The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum has called on local leaders and elders who are currently affiliated with the PDP and other opposition parties to switch to the APC.
Only the APC government under President Bola Tinubu can ensure the interests of the North-Central zone, according to a statement issued by the Forum on Monday.
Former Senate President David Mark, former Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang, former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, former Senate President and former Kwara Governor Bukola Saraki, former Benue Governors Gabriel Suswam and Samuel Ortom, and former PDP national chairman Professor Iyorchia Ayu are among the North-Central leaders being courted to join the party, according to a statement signed by the APC Forum’s chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, who served on the APC presidential campaign council in the 2023 election.
The Forum pointed out that the generosity of the APC government under Tinubu has allowed the people of the North-Central to enjoy the benefits of democracy, in contrast to the neglect and marginalization the area endured under the PDP.
“We urge them to consider the development of the region before party interest.
“We are advising former Senate Presidents Bukola Saraki and David Mark, former governors Babangida Aliyu, Jonah Jang, Gabriel Suswam, and Samuel Ortom, as well as the former national chairman of the PDP, Professor Iyorchia Ayu, and other elders and leaders of the North-Central to come to the APC because that is the party that loves the people of the region.
“They should consider APC because that is the party that is good to the North-Central. The people of the North-Central are receiving the dividends of democracy under the APC government led by President Bola Tinubu, and that is why we were the first to endorse him for a second term.
“These North-Central elders and political leaders should put party aside and put the interest of the zone first by joining the APC. We urge them to give Mr. President the moral support to continue transforming the fortunes of the zone.”
The APC Forum said that the Federal Government is now paying attention to the North-Central’s major road networks, which were neglected during the PDP years.
These highways include the Jos-Akwanga road, the Ejule-Otukpa road, the Jos-Saminaka/Kaduna road, the Makurdi-Oturkpo-Otukpa road, the Makurdi-Ankpa road, and the Minna-Bida road. Other roads include the Birnin-Gwari-Bokani-Mokwa road, the Minna-Zungeru-Tegina-Kontagora route, the Lapai-Agaie-Bida road, the Lokoja-Abuja road, and the Ganawuri-Manchok road.
“There were little or no federal projects in the North-Central during the PDP government. Major federal roads across the North-Central were neglected and in a dilapidated state for several years without any intervention by the Federal Government,” the statement noted.
The Forum cited the recent creation of the North-Central Development Commission (NCDC) subsequent to the President’s signing of the enactment law as more evidence that the APC is the best option for the North-Central.
“The President’s action showed that he is a listening President. He listened to the cries of the North-Central APC Forum, which had agitated for the creation of a Development Commission for the region, as had been done for the other geo-political zones—for the sake of equity and justice,” the statement observed, adding that the Commission would ensure the accelerated development of the region.
According to the North-Central APC stakeholders, the area has been assigned important roles in the APC Federal Government, including important cabinet responsibilities.
Key ministries led by North-Central ministers were identified in the statement. These included the Ministry of Justice, under the leadership of Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the Attorney General of the Federation, from Kwara; the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, under the leadership of Mohammed Idris from Niger State; the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, under the leadership of Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda from Plateau; the Ministry of Women Affairs, led by Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim from Nasarawa; the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, under the leadership of Zephaniah Bitrus Jisalo from the Federal Capital Territory; and the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, under the leadership of Prof. Joseph Utsev from Benue.
“Added to these is the high-profile position of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), given to the North-Central, with Senator George Akume of Benue State holding the office,” the statement said.
The Forum also noted that the APC government, led by Tinubu, had made significant strides in addressing North-Central insecurity.
Insecurity in the North-Central region is much lower than it was during earlier regimes. Due to insecurity, it was previously challenging for our people, who are primarily farmers, to get to their farms. However, the people may now go to their farms to grow and harvest their crops because of the leadership that Mr. President has given the Armed Forces and other security services, the Forum stated.
The Forum also noted that the PDP leadership had marginalized the party’s regional chieftains and urged the North-Central political leaders and opposition elders to join the APC.
“North-Central elders like Saraki, Iyorchia Ayu, David Mark, Jonah Jang, Suswam, Ortom, and Babangida Aliyu have been sidelined by the current leadership of the PDP.
“We are not happy that these eminent personalities of the North-Central are being sidelined in their party, the PDP, and that is another reason why we want them to find a home in the APC.
“They are welcome to join the APC anytime. We assure them that they will feel valued and appreciated in the APC, unlike what they are going through in the PDP, which does not even have a future due to the problems in the party.”
