2027: Mutfwang inaugurates APC campaign council in Plateau

Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has inaugurated the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council for the 2027 general elections, urging members to intensify grassroots mobilisation and run peaceful, issue-based campaigns.

The inauguration took place on Monday at the Government House, Rayfield, Jos, bringing together party leaders, political stakeholders and campaign coordinators ahead of the elections.

The campaign council is expected to coordinate activities for the re-election campaigns of President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Governor Mutfwang and his deputy, Josephine Piyo, as well as APC candidates for the National and State Assemblies.

Mr Mutfwang, while inaugurating the council, thanked residents for their support and said his administration had recorded progress in critical sectors but needed another term to consolidate its development programmes.

He said no government could complete every development project within a single tenure, describing governance as a continuous process requiring collective commitment.

“There is no government that ends everything. Every government is a relay. Our duty is not to make others look bad; it is to see how we can collectively make Plateau State look better,” he said.

On security, the governor acknowledged the persistent challenges confronting the state but said his administration was implementing measures to protect lives and property.

He disclosed that plans were underway to facilitate the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their communities, adding that at least 800 trained forest guards would soon be deployed to strengthen security in vulnerable areas.

Mr Mutfwang also announced plans to inaugurate another batch of retrained Operation Rainbow personnel as part of efforts to strengthen the state’s security architecture.

Addressing the economic challenges facing Nigerians, the governor acknowledged the hardship associated with ongoing economic reforms. Still, he defended the Tinubu administration’s policies, arguing that the country needed time to recover from longstanding fiscal and structural problems.

He listed some interventions by his administration to ease the effects of the economic situation, including the introduction of Tin City Metro buses, the revival of rail services within Jos metropolis, a 50 per cent reduction in tuition fees in state-owned tertiary institutions and a 300 per cent increase in student allowances.

The governor urged APC stakeholders and candidates to work together, stressing that the party’s electoral success would depend largely on effective mobilisation at the ward and polling-unit levels.

“The votes are in the polling unit. They are not in Jos. Everybody can only matter in the locality where you come from,” he said.

He also urged campaign council members to avoid political bitterness, demonstrate humility and communicate the policies and programmes of APC-led governments through constructive engagement with voters.

Earlier, the Director-General of the Mutfwang/Piyo 2027 Governorship Campaign Council, Joseph Ari, thanked the governor for the confidence he and other members had in him.

Mr Ari pledged that the campaign would be guided by discipline, teamwork, effective organisation and collective responsibility.

He described the governor’s ‘Time Is Now’ policy direction as a framework for development, adding that unity, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence were necessary for sustainable progress in the state.

According to him, the campaign council has received expressions of support from 115 support groups, alongside solidarity visits and assurances from traditional rulers, religious leaders, women, youths and other organised groups.

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He said the campaign would remain factual and issue-based, while prioritising inclusive mobilisation and constructive communication across the state.

Mr Ari also called on APC members and residents to turn out on November 14 to welcome President Tinubu, Vice-President Shettima, the APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, and other national party leaders during their scheduled visit to Plateau.

In his remarks, Plateau APC Chairman Rufus Bature described the inauguration as an important step toward establishing a coordinated campaign structure ahead of the 2027 elections.

Mr Bature urged members to strengthen the party’s structures across polling units through grassroots organisation, loyalty, effective communication and accountability.

He added that the party remained open to accommodating additional stakeholders as preparations for the elections progressed.