
PNEP comprises minority communities across Plateau North, including communities in Bassa, Jos East and Jos North, as well as Ibaas and Ganawuri communities in Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas.
