MOST stakeholders in Plateau State are still shell shocked on how the generally unknown ADP won the rerun in Plateau North senatorial district to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) while the Labour Party triumphed in the bye-election in the Jos North/Bassa federal constituency. ISAAC SHOBAYO writes on the last-minute moves made by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders in the state to pull the rug of the feet of APC in the two polls.
THE re-run in Plateau North senatorial district and the Jos North/Bassa federal constituency of Plateau State rekindled the rivalry between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) last Saturday. The former was excluded from fielding candidate in the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), following a court order. The exclusion of the PDP sparked a row that dovetailed into the re-run, as the party opted for a Plan B. It endorsed the African Democratic Party (ADP) for the Senate and the Labour Party for the House of Representatives to upstage the APC and others who perceived the absence of the PDP on the ballot as a blessing in disguise.
Plateau North has been the stronghold of the PDP. It has never lost an election in the district, which comprises Jos North, Bassa, Barakin-Ladi, Riyom, Jos East, and Jos South local government areas. It is recalled that the February 2023 senatorial and House of Representatives elections won by a former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Simon Mwadkwon and Honourable Musa Agah, respectively. But their victories were quashed by the Appeal Court on the ground that the party lacks structure to produce candidates for the polls.
Though the Appellate Court outright sacked Mwadkwon and Agah, the caveat in the judgment that all political parties therein shall participate in the election prompted and emboldened the two to insist on being on the ballot. Explaining the rationale for the exclusion of the lawmakers from the poll, the INEC National Commissioner, Mallam Haruna Mohammed, said the PDP was notified early by the chairman of the commission, Professor Mahmooud Yakubu, during a meeting with political parties in Abuja why the PDP would not be on the ballot. This, he sai, was as a result of the Appeal Court judgment, which sacked the elected PDP senatorial candidate, Mwadkwon, and member of the House, Agah.
‘We had a meeting with political parties right before now and told them that in a re-run, disqualified candidates and political parties cannot participate; this is an established law; the Supreme Court has ruled about it in Labour Party versus INEC several years ago, and the PDP was a beneficiary of this at that time. INEC is a law-abiding institution. We called a meeting of all political parties. If the PDP went to court and the federal high court declined jurisdiction, what that simply means is that the ruling by the Court of Appeal subsists and we have to obey the court; our hands are tight in this regard. What the court said is what we are going to do, whether it is right or wrong, unless it is set aside,” he said.
The chairman of the state chapter of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) disagreed with the INEC national commissioner’s assertion that the party was duly informed about the exclusion. His protest and threat of all the other parties to boycott the election apparently went unnoticed as INEC stood its ground. The last-hour exclusion was a rude shock to the PDP family in the state. Other parties, including the APC and the Labour Party (LP) perceived the development as conferring an added advantage for them to win the election. Embittered by the exclusion, the PDP quickly re-strategised and rallied support for the senatorial candidates of the Africa Democratic Party (ADP), Mr Pam Mwadkwon, and Asama of the Labour Party, respectively, for the re-run to prove that its victory in the 2023 general election was not a fluke.
The former governor of the state, Senator Jonah Jang, has a considerable influence in the politics of Plateau and in Plateau North in particular. Over the years, he has proved to be the major power broker. He has kept a clean record in terms of leading the PDP to victories in all major elections in the area. In short, he has never failed to deliver the senatorial district for his party. So, immediately the news filtered out that the PDP had been excluded from the re-run, some top notch of the party in the state held a meeting with the former governor on the next line of action. They resolved that the members and supporters of the party should vote for the ADP senatorial candidate and the Labour Party for Jos North/Bassa federal constituency, respectively.
Less than 24 hours to the election, the message of endorsement of the ADP and LP by the PDP had gone viral. A source close to the PDP said the party was embittered by its exclusion from the poll. Yet, it refused to stand aloof to proof that it holds the ace in Plateau North is concerned and decided to deny the APC, which stands a better chance of winning the election in the absence of the PDP on the ballot. It was gathered that the PDP’s choice of the relatively unknown ADP for the Senate and LP for the House of Representatives was meant to underscore the PDP overwhelming influence in the area.
Some stakeholders in the politics of Plateau also highlighted complaints that characterised the conduct of the poll. In their opinion, the exercise fell short of global standard and practice, as it was marked by irregularities and inadequacies on the part of the INEC since the poll was held just one district. It ended as another inconclusive election and rescheduled for another day. Worried by the complaints, the commission had to suspend its Jos North local government Electoral Officer. In a signed statement by the INEC, he was directed to step aside.
From the office to enable the commission carry out a proper investigation into the circumstances that led to the missing Federal House of Representatives ballot papers in 16 polling units in Jos North. At the end, Professor Nestor Chagok declared Prince Pam Mwadkon Dachungyang of the ADP the winner of the Senate election, while Professor James Garba declared Honourable Daniel Asama of the Labour Party as the winner of the House of Representatives election for Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency.
However, the quest by the APC to use both the Senate and House re-runs to console itself over the Supreme Court judgement in favour of Governor Caleb Muftwang was frustrated. Prior to the poll, the general expectation was that the APC would cash on the opportunity that the PDP would not be on the ballot to launch itself into reckoning in Plateau North. Therefore, some observers posited that the outcome of the elections may have further whittled down the influence of the APC in the politics of Plateau. One of the observers said: “With the absence of the PDP on the ballot, the expectation was that the APC would overrun the other political parties and go ahead to win by a wide margin, but the reverse was the case. It came in third place in both the Senate and House of Representatives. With less than 48 hours until the election, the PDP on the sidelines was able to mobilize against the APC from different angles.
As the various camps, coupled with vested interests in the poll take stock, the major beneficiary of the re-run is the senator-elect, Prince Pam Mwadkon Dachungyang. He and his party, as well-wishers are savouring the sweet aroma of victory, while some god fathers and godsons are sulking in defeat. Nonetheless, the different camps are already coming out with various permutations, with some claiming that the beneficiary be a placeholder. Overall however, his victory has suddenly changed his status like the biblical Mordecai, who moved from being a gatekeeper to the position of authority.