There is palpable tension and disquiet in the Ruling Party, APC in Plateau State as 18 Aspirants are threatening to exit the party on account of what they termed “imposition of an Aspirant” by some bigwigs of the Party.

Their position was made known in a Press Text sign by Chief Amos Gizo and Dr. Danyaro Sarpiya, Chairman and Secretary of the forum respectively.

The text reads:

TEXT OF PRESS CONFERENCE OF 18 PLATEAU APC GOVERNORSHIP
ASPIRANTS BY CHIEF AMOS GIZO CHAIRMAN/CONVENER OF THE
FORUM. HELD ON MONDAY 9TH MAY 2022 AT KALWA HOUSE, JOS.
Gentlemen of the press.
It is my pleasure and a privilege to be amongst you this morning.

• It has made it a necessity for us to address you this morning
  considering recent development in our great party the APC
  Plateau state chapter.
• It is no longer news that the issue of the moment is the 2023
  general elections; most political parties are busy with primaries
  to produce party flag bearers to beat the INEC schedules.
• Our party the APC is not left out of there process by preparing
  guidelines and schedule of primaries sales of forms for all
  elective positions are ongoing and is expected to close by
  Tuesday the 10th of May 2023.
• As the processes are going on in the sate the executive
  Governor of Plateau State Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong and the
  state chairman Hon. Rufus Bature sermonad and enlarged
  stake holders meeting at the government house on Monday
  18th/4/2022 they admonished all aspirants to speak to
  themselves on possible withdrawals and a possibility of coming
  up with a consensus candidate.
• This we started immediately after the parley but we as
  governorship aspirants were invited by the state chairman Hon.
  Rufus Bature at the state secretariat at kalwa on the 25/4/2022
  recterated the govern house position and asked us to try to
  help the party and ourselves by trying to agree and to come up
  with a consensus candidate or at least reduce the number of
  governorship aspirants at the end of the meeting the state
  chairman gave legitimacy to the Plateau governorship aspirants
  forum by appointing Chief Amos Gizo as the chairman convener
  of all the over 20 APC governorship aspirants.
• As the ruling party in the state and at the center our desire is to
  produce credible, qualified and electable candidates who are
  loyal to the party leadership and a person without baggage as
  we want to return power beyond the 16 years of PDP.
• We know what it is to be in government and to be outside
  government and we don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the
  previous leaders who could not install their successors by being
  selfish of imposing unpopular candidates.
• The press conference is a collective agreements and position of
  about 18 governorship aspirants of APC Plateau state who have
  all indicated interests for the number one seat of the state.
• The governor and the leadership of the party in the state all
  confirmed that all of us are most qualified that the least
  qualified of the APC aspirant is better than the most qualified
  of candidates of the other parties.
  We are all passionate about the Plateau state project, all interested
  in changing the narratives of a new secured, developed Plateau. All
  of us have met and spoken and have asked ourselves the question of
  how did we come to this decay? Where did we get it wrong?
  We all agreed that Plateau is not progressing as the indices of
  progress show that we are derailing from the prestigious 3rd position
  in the 60s, 70s and 80s amongst the states of the north to 12th, this
  means something is fundamentally wrong with successive
  administrations of the state that the political will to propel positive
  developments by our founding fathers these are what we have
  discussed and all willing to change.
  The APC governorship aspirants on the Plateau are seasoned experts
  in their fields ranging from academic professors, doctors,
  administrators, accountants, and financial experts, lawyers,
  surveyors etc. All willing to key into the new Plateau project.
  The aspirants in our meetings have resolved as follows.
  At our maiden meeting, the aspirants resolved as follows:

1. There should be no impositions of any kind and consensus will
   be done by the aspirants themselves.
2. We all agreed that any aspirant that becomes the consensus
   candidate will be supported by all.
3. We all agreed that whoever emerges will have the blue print of
   other aspirants to be embedded into his manifestos and
   programs.
4. We all agreed that delegates will emerge by either the
   consensus of the aspirants or election must take place at the
   various designated wards and local government.
5. That no concurred list will be accepted.
6. The party leadership should ensure strict compliance to the
   guidelines of the party for the conduct of the adhoc delegates
   and our position has been communicated to the party leadership by
   our chairman chief Amos Gizo and the secretary Dr Danyaro serpiya
   by our mandate.
   This press conference is to let you members of the fourth estate of
   the realm know and in turn let the world and particularly the
   leadership of our party at the natural level know our position and to
   proudly say that for the first time matured men aspiring for the same
   position and all put their personal ambitions and interest on time to
   chart a course for the collective interest of Plateau and have vowed
   that they will come up with a consensus governorship candidate for
   APC on the Plateau before the primaries.
   This press conference is necessitated by what looked like rumor but
   has been evident by the body language of the state governor Rt.
   Hon. Simon Bako Lalong with members of the first family (wife and
   brothers) his father in-law. Mr Cyril Tsenyil the Accountant general of
   the state, Mr Festus Fuanter the deputy national secretary of APC
   anchored by the member representating pankshin, kanke and kanam
   at the national assembly Rt. Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi to subjugate
   the Collective will of the members of APC by imposing a candidate on
   members of the party in the person of Dr. Nentawe Yilwada Goshen
   which is unacceptable to all of us. We all believe this act of
   subverting democracy has the express approval of the governor just
   to deny the people’s choice and foist an unpopular candidate that
   will cause misfortune to the party as their preferred candidate he has
   just disengaged with INEC as Resident Electoral Commissioner and he
   is yet to get his membership right with APC and has not totally
   disengagement with INEC. Since this matter became open in the
   public domain the governor has remained silent over it, this means
   silence is consent. He has the authority to caution all the
   perpetrators.
   Other issues the 18 aspirants would like the party leadership in the
   state to address immediately is the use of the former adhoc
   delegates with amendments it is totally objected by us and as major
   stakeholders of the governorship primary we insist that an election
   must be held in all the 207 federal ward to come up with the five
   delegate of which two must be women. The rumor of a concocted
   list of adhoc delegate is here by objected by all of us.
   We implore the state chairman not to key into this act of derailment
   of our much labored efforts that by today the state party leadership
   should place list of returning officers for the exercise of tomorrow
   where elected delegates will emerge.
   While we acknowledge that members of the legacy pressure group
   have a right to converse votes for their preferred aspirant but they
   do not have the right to usurp the powers of the party in the state or
   try acts capable of turning the APC fortune to misfortune.

• The governor should try to own up to his neutrality the party
  as empires should maintain their neutrality and limit their
  choices during voting as any overt attempt to take sides will
  surely erode the confidence reposed on them, any state
  executive member who wishes to campaign – The Plateau state APC governorship forum has unanimously
  resolved that before the governorship primary we shall present
  to the party a consensus candidate who has the quality to win
  at the general election against other parties’ candidate.
  We have equally resolved that all of us shall join the consensus
  candidate in his campaign and we shall contribute financially and
  otherwise to the success of APC in the state.
• If the state party leadership allows those bend on subverting
  our nascent democracy to thrive it shall put the state chapter
  into crisis and we the 18 aspirants have vowed and agreed to
  dump the party with our teaming supporters for any party of
  our choice.
  Thank you all for taking your time out and we trust you will do
  justice to the points raised.
  Thank you all and God bless.
  Long live the federal republic of Nigeria,
  Long live APC,
  Long live Plateau state and
  Long live Plateau state APC governorship aspirants.

1. Chief. Amos Y. Gizo – Chairman/Convener
2. Danyaro Dakon Sarpiya – Secretary
3. HE. Prof. Sonnie Tyoden
4. Shem Y. Damisa
5. Amb. Chief Yohanna Margif
6. Dr. Danlami Lenkop
7. Dist. Sen. Hezekiah A. Dimka
8. Compt. David D. Dimka
9. Mr. Geofrey Yileng
10. Mr. Johnson Podar
11. Mr. Sunday Garba Biggs
12. Mr. Kizito Gukas
13. Mr. Sipak Shaset
14. Mr. Shehu Barde Pukat
15. Barr. Garba S Pwul
16. Prof. C. J. Dakas
17. Dr. Fitka Steve
18. Dr. Patrick Sunday Dakum
    …………………………………..
    …………………………………………
    Chief Dr. Amos Y Gizo
    Dr. Danyaro Dakom Sarpiya
    Chairman/Convener
    Secretary

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Disquiet in Plateau APC as 18 Governorship Aspirants Threaten to Quit Party