Plateau Ex-Gov, Jang Speaks On Asking Governor Mutfwang To Resign

Former Governor of Plateau State, Senator Jonah Jang, has rubbished a viral report claiming he had advised the incumbent Governor of the State, Caleb Mutfwang, to step down.

In a statement obtained by Naija News on Thursday, Jang emphasized that it would be illogical for anyone even to entertain the idea that he (Jang) would consider advising Governor Mutfwang to relinquish his position.

He praised the incumbent Governor for his exceptional governance, which has elevated leadership standards. Jang criticized the notion of handing over power to individuals who have proven unsuccessful in serving the people.

Jang’s Media Consultant, Clinton Garuba, conveyed his strong denial of the report, in Jos, the capital city of Plateau State, Naija News reports.

The statement reads: “Our attention has just been drawn to a publication alleging that Senator Jonah David Jang advised Governor Caleb Mutfwang to resign, among other fabricated stories in what can be best described as daydreaming.

“We initially wanted to ignore the publication, believing strongly that readers would easily pick holes in the story and disregard the falsehood being deliberately peddled, knowing the integrity of the former governor and his love for democracy and good governance, which has been the hallmark of Barrister Caleb Mutfwang government since assuming office on the 29th of May, 2023, but for the misleading statement and the fact that some gullible readers will mistake it for truth.

“To avoid doubt, the entire write-up is completely false and only exists in the writer’s imagination.”

“We are not unaware of the devilish attempts to compromise the judiciary by forces of darkness who are bent on subverting the will of the Plateau people who freely voted for PDP in the last election and voted out the APC that spent eight years doing nothing.

“Shared our common patrimony among themselves, destroyed almost every good thing they inherited, almost made us second-class citizens in our God-given land; it was indeed a wholly wasted eight years.

“It is absurd that anyone would even imagine that Senator Jang would ever think of advising Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who is raising the bar of governance to a new level, to hand over to a group of people whom the citizens of Plateau have rejected.”

The statement added: “It goes without saying that APC is bent on taking power through the back door. We believe our God never sleep nor slumber and will not allow us to return to Egypt as a state and people.

“Asking a Government that has spent only six months in government and has already surpassed the achievement of Lalong’s APC-led eight years government to resign is unthinkable”, he stressed.

“Senator Jonah Jang, like other well-meaning lovers of democracy, is at a complete loss as to why the Appeal court took a decision that contradicts the 2023 Electoral Act and other decided cases by the Supreme Court.

“He believes that the judgement of Sunday, 19th November, is a total miscarriage of justice, and as a firm believer in the judiciary, Senator Jang holds the belief that the highest court of the land will reverse this great injustice.

“While Senator Jang does not support disparaging their lordships, as observed in the protest that greeted the previous judgements, we all saw how difficult it was for the judges to justify their positions and how hard they tried to explain their actions due to public outcry.

“Jang calls on the State’s people to remain peaceful and calm and channel their energies into praying to God.

“Yahweh will not fail us, and we trust in him alone,” Jang affirmed.

Appeal Court Sacks Plateau Governor, Muftwang Declares APC Candidate Winner

Recall that the Appeal Court in Abuja has sacked the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang, and declared Nentawe Goshwe of the All Progressives Congress (APC) election winner.

Naija News reports that a three-member panel, in a unanimous decision on Sunday, held that Muftwang was not validly sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as provided by Section 285(2) of the Nigerian Constitution.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier confirmed that Mutfwang polled 525,299 votes in the March 18 governorship election in the state, while Goshwe polled 481,370 votes.

Goshwe challenged the victory of Mutfwang at the tribunal, claiming that the governor was not validly nominated and sponsored by his Party, insisting there was non-compliance with the Electoral Act in the election.

In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of the tribunal headed by Justice R. Irele-Ifijeh dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.

Displeased with the judgment, the APC candidate appealed the tribunal judgment.

The appellate court ruling on Sunday, led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, held that the PDP did not validly sponsor the governor during the election.

She held that the Party violated a court order to conduct a valid Congress in that state’s 17 Local Government Areas.

She said there was no evidence that the PDP complied with a subsisting High Court order which had directed it to conduct a valid party congress before sponsoring the governorship and other candidates.

The court held that the issue of qualification is both a pre-election and a post-election matter contrary to the tribunal’s findings, which held that the appellant lacked the locus to contest the validity of the respondent.

The court also noted that under section 134 of the electoral act, it is the sole right of a political party to sponsor its candidate, having met the requirements to do so.

The court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Mutfwang.