A brewing political storm erupted on Tuesday as stakeholders under the North‑Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum publicly declared that the party’s National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, lacks the constitutional authority to block Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, from joining the ruling party.
The Forum called on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to immediately liaise with APC state governors in the North-Central zone for a direct meeting with President Bola Tinubu over a formal review of Yilwatda’s appointment.
The Forum also urged governors from Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, and Niger to escalate the matter through the Progressive Governors Forum, describing the chairman’s conduct as a distraction to party growth.
Naijaonpoint understands that the Forum has been lobbying for weeks for the defection of Governor Mutfwang from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
But the move has fractured party unity in Plateau, with executives and women’s groups strongly pushing back.
On October 17, 2025, a key stakeholders meeting in Isolo, Lagos, endorsed a motion moved by former APC Deputy National Secretary, Festus Fuanter, rejecting Mutfwang’s possible defection.
Days later, on November 23, the women’s wing of the APC doubled down at a political rally in Jos, publicly rejecting the defection proposal, saying the governor’s alleged plan to join was unacceptable.
The Forum accused Yilwatda of allegedly orchestrating media campaigns aimed at stopping the governor, alleging that the party chairman’s ambition to contest again in 2027 underpinned his actions.
The Forum said Yilwatda had engaged groups to place protests and media publications linking Mutfwang’s defection with “unacceptable damage”, stressing that such interventions distort Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
‘We Can’t Fold Our Arms Anymore’ – Forum Chairman, Zazzaga Fires Back
In a communique signed by the Forum chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, the group stated: “We are calling on the SGF, the Progressive Governors Forum and the APC governors in the North-Central to quickly meet Mr President to review Professor Nentawe Yilwatda as National Chairman because of his unsatisfactory performance.”
The forum warned that the chairman’s opposition to Mutfwang’s defection “could deprive the zone of future national appointments.”
The forum insisted that the real power to accept any defector, including the governor, lies in his ward.
“It is only Mutfwang’s ward in Mangu that has the right to admit him. The National Chairman has no role to play in bringing Governor Caleb Mutfwang to the party,” Zazzaga said.
The Speaker of the House, Alfred Emberga, reinforced the position, noting, “Nobody should take the law into their hands. The fundamental rights of Lagosians and Nigerians must be protected.”
Reliable security sources also stated that the breakthrough comes after intensified joint intelligence operations involving NPF, NSCDC, vigilante teams and NDLEA units across forest routes in the region a few days to Mutfwang’s rumored defection.
The Forum fired another strong warning against the inducement of women to protest political decisions, saying that paying Plateau women ‘peanuts’ for protests may expose them to danger, adding: “Every right-thinking person should condemn this. It will expose women and their families to risk as criminals will think huge sums were paid.”
The Forum, however, commended Imo Governor, Hope Uzodinma, on his appointment by President Tinubu as Director-General for Party Outreach, Engagement and Mobilisation.
“This appointment justifies our position that the national chairman was not discharging his role effectively,” the forum said, urging him to lead a fresh push for the chairman’s review.
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