Is Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State’s recent revelation that he is under pressure to join the All Progressives Congress a hint of his possible emergence as the first northern governor elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party to defect to the ruling party since the 2023 general election? Ejiofor Alike asks
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ince the wave of defections by the governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election hit the main opposition party, only southern governors of the party have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State opened the floodgate of defections of the PDP governors in April 2025 when he dumped the major opposition party.
Barely two months later, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State defected from the PDP to the ruling APC.
Four months later, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State also dumped the PDP and defected to the APC in October.
Last month, Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, formally announced his resignation from the PDP, emerging as the fourth southern governor to dump the main opposition party since the 2023 general election.
Though Diri has kept sealed lips on the party he and his supporters are moving to, there are strong indications that he would join the APC.
With the defections, the PDP is now at its weakest position since 1999, controlling only eight of Nigeria’s 36 states — Bauchi, Oyo, Adamawa, Osun, Plateau, Taraba, Zamfara and Rivers.
The non-defection of any of the five PDP governors from the north has fuelled suspicions on the possible regional alignments ahead of the 2027 general election.
However, Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State’s recent revelation that he is under pressure to join the APC may erase these suspicions as it may be a hint of his possible emergence as the first northern PDP governor to defect to the ruling party since the 2023 general election.
Governors Agbu Kefas of Taraba State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State are also said to be under pressure to join the APC.
Speculations about Lawal’s possible defection spread after 15 key officials of the PDP in the state, including his close allies and supporters defected to the APC.
The dismissal of the reports of his possible defection by his spokesperson on Media and Communications, Mustafa Kaura, did not douse the speculations.
On the part of Fintri, the rumour about his possible defection gained traction after the governor held a closed-door meeting with the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, at the Government House, Yola, in May.
Though Governors Mutfwang, Kefas, Fintiri and Lawal were said to be under pressure to join the APC, only the Plateau State governor publicly admitted being under pressure, leaving the case of the other three governors in the realm of speculation.
Speaking recently on the pressure at the Government House Banquet Hall in Jos, Mutfwang, who is seeking re-election in 2027, said only God and the people who elected him had the authority to decide his political future.
Mutfwang said: “It is not a lie that they are putting pressure on me. But I told them that only two people would authorise me to change my party. One is the God of heaven, and the other is you, the people.”
The governor asked the audience, “Have you asked me to go anywhere?” And the crowd responded with a thunderous “No.”
“So, those who are rejecting me for what I did not seek are only hiding their desires,” he added.
However, many still believe that the Plateau State governor’s revelation is an indication that his possible defection is in the cards.
Analysts argue that the next stage of the defection process is for him to announce to Nigerians that he is “consulting God and the people.”
Also, just as in the case of other governors who faced opposition against their defections, the APC leaders in Plateau State, who fear that the governor will sideline them when he defects and automatically becomes the leader of the party in the state, have mounted a fierce campaign against his joining the APC.
In a statement by its acting Publicity Secretary, Shittu Bamaiyi, the APC in the state described Mutfwang as “living in self-denial”.
“If he truly meant well for his supporters and the state, he should have courageously named those pressuring him and explained why.
“Whatever the case, it is a big minus for a sitting governor when the opposition openly objects to his joining its ranks, even when that party’s goal is to win future elections,” the statement said.
APC leaders in the state had earlier publicly rejected any attempt to admit the governor into the party.
At a meeting attended by APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, former governors Simon Lalong and Joshua Dariye, and other leaders, the party described talk of Mutfwang’s entry as “unfounded,” and unanimously adopted a motion moved by a former Deputy National Secretary of APC, Festus Fuanter, opposing the governor’s possible defection to the APC.
In the motion, Fuanter stated, “I move the motion against accepting Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang into the APC.”
But in a dramatic twist, the North Central APC Forum rejected the resolution passed by the leaders of the party in the state against Mutfwang’s defection to the party.
The forum argued that those resisting Mutfwang’s possible defection were acting out of selfish interest rather than for the good of the party.
The forum’s chairman and a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 elections, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, in a statement, reaffirmed their call on Mutfwang to dump the PDP.
Zazzaga said, “It is not just about gathering to reject Governor Caleb Mutfwang. The real issue is who can win the governorship seat for the party. Among those so-called stakeholders that gathered to reject him, only a few are genuine, capable members.
“For instance, in the previous election, the APC governorship running mate lost his polling unit and ward to the PDP. He got 2,800 votes in his ward, while the PDP got 10,600. Yet, he is among those opposing Mutfwang joining the party.
He stated that it was only the APC National Chairman, Yilwatda, that won his local government for President Tinubu.
Zazzaga insisted that the forum was advocating for members who could add value to the party rather than those driven by personal gain.
He reaffirmed the forum’s call on Mutfwang to join the APC, citing the crisis in the PDP.
“Those rejecting him cannot even win their polling units. We want to join hands to win the Plateau State for Tinubu. It is not about personal interest now; only when you win elections can you talk about interests,” he added.
Mutfwang’s media aide, Gyang Bere, had boasted that the governor had the capacity to win re-election “without switching parties.”
But many believe that the governor’s public revelation of being under pressure may be an indication of his possible emergence as the first northern PDP governor to join the APC since the 2023 general election.
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