2023: APC elders describe Plateau governorship primary as fraud, warn against presenting Goshwe as winner

Plateau State All Progressives Congress (APC) elders under the aegis of the Progressives Foundation Movement (PFM) have warned the national leadership of the party not to forward the name of Dr. Nentawe Goshwe as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2023 elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The party elders in a statement issued on Wednesday and jointly signed by Mr. Jacob Gyang, Elder Victor Useni and Musa Ardo, described the governorship primary as the ‘biggest fraud’.

To this end, the party stakeholders called on the APC national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, to summon a stakeholder meeting with all the aggrieved aspirants and stakeholders of the party in the state to address what they described as critical issues and allegations.

The statement read: “For us as foundational elders and leaders of APC in our various rights, wisdom, and positions, we cannot sit down and watch the Governor, Simon Lalong waste the labours we have put in to build and unify the party to retain power in 2023 by derailing and misleading the party’s National leadership on the true state of affairs regarding the May 26, 2022 governorship primaries in the State.

“The memories of Rivers and Zamfara are still and ought to remain very fresh in the minds of sincere lovers of our Party- the APC and we do not want the same to happen to us here in Plateau State.”

The party elders also urged the national leadership of the party to resist and rescind every form of pressure from Lalong to forward the name of Goshwe, who they said his authentic membership of the party remains a doubt, to INEC as the commission’s deadline draws near.

The party stakeholders also called on the national leadership of the party to pick someone among the aggrieved aspirants who is more acceptable and popular.

They insisted that Goshwe is seen within and beyond the state as a stooge of the Lalong administration.

The statement added: “This is more so considering the poor performance score-card of the incumbent administration in the state. Any wonder the Governor has literally relocated to Lagos State where he has been lobbying for the VP slot to Tinubu. For we can bet that the Party would fail if it banks on the Lalong-led government to retain power in 2023 amidst mounting opposition.

“This is our position and that of all those we represent, numbering over 50, 000 members of our party across the three Senatorial zones of Plateau state.”

The stakeholders recalled that on June 15, 2022, a petition made by a lawyer on behalf of 17 delegates of the party during the May 26, 2022 governorship primary in the state, said some aggrieved aspirants for the party’s governorship ticket had staged a walkout at the venue of the party’s primary election, alleging that the exercise was conducted without an authentic delegates list among other irregularities, including non-adherence to laid down rules and party’s procedures.

The stakeholders noted that despite receiving and acknowledging the various petitions sent to it by the aggrieved aspirants and their supporters either directly or through their lawyers, they were afraid the party may still want to forward the name of Goshwe to INEC.

The stakeholders vowed that they were ready to challenge the injustice in a court of law if the party goes ahead to forward Goshwe’s name to INEC.