Caleb Mutfwang, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Plateau State who was declared the winner of the Saturday election, was one of the local government chairmen illegally removed from office by Governor Simon Lalong in 2015.
On May 29, eight years later, Lalong will hand over the governorship of Plateau state to him.
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On July 27, 2015, Mr Mutfwang, Chairman of Mangu Local Government Area and State Secretary of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), stated that he bore no grudges against Lalong for the “illegal” termination of his appointment.
He spoke on behalf of the ALGON, claiming that despite their “illegal” dissolution, the chairmen of the embattled local government councils had no malice toward Lalong.
Mr Mutfwang stated that he would rather pray for the governor’s success in administering the state, stating that the governor’s success in governance would guarantee a better life for the people of the state.
Mutfwang, who spoke at a thanksgiving service in his honor at COCIN LCC, Ampang West, Mangu Local Government Area of the state, said the word of God had instructed Christians to pray for leaders in authority, adding that they would continue to pray for the governor’s success for the betterment of the state as council chairmen.
Mutfwang was declared the winner of the state’s gubernatorial election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday, 20 March 2023.
Professor Idris Amali, the state’s Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Lafia, declared the PDP candidate winner after collating results from the state’s 17 local government areas, defeating the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Nentawe Yilwatda.
Remember that the PDP ruled Plateau state from 1999 until 2015, when the APC candidate Lalong ousted the party and won the state governorship election.
Lalong was re-elected by the APC to retain power in 2019 before a new governorship election was held last Saturday.
In August 2022, Lalong stated that his appointment as Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council does not contradict his Christian faith, despite the party fielding a Muslim/Muslim ticket.
He stated that the Pope, who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church to which he belongs, has not criticized his decision to accept the job of ensuring the victory of Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, in the 2023 election.
This did not sit well with the state’s majority Christian population, who reportedly voted overwhelmingly against the APC during the election.
Lalong reportedly lost his Senate bid on February 25 because the state’s majority Christian voters opposed him due to his vocal support for the party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.