Jang denies asking Plateau gov to resign

Former governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, denied a report on Thursday that he advised Governor Caleb Mutfwang to resign his position and hand over power to the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Nentawe Yiltwatda.

Jang was reported to have advised Mutfwang, who was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, to hand over power to Yiltwatda following the Appeal Court judgment that nullified his election as governor.

Although Mutfwang had declared his intention to approach the Supreme Court for redress, the judgment sacking him as governor had generated controversy among political stakeholders in the state.

But in a statement on Thursday, Jang said at no time did he ask the state governor to resign or hand over power to the APC governorship candidate in the belief that he wouldn’t get favourable judgment at the apex court.

He said it would be absurd to advise Governor Mutfwang, whom he noted was raising the bar of governance to a new level, to hand over to a group of vampires whom the people of Plateau had rejected.

In a statement signed by his media consultant, Clinton Garuba, the former governor said, “Our attention has just been drawn to a publication purportedly issued by a certain Bulus Deme, who claims to be reporting for Vanguard Newspaper, where he alleged that Senator (Dr) Jonah David Jang advised Governor Caleb Mutfwang to resign, amongst other fabricated stories in what can be best described as daydreaming.

“Interestingly, the so-called Bulus Deme does not exist on the Vanguard newspaper staff list.

“We initially wanted to ignore the publication, believing strongly that readers would easily pick holes in the story and disregard the falsehood being deliberately peddled, knowing the integrity of the former governor and his love for democracy and good governance, which has been the hallmark of the Barrister Caleb Mutfwang-led government since assuming office on May 29, 2023, but for the misleading statement and the fact that some gullible readers will mistake it for truth. To avoid doubt, the entire write-up is completely false and only exists in the writer’s imagination.

“We are not unaware of the devilish attempts to compromise the judiciary by forces of darkness who are bent on subverting the will of the Plateau people who freely voted for PDP in the last election and voted out the APC that spent eight years doing nothing in the interest of the plateau people but disparaged the very people they claimed to govern, shared our common patrimony amongst themselves, destroyed almost every good thing they inherited, almost made us second class citizens in our God-given land; it was indeed a complete wasted eight years.

“It is absurd that anyone would even imagine that Senator Jang would ever think of advising Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who is raising the bar of governance to a new level, to hand over to a group of vampires whom the people of Plateau have rejected.

“It goes without saying that APC is bent on taking power through the back door. We believe our God will never sleep or slumber and will not allow us to return to Egypt as a state and people. Asking a government that has spent only six months in government and has already surpassed the achievements of Lalong’s APC-led eight-year government to resign is unthinkable.

“Senator Jonah Jang, like other well-meaning lovers of democracy, is at a complete loss as to why the Appeal Court took a decision that contradicts the 2023 electoral act and other decided cases by the Supreme Court. He believes that the judgement of Sunday, November 18, is a total miscarriage of justice, and as a firm believer in the judiciary, Senator Jang holds the belief that the highest court of the land will reverse this great injustice.

“While Senator Jang does not support disparaging their lordships, as observed in the protest that greeted the previous judgements, we all saw how difficult it was for the judges to justify their positions and how hard they tried to explain their actions due to public outcry.

“Senator Jang calls on the good people of Plateau State to remain peaceful and calm and channel their energies into praying to God. Yahweh will not fail us, and we trust in him alone.”