“…APC did not lose 2023 election because of poor performance. Nope. The unresolved conflicts cost the APC the elections”
The Piooner Director General of Plateau State Contributory Health Management Agency, PLASCHEMA and Former Chairman, Plateau State Youth Council, PYC, Dr Jemchang Yildam Fabong has insinuated that the subsuming reconciliation of the opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, aimed at healing internal rifts and presenting a unified front, had sent quivers of concern through the ranks of their political rivals particularly Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang and his party, the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
Last week Thursday, at Nasarawa State Government House in Lafia, the State chapter of the once ruling party turned opposition following the party’s dsymal performance at the 2023 polls hugely credited to inreconciliable differences ochestreated by lack of internal democracy and due recognition of relevant stakeholders by then Gov Simon Bako Lalong and his liutenants in government held a reconciliation meeting chaired by the humble and experienced 9th National Assembly Deputy Speaker, Rt Hon Ahmed Idris Maje Wase.
Speaking as the 23rd Guest on Pointblank Interactive Session, Dr Fabong on the party’s efforts to mend fences with each factions and setting aside their grievances for the united goal of party victory and governance, the Consultant Family Physician said the fragments of past disputes that once seemed insurmountable were slowly being dissolved by the stronger acid of common interests and political survival.
Tracing the history of the party’s political summersault, Dr Fabong said “The APC lost the last General elections in Plateau State due to the unresolved conflicts in the Party”. He however submitted that “conflict in itself is not bad and conflict is inevitable in our lives. Infact, conflict itself is neutral, and its goodness or badness depends exclusively on how it’s managed.”
He blamed the inability of the party to “not managed properly” conflicting triggers which he listed to include “Allocation of resources, money, duties, Personal problems between people, Resistance to change, clash in goals, values, principles, and interpretation, Failure to recognise that people are different” amongst other factors as the reason for his party’s failure
Responding to why such a strategic meeting was held elsewhere in another state and not Plateau as the state in question, Dr Fabong dismissed any insuination of anomaly saying “The place where reconciliation or reconciliation meetings should be held is immaterial. Let me make this clear that conflicts themselves are best addressed on a neutral ground. So that is not an anomaly. I will not exhaust plentiful examples of people on the Plateau going to other states to resolve their conflicts. We have had our people move to places as far as Cross Rivers and Bauchi to discuss their issues and come back home with solutions. Again, the meeting could have been at the instance of the Government of Nassarawa state led by the APC. Would they have refused such an invitation? The answer is no. So, the place or venue is not an issue for any form of debate”.
The former state’s Youth leader disagreed that Gov Mutfwang and the PDP is ‘attaining unwaivering stability’ in the state. He submitted that “As a Plateau patriot, I will speak clearly from my conscience that the government has done well if they did well. For now, we are still far from saying the government has achieved giant strides”.
He went further to rank the Time Is Now Mantra “On the scale of one to ten, one being the least and 10 being the highest, they are at 3. Remember, unto whom much is given, much is expected. Let’s not speak of economy, value chain, and what have we. The simple indices of measuring growth is how the down trodden is treated. What are the states of our schools, hospitals, etc.?”
Dr Fabong debunked the claim that APC lost elections due to bad performance. “In fact the claim that Plateau people massively voted the PDP is not only spurious but laughable. What was the percentage difference in the total votes casted? Statistically can we say they were massively voted? You know the answer. The PDP won the majority votes and that should be the narrative.
“The APC as mentioned has issues. They did not lose that election because of poor performance. Nope. The unresolved conflicts cost the APC the elections. What the APC is currently doing is defining the disagreement and establishing a common ground and how to meet the common goal. They are trying to eliminate the barriers and resolve the issues”.
Fabong continued that “The APC has done a Post mortem. The issues identified will be sorted. I mention them in my introduction and they are not far away from the truth. Remember, reconciliation may take time. I tell you, if that process goes well, the rest will be history”
Lamenting the inability of the 7 remaining APC State Legislators to be sworn in, Dr Fabong recounted it as a dent on the Mutfwan’s administration. “That’s where good governance comes into play. Which was why I said we have different criteria for measuring good governance. Respect for the Rule of Law is the hallmark of democracy. Where that is lacking, there is no justification no matter one’s degree of oratory. It’s a shame that we are where we are today. This is micromanaging a situation that will soon turn sour. Trust me.”
The USAID Country partner waved away PDP’s press release titled: ‘ELECTIONS ARE NOT WON IN LAFIA: PDP TAUNTS OPPOSITION, URGES APOLOGY TO PEOPLE OF PLATEAU STATE OVER EIGHT YEARS OF MISRULE’ as “the usual banter exchanges. It was needless, but to say the truth, that reconciliation meeting has awakened the PDP from their slumber. They never thought a reconciliation was possible. It’s a usual reaction to something great about to happen
