As a loyal party member and one of the leaders of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Plateau State, I find it pertinent to add my voice to the raging debate over who should be appointed as minister of the federal Republic of Nigeria, when the current minister, Rt. Hon. Simon Lalong, resigns his appointment and resumes at the Senate where he has been duly elected.
I make this submission with all sense of responsibility and for the unity and growth of our party in Plateau State.
As the debate over who will take the ministerial position rages, it is my considered opinion that the interest of the APC and its growth should be the watchword rather than selfish interests.
Members of the APC would recall that there are wounds arising from the conduct of the party primaries in the last elections which have not yet healed and I believe this is the right time for us as commited party members to put our house in order and continue in ways that would be less prone to creating more acrimony and suspicion.
Since we’ve all agreed that we are striving towards a common goal which is to build and strengthen our party to formidability ahead of future elections, building cohesion and sense of onesess should be the watchword.
Lest we forget, we have ahead of us two major National Assembly bye elections to participate in and win which cannot be achieved without unity.
In that regard, I posit that in order to avoid unnecessary rancour and to earn the respect of Abuja, that the position of the minister should be reserved for our governorship candidate, Prof. Yilwada Goshwe Nentawe until he declares otherwise.
By saying this, I am not unaware that he is currently the governor-elect having won at the Appeal Court and that Nentawe is only a step to occupying the exalted position.
While we are hopeful that the Supreme Court would dispense with the governorship case in our favour however, we would be showing the candidate the immense respect and honour he deserves if we defer to him in terms of making nomination to that exalted office.
Despite our high hopes that the case will go in our favour, we will be setting the pace in selflessness and promotion of party unity if we accord the candidate his due respect and call on the President not to make appointment to that office but wait for the outcome of the Supreme Court verdict in the governorship case
So that in the unlikely event that the case does not favour us, (God forbid) the party would be able to compensate Nentawe with the ministerial position for his tenacity and doggedness which has rubbed positively on the party leading to its good performance at the 2023 governorship election.
This is more so as the Central zone, where he hails from, has been the most marginalised in terms of ministerial positions since 1999.
Again by doing so, we shall be able to prepare and fortify him for the next election in 2027 since he has shown capacity.
If however the expected happens and Nentawe is declared governor, we will be showing both him and the office of the governor respect by allowing him nominate who should be the Minister.
This is the convention in the party where sitting governors are allowed to make nominations into the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and there is no need to jettison that principle now.
But when it gets to that point where Nentawe is sworn in, the governor and the party should bear in mind the risk of having both the governor and the minister from the same zone which usually heats up the polity due to avoid creating a scenario where the minister would begin to regard himself as empowered to flex muscles with the sitting governor; hence the minister should be nominated from other zones.
Both the governor and the party should also bear in mind that the southern zone has held the position since 2015 and for almost nine years without break, hence it would be most appropriate to zone it to the northern zone in the most likely event that Nentawe is returned as the duly elected winner of the governorship election.
Committed members of the APC in Plateau State are aware that Nentawe, has the ability to unite the party members due to his naturally peaceful disposition and I am confident that he will be a just leader shorn of bias and pursuit of sectional interests to the overall interest of the state.
Let me us this opportunity to appeal to party leaders and members to calm down and concentrate on winning the court case and to accord full support to our governship candidate to win his case at the Supreme Court first. We owe him that respect.
I make this humble submission with all sense of responsibility and without prejudice to the rights of every plateau citizen to aspire to the position of minister of the Federal Republic and in the interest of APC in the state believing that this will foster harmony, equity and fairness.
Thank you.
Hon Lumumba Dah Adeh is former Member, House of Representatives; former SA to President O. Obasanjo and former SA to former Deputy Speaker House of Representatives.
