Former chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State, currently serving as political adviser to the state governor, Hon. Latep Dabang, has said APC structure in the state collapsed in 2021 after the collapse of internal democracy in the party.
He said contrary to insinuation in some quarters that PDP has no structure in the state, “If there is any political party that does not have structure it is the All Progressive Congress (APC).”
Dabang made the disclosure while speaking to newsmen in Jos the Plateau State, adding that anyone living in the state witnessed how the current leadership of the party emerged.
“The purported congresses that took place at the ward, LG and state levels were stage-managed. There were a lot of cries, that shows clearly that there was no proper election that produced the current leadership of APC in the state”.
The former PLASIEC chairman further said, “At a point I applied to INEC to give me the true certified copy of their observations as the observer of the Congress. The result was appalling. It was clear that there was no Congress that took place in the majority of the wards. It was also very obvious that the majority of the LGs did not obey the tenet of Democracy in electing their officers.”
According to him, the development later snowballed into the ugly situation that took place at Crest hotel where the state officers of the party were elected.
He argued that most of the candidates that are parading themselves as officers of the party at the state level today either did not buy forms or they are simply imposed by the power that was at that time.
“Worthy of note is the party Chairman himself. I remember vividly Itse Ibrahim and others have gone to court because they purchased the forms, but when it got to the contest proper they were refused the forms to fill.They were simply told Hon. Rufus Bature has been announced the anointed candidate of the party.”
The Political Adviser to Governor Mutfwang also stated that, at a point they were cajoled to believe that it will be settled out of court but unfortunately it got to a point that it was never settled adding that nobody really pay attention to the crises that had brewed within the APC.
Dabang also explained that for them in PDP they considered that as APC internal problem and that is why they did not care.” If we have known that PDP can pepped into the affairs of another party and also present it as issues.
“We could have done that, with all the evidence we had from INEC at our disposal concerning APC congresses that took place, we could as well bring it before the tribunal”. he said.
