The Plateau State Chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has warn the Plateau State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party PDP to stop polarising the people and overheating the polity.
APC in a statement made available to this medium and was signed by Hon. Sylvanus Namang, APC State Publicity Secretary stated that yesterday, 13th November, 2023, Plateau citizens woke up to a bizarre and brazen display of gross insensitivity by the Plateau state People’s Democratic Party where it shamelessly caused banners to be printed and displayed on the Plateau State Polytechnic Overhead Bridge in the centre of Jos describing some illustrious sons, including the Hon. Member Representing Pankshin/ Kanke/ Kanam, Hon. Yusufu Gagdi, Hon. Bitrus Kaze, a former Member of the Federal House of Representatives representing Jos South/ Jos East and our well -respected daughter, Justice Monica Dongbam- Mensem as “Faces of Plateau Enemies”.
He said, this is a continuation of the unprovoked acts of the party in the wake of the passage of judgement by the Appeal Court in Abuja, which in accordance with the law and precedents, upturned the pyrrhic victory of the PDP in the State based on its self- inflicted and flagrant disrespect of Court Orders on LACK OF STRUCTURE.
Furthermore, Hon. Namang stated that the All Progressives Congress in Plateau State takes very serious exception to this unfortunate display of rascality and abuse on the collective psyche of our people.
He said, ” We see this as a deliberate attempt to plunge the state once again into the dark days of bloodletting in the name of desperate attempts to cling on to power at all cost in the face of its self-inflicted woes”.
For the past two weeks now, we have been witnessing with amazement the macabre dance of the decrepit PDP through circuit shows on State and National Television stations, sponsored protests in Jos and Abuja ostensibly to coerce or cajole the judiciary into reversing itself which is a clear invitation to anarchy as the judiciary remains the bastion of our democracy.
We are worried that the Governor who is the Chief Security Officer of the state would engage himself in these political summersaults. Last week, even when it was in the public domain that funds were released to mobilise some gullible youth, women who are struggling to eke a living due to their impoverished and harsh condition of living in the state and some professional thugs to protest against the judgments which are final. Unfortunately for them, the protest turned out to be a failed project as more judgements were passed against the PDP National Assembly candidates the following day. The governor came out to “condemn” the protest! which we see as mere face-saving.
Security agencies in the state must be commended for their professional conduct in handling the situation which was almost snowballing into a major crises as the protesters were marching to set the Appeal Court in Jos ablaze and damaging vehicles of unsuspecting road users.
Only yesterday, some hapless and sponsored Plateau youths under the aegis of a so-called ” Coalition For Truth and Justice in Africa” were shipped to Abuja and strategically dropped at by the Eagle Square and marched haggardly to the Supreme Court gates with their faces covered with posters to defy easy identification.
Just as the governor through his Director of Press and Publicity, Gyang Bere came out to casually condemn the Plateau Polytechnic inflammatory banner demonising our patriotic sons and daughter, he blamed the act on an “opposition party” in the state, an accusation which cannot pass the test of logic.The APC cannot for any reason engage in defaming its very own and our daughter which the state is proud of no matter what the PDP thinks.
These are certainly not good times for the people of Plateau state which the Peoples Democratic Party has held captive. Last weekend, for instance, all Bikers in this country were mobilised to Jos where they disrupted Jos residents’ sleep with all night displays.Their presence in the state cannot be a mere coincidence as we believe this is part of the futile attempt to mobilise support for the embattled Governor which the sword of justice in respect of his seat is staring him menacingly in the face.
This is, indeed, a season for making money in our beleaguered state as people with weird ideas on how to grab their shares of state funds including people who know the truth but would not come out to say it, are falling over each other. All other things especially the payment of workers salaries and retirees pension have been placed on halt as funds are only released to pursue the legal tussle which they have substantially lost out.
The APC is fully aware of the grand plan to mobilise protesters from all the 17 local government areas to Jos tomorrow 15th November, to stage a “mother of all protests” against the Appeal Court Judgements and the impending verdict on the Gubernatorial Appeal Petition.
We call on security agencies to be on red alert as there are invidious plans to disrupt the delicate tripod on which the peace of the state currently stands. We are dumbfounded by some postings on social media by some extremists in the PDP stating unprintable things to incite religious disharmony in our beloved state and calling for a military take- over because the PDP has dribbled itself out of power.
We are surprised by the litany of protests which they know would not yield any fruit as the law remains the law. We need to be reminded that in our holy books, laws are made to guide against its breakers and not for the righteous.
The serial protests sponsored by the PDP -led government are misdirected. It is against this backdrop that we call on the protesters to turn thier protests against its dishonest and deviant leaders who know the truth but would not come out to tell thier supporters.Those who lost their seats are victims of PDP internal contradictions which the PDP took PDP to court and a faction got judgement in its favour that the party did not conduct and acceptable Congress.The Court was magnanimous enough when Justice S. P. Gang of the Plateau High Court directed them to go back and conduct an all inclusive Congress since 2020 which a faction of the party refused to comply.
Its refusal to comply with the Court Judgment led the party from being denied participation in the 2021 Local Government Election and the loss of seat it won in the Jos North/Bassa rerun election at the tribunal in October 2022.
These serial disrespect of subsisting Court Orders which have put the PDP in the Zamfara way in 2019 which was exactly the same case as Plateau State CANNOT be blamed on APC which is a happy major beneficiary of its self – inflicted woes. In the same vein, the judiciary which it has disparaged by calling the Judges who are doing their work judiciously should not be blamed.
In fact, if the PDP continues on the path of this deviant behaviour of disobeying Court Orders, it has lost the 2024 Local Government Election and also the 2027 General Election in advance because as the judges in their well informed judgments have maintained at all levels that the party does not have a STRUCTURE and as such ” nothing can stand on nothing.” They even stated in categorical terms that all those who stood for elections under the PDP in Plateau state did so as Independent candidates which has no place in the 1999 constitution (as amended) As such their wrongs cannot be turned into “rights” no matter their ill informed agitations.
The Governor ought to be concerned about the many negative firsts he has recorded in his 200 days in office which include the organising of the 17 Local Government workers under NULGE to go on indefinite strike over the Inspector General of Police directive to open the Local Government Secretariat for Elected Local Government Chairmen and Councillors to resume work, the organising of series of protests in the nation’s capital city of Abuja using state funds and more ridiculously the passage of the 2024 budget of over N300 Billion into law without any defence by the MDAs, passage into law a supplementary budget of 27 Billion and a loan of N1.5 Billion all under one hour! Where is the place of holding power in trust for the people in all these embarrassing scenarios?
The PDP has tasted enough the will of the people of Plateau state under a so-called Plateau heritage which is the interest of its sole administrator. Nobody except the faction that went to court and got the Judgements which have become the bane of the party can question him.Hero worshipping has no place in democracy.
The gullible supporters need to know this fact and refrain from overheating the polity and allow peace to reign.Their posters, banners and anger should be directed at their leader(s) for refusal to tell them the truth and nothing but the truth. Until this is done, the party would continue to float in self-delusion.
