Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has formally dumped the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress, a move the North-Central APC Forum calls historic and strategic. The defection was confirmed Thursday night in Abuja during the APC National Caucus meeting, instantly reshaping the region’s political map.
In a statement released Friday, the forum’s chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, welcomed Mutfwang into the ruling party and praised him for responding to sustained pressure from party stakeholders. He said the forum had pushed for the move since April 2024, arguing it was in the best interest of Plateau State and the wider North-Central region.
The forum described the governor’s decision to defect alongside all his aides as a major political milestone. With Plateau now under APC control, the North-Central becomes the only geopolitical zone where all six states are governed by the ruling party. Zazzaga said the development marked the fulfilment of a long-held regional goal.
According to the forum, the campaign to bring Mutfwang into the APC was driven by his performance in office and the belief that he could achieve more on a stable national platform. It said alignment with the federal government would strengthen collaboration with President Bola Tinubu and accelerate development across Plateau State.
The forum also tied the defection to its 2027 political strategy, reaffirming a pledge to deliver six million votes for Tinubu’s re-election. That target, it recalled, was raised from four million votes in April 2025, alongside a commitment to win all elective positions in the zone. With all governors now in the APC, the forum said the goal was firmly within reach.
Zazzaga credited Tinubu for creating what he called a leadership climate that made the defection possible. He recalled that shortly after the Supreme Court upheld Mutfwang’s election in April 2024, the forum formally invited him to join the APC and notified the party’s national secretariat.
The statement addressed past controversy, noting that rumours of the defection surfaced in December 2024 after Mutfwang was seen with APC governors during the Edo governorship election. Those reports were denied at the time by his media team. It also dismissed protests by some Plateau APC members and rejected claims that the APC national chairman attempted to block the move.
The forum insisted that constitutionally, only APC ward executives in Mutfwang’s Mangu Ward could admit him. It called on the presidency and APC governors to ensure a smooth integration process, saying unity was essential to consolidating the party’s dominance in the North-Central.
