Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Council: Again, Plateau Muslims sidelined

I’ve not been able to get over the shock of what gripped me when I saw the list of those that made it to the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Council from Plateau State.  2023: Six business outlets to benefit from campaigns Editors demand implementation of FOI Act The list is not only skewed against Muslims in Plateau […]

I’ve not been able to get over the shock of what gripped me when I saw the list of those that made it to the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Council from Plateau State. 

• 2023: Six business outlets to benefit from campaigns
• Editors demand implementation of FOI Act

The list is not only skewed against Muslims in Plateau but sadly, reflects how poorly we are being considered as a group by the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State. 

When I first drew the attention of our people to the likelihood of this earlier in the year, some of our people, especially those close to the government in Plateau thought I was over-reacting, but this is where we have found ourselves. 

Out of 10 persons that made the list, six are from the southern senatorial zone where the governor hails from while the Central and Northern zones have two each. 

In all, only one person is a Muslim among them despite the fact that the Plateau Muslims are the building blocks of APC in the state and their contributions have been largely responsible for the growth of the party in the state. 

This is an incontrovertible fact that has openly been acknowledged by many stakeholders including the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, who after winning his election in 2015 said the Hausa-Fulani-Muslims in Plateau made him governor. 

In 2019, he also sought and got the support of this bloc and equally owes his return and the acceptance of the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari to our support. 

Not only that, our people have never wavered when it comes to demonstrating their support for the party unless they see a clear case of manipulation to deny them their rights as it happened in the last House of Representatives election for Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency. 

Our support for the APC did not just happen as our people from the beginning, form the nucleus of the legacy parties especially CPC and ANPP that made up the APC. 

We are, therefore, taken aback that with such a rich background of support and contribution to the APC, that not even one of our persons has been considered fit to be included in the council. 

This can only mean either that our support is being taken for granted or somebody somewhere is trying to take us for a ride. 

Even though membership of the council is symbolic, I insist that our people must be included. This will encourage us to have a sense of belonging in the party and assure that there are no plans to dump our people after using them to get to the top. 

Happily, the Progressives Governors Forum has also drawn the attention of party leaders to some anomalies as it concerns them. Hence the party needs to act fast. 

A stitch in time, they say, saves nine. 

 

Ibrahim Dasuki Nakande is a former minister