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The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum has given the Rufus Bature-led executive committee of the party in Plateau State seven days to set up a reconciliation committee and also allow people from other political parties to join the APC in the state.
The ultimatum followed the Plateau APC exco’s opposition to the North-Central APC Forum’s decision to adopt the Green Cap Movement for the 2027 governorship election in the state.
The Forum had on Friday in Jos announced that it had adopted the Green Cap Movement in Plateau State ahead of the 2027 gubernatorial poll.
The Green Cap Movement is associated with Plateau State governor Caleb Mutfwang.
The North-Central APC Forum had been urging Mutfwang to dump the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and move to the APC ahead of the 2027 election.
According to Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, Chairman of the North-Central APC Forum, the decision to adopt the Green Cap Movement was taken at an expanded meeting of stakeholders on Thursday night, where the Forum also restated its earlier endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for a second term.
“We have decided to adopt the Green Cap Movement in Plateau because we believe that the time is now.
“Though Mutfwang is of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), we believe that he is doing well and we must support him to excel. We are also endorsing our President, Bola Tinubu, for 2027 because he is doing extremely well,” Zazzaga, a member of the APC campaign council in the 2023 election, had said in Jos on Friday.
However, in a statement also released on Friday, the Bature-led state working committee of the Plateau APC condemned the adoption of the Green Cap Movement by the North-Central APC Forum.
Shittu Bamaiyi, Acting Publicity Secretary of the APC in Plateau State, in the statement, warned that “the party will be taking stringent measures” against those who adopted the Green Cap Movement.
Reacting to the development in a statement on Saturday, the North-Central APC Forum issued an ultimatum to the Bature-led Plateau State APC exco, demanding that genuine efforts should be made to carry all members of the party, especially elders and other stakeholders, along.
Accusing the Bature-led exco of working for the interests of a few individuals, the Forum insisted that a reconciliation committee should be set up to address the situation.
“We are giving the Rufus Bature-led exco seven days to set up a committee to reconcile aggrieved members of the party, particularly elders and others who are not being carried along.
“Also, they should allow members of other political parties who are interested to come to the APC to join. The party does not belong to a few individuals, it belongs to everybody and there should be a level playing field for all,” the statement said.
The Forum equally demanded the withdrawal of the statement issued by the Plateau APC exco over the adoption of the Green Cap Movement.
It warned that it would mobilise to demand sanctions on the Bature-led Plateau exco for refusing to work for the growth of the party in the state, if the ultimatum is ignored.
The Forum in the same vein said it will not join issues with the Bature-led Plateau APC exco – who it said did not deliver for President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 election – over misinformation and false claims in the statement released by Bamaiyi.
However, it countered the Plateau APC spokesman’s claim that the Forum is not registered and therefore not known to the party. Zazzaga noted that the North-Central APC Forum is a registered and officially recognized group within the party, comprising stakeholders of the North-Central region.
He stressed that the Plateau APC exco might have limited information about the Forum’s official status since the group’s registration and recognition is at the national level.
The Forum further stressed that its members have displayed more commitment to the progress of the APC than the Plateau party executives, who it claimed failed to deliver electoral victory for the party and President Bola Tinubu in 2023.
“We will not join issues with people who could not even deliver their polling units and wards for the party and Mr. President during the 2023 election.
“Some of them did not even support the party’s presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We know for certain that they supported Peter Obi, which is why they delivered Peter Obi in their polling units and wards.
“Our members in the North-Central APC Forum, especially the leaders, delivered our polling units and wards. This shows that we are committed party stakeholders, unlike some people who are only interested in occupying positions.
“These people don’t want anybody to come into the party, even when such is for the good of the party. They don’t want anything that will affect their position as party executives, that is why they are not comfortable that we adopted the Green Cap Movement for 2027.
“It is on the record that we are asking Governor Caleb Mutfwang to join the APC. We are still urging the governor to join our great party and align with President Bola Tinubu, which we believe is in the best interest of Plateau State,” the statement said.
The Forum noted that the Green Cap Movement is not attached to any particular political party, as claimed by the Plateau State APC excos.
The statement added, “The attempt to portray the the Green Cap as a PDP emblem is both shallow and historically dishonest. Also, the slogan attached to the Green Cap Movement, ‘The Time is Now’, is not a PDP slogan. It is a universal call for urgency, reform and accountable leadership – everything the APC in Plateau State has failed to embody. The green cap represents a mindset, not a party; a people, not a platform.”
The Forum further noted that agitations it championed in the past were supported by the Plateau APC executives because their interests were involved.
“They were silent when we demanded that the ministerial slot of Plateau State that was vacant after Senator Simon Lalong went to the Senate should be filled so that Plateau will be given adequate representation in the Federal Executive Council; they were silent when we agitated for North-Central to produce the APC national chairman because they were interested in the position; they were there when we were agitating for North-Central Development Commission, they never said we are not recognized or that we working for the opposition. They are reacting now because they feel threatened that we are trying to woo the governor of Plateau State to join the party,” the statement said.
The Forum vowed that no amount of intimidation or blackmail can stop it from advancing the interests of the APC in the North-Central and working for the progress and development of the region.
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