Ahead of the upcoming local government elections in Plateau State, the North Central All Progressive Congress, APC, Forum has cautioned the state chapter of the party against what it termed swindling of aspirants seeking elective positions, saying such will be harmful to the success of the party at the polls.
The Forum, which spoke to journalists in Jos the Plateau State Capital through its Chairman, Saleh Mandung Zazzaga said they gathered that the party is planning to sell the nomination forms at exorbitant prices, noting that there is no meaningful framework or structure to give the aspirants maximum advantage against other political parties, especially the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Zazzaga lamented that the APC leaders in the state are not on ground and that they have retreated since the Supreme Court judgement which gave Governor Caleb Mutfwang of the PDP victory.
According to him, “It is so bad that APC leaders from Plateau State had to go and meet in Lafia, Nasarawa State, for a reconciliatory engagement and planning on how to reposition the party for greater successes ahead of the 2027 general election in the state.
“Why Nasarawa State? That is an absolute sign that the party is not on ground in Plateau and their preparedness for the forthcoming election is not looking solid enough”, he decried.
“But the fillers we are getting is that they only want to collect nomination fees from the aspirants at exorbitant prices but without any solid framework and structure to drive the aspirations to victory. That is unacceptable.
“So, there is a need for us to sit down to strategize and plan very well on how to excel at the local government election, and to use it as a stepping stone towards a bigger and more formidable strategy towards the 2027 general election,” the chairman admonished.
He noted that local politics cannot be won from outside and therefore called on all the party officials operating from outside on local political or party matters to be more on ground engineering different political activities to show that the party is still a force to reckon with in the state.
Zazzaga called on the citizens of the state and all the political parties participating in the election to be peaceful in their political activities before, during and after the polls, saying that no meaningful progress can be made in an atmosphere of rancour and chaos.
He also called on the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission, PLASIEC, to endeavour to conduct a free, fair and credible election without fear or favour.
