The rivalry between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) will be rekindled during next year’s governorship election in Plateau State.
One natural endowment Plateau State is blessed with, apart from tin and columbite, is human resources. You can find in all the three senatorial zones quality personalities with the requisite credentials to govern the state at any point in time. Little wonder that the people themselves know they would encounter problems selecting from the huge human resources in times of election and, therefore, opted for the rotational option in choosing their governors during elections. To avoid a chaotic scene in the democratic process, the people adopted a power rotation formula, which has been religiously implemented since 1999. This rotational formula is the template for the next general election, as far as Plateau State is concerned.
Going by this rotational arrangement, it is the turn of Plateau Central Senatorial Zone to produce the next governor. In strict adherence to this arrangement, every political party that wishes to compete in the election has picked their flag bearers from the zone. Over 20 aspirants had signified interest to contest for the position on the platform of APC, while more than 20 were also in the race on the PDP platform. After the series of governorship primaries, the stage is set for a rematch between the two leading political parties, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
While the APC opted for Dr. Nentawe Yilwada, the PDP settled for Caleb Mutfwang. Thus, voters on the Plateau have to choose Mutfwang, Nentawe or a candidate of one of the fringe political parties. Mutfwang, a former chairman of the Mangu Local Government Area, is a legal practitioner. The PDP candidate was enrolled as Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1989. He was born 57 years ago.
He worked in a Kaduna-based law firm, Byoma, Ichaba & Co, popularly known as Fidelity Chambers, in the early days of his career as a lawyer. He later established his law firm, known as Caleb Mutfwang & Co, in 1996. The PDP candidate once worked with Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited in Kaduna as Deputy General Manager, Legal & Secretarial Services. He later became the company secretary.
Mutfwang is a member of several professional associations, including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the International Bar Association and the Nigerian Institute of Management. His penchant for knowledge and wisdom took him to the famous Haggai Institute for Leadership Development in Hawai, United States of America.
He has served on the boards of various firms; providing legal services to individuals, corporations, federal ministries, international agencies, and governments.
Those who know Mutfwang very well say he is a devout Christian who cares about people. One of such persons described him this way: “He is clear-headed, credible, and capable of leading the process to raise the standard in governance and, as a result, to elevate Plateau to a new bastion of glory, in keeping with our shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous Plateau.”
Nentawe, the APC standard-bearer is not somebody of lesser credentials and leadership capability. He is an energy engineering expert, a community developer and a lecturer at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State. He has acquired over 29 years of experience working as a consultant with international development partners and in the public and private sectors of the economy.
The 54-year-old ICT guru was trained at the United Nations University International Institute for Software Tech., Macau, China, on Building Electronic Governance Structure. In addition, he has received specialized training from AfriNIC, Mauritius and NetTel@Africa, Nairobi Kenya, which helped in the early transition of Internet Protocol Address Users in Africa, and Capacity Building and Knowledge Exchange in ICT Policy, Regulation and Application.
Nentawe was in 2017 appointed as a national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by President Muhammadu Buhari. Until recently, he was the Benue State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).
The two technocrats from Plateau Central could be described as the best the state can boast of. But, only one of them can be the next governor of Plateau. This makes the choice a difficult one for the electorate. Incidentally, both candidates are devout Christians and from the famous Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) family.
Plateau Central Senatorial Zone where the governorship has been zoned has five local governments. They are Mangu, Bokkos, Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam. Nentawe is from Kanke Local Government Area, while Mutfwang is from Mangu. Only Bokkos Local Government has produced a governor. That is where former Governor Joshua Dariye comes from. The other four local governments are yet to produce a governor.
Interestingly, Mangu and Kanke are populated by two different ethnic groups. The dominant tribe in Kanke Local Government is Ngas, while in Mangu it is the Mwaghavul tribe. These two ethnic groups formed the majority in their respective local government. There is therefore the possibility voters may vote along tribal lines.
However, the success of each of these candidates may largely dependent on who they pick as their running mates. From all indications, the APC and the PDP are looking toward picking their running mates from the Berom ethnic group. This is because the Berom equally possesses a larger voting population that can determine the winner of the governorship election.
In all, the choice before the people, between Nentawe and Mutfwang, is going to be a difficult one. Each of them has the advantage of age with Mutfwang at 57 and Nentawe at 54. Many are just wondering about the campaign strategy these candidates will come with to outshine the other. No doubt, the APC and the PDP both have winning candidates, whoever wins the governorship between the two would have been the one anointed by God himself.
Nation.
