How Lalong, Rufus, Datti Ruined APC In Plateau State-Coalition Of APC Laments

The monumental failure that has hit the All-Progressives Congress, (APC) Plateau State chapter in the just concluded 2023 General Elections has been an issue a concerned group has demanded for accountability and transparent records of billions of campaign funds Spent by the Former Governor Simon Bako Lalong.

The group alleged that the former governor Simon Bako Lalong was so reckless in funds and he is now parading himself as the leader of the state also, acclaiming the positions of party leadership, by imposing, Hon Rufus Bature as the party State Chairman and Hon Yakubu Datti, to serve as stooges and agenda of total of destruction.

Comrade Abdullahi Usman, Coordinator of Northern Zone, Comrade Adams Nentok Coordinator of Central Zone, and Comrade Nanmwa Philemon, Coordinator of Southern Zone in their statement made available to this medium in Jos; “alleged that the former governor Simon Bako Lalong had ample opportunity to serve as the Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of Tinubu-Shettima where he failed woefully to exhibit leadership quality which resulted to the party failure.

According to the statement it reads thus, “Lalong style of leadership, always sidelined party stakeholders in all party activities. That was how he demonstrated during APC congresses and party primaries held in Plateau State, the governor selected his family and friends as party Exco and Flagbearers to mastermind their victory against all and only a few persons who ripped the benefit of fallout from the opportunity to serve under him. His choice of denied popular aspirants as Flagbearers for State House of Assembly, Federal House of Representatives, Senatorial, and Gubernatorial resulted in the party’s poor performance in the 2023 General Election.

He lamented that” Lalong couldn’t allow the party stakeholders to participate in the affairs of the party as he singlehandedly imposed Hon Rufus Bature as State Chairman against the wishes of stakeholders.

Lalong knew that Rufus Bature has no capacity to challenge nor to call him to order to make things right in the party and his decision for the imposition of Rufus as State Chairman of APC couldn’t go down well with the party stalwarts.

As stakeholders who really meant well for APC to succeed, they called the attention of Gov Lalong then to go in search of competent candidates that have the pedigree and credibility to lead the State but Lalong turned a deaf ear to their call, the statement read.

Lalong, after imposed Rufus Bature as stooge the stakeholders made their frantic effort to stop it but he therefore submitted his own person that can’t rescue the image of the party in Plateau State and are all crying wolf.

Lalong used Rufus Bature to impose the Chairmen of the LGAs against the wishes of the party stakeholders.

He, “Lalong ” has denied chances of popular candidates within the party to serve all that he did was to use them to siphon resources to promote his self-aggrandize agenda of becoming a Senator in 2023.

Hon Bature the political godson of Lalong built a block of hatred and division rather than ensuring the party clinched victory and his insatiably test for greed pushed party men and women aside.

The current party office occupying at Kalwa House are efforts of Chief Amos Gizo and other stakeholders who donated the office for the Presidential Campaign of Buhari in the 2015 General Election.

It was through the efforts of the critical stakeholders that Lalong and Rufus Bature threatened to sanction them from the party that maintained the office and gave it out for the campaign of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidential Ambition.

Rufus Bature was a Secretary to State Government in 2015 but could not deliver APC in his own polling unit, ward, and Local government Barkin Ladi.

He lost out Senatorial contest in 2019 to PDP Candidate ID Gyang. What actually qualified Rufus Bature to be State Chairman of our party? Rufus Bature has no electoral value in his immediate constituency. How could someone be given Party Chairmanship when he didn’t win an election in his polling unit talk more of ward and Local government?  Has APC ever won an election in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, where Rufus Bature is coming from? Even the time that Rufus was SSG, APC lost the election in Barkin and the same thing happened when he assumed party leadership. Lalong style of imposition compensated Rufus Bature with State of the party as Chairman giving him room to bring, Prof. Hon Danladi Atu to replace him as SSG.

As he resumed office as APC State Chairman, Rufus Bature couldn’t maintain a functional party office, and the facilities inside, we party did not have electricity, no water in all the toiletries systems in the State secretariat.

Bature couldn’t organize stakeholder meetings and reconcile aggrieved members to resolve the internal crises bedeviling the structure across the 17 LGAs in the party.

The statement lambasted the state chairman for praise-singing to the former governor towards achieving his selfish agenda and the statement alleged Rufus couldn’t handle aggrieved aspirants for the State House of Assembly and Gubernatorial.

He ended up collecting party funds from aspirants and shared them with his cohort Mr. Lalong.

Rufus Bature as the State Chairman with Lalong conducted the worst primaries election in the Plateau State which landed APC into this monumental failure.

Lalong used Rufus as his stooge to produce the Gubernatorial candidacy of Dr. Nentawe Yilwada, we also saw how the unresolved and unrepentance action of Rufus who brought shame to the people of Plateau state outrightly rejected APC in 18th April 2023 general elections. His inability to conduct free and fair primary elections to produce credible and popular candidates caused the monumental failure.

He condemned the party chairman that he is not vocal to speak as a party man. His inability to express himself was one the reasons that the party is where it is now and when Lalong imposed his choice of candidate as party Flagbearers speaks volumes that Rufus was just a hand stooge disruption.

They decried that the critical stakeholders of APC in Plateau state that visited Senator George Akume the SGF sparked off tension leading to Governor Lalong calling for their suspension in the party from wards, LGs, and state to pave the way for shallow ambition.

However, the major challenges of APC in Plateau state were the lack of free and fair primary elections that brought Dr. Nentawe Yilwada as the Gubernatorial Candidate.

The statement stated why the lopsided primaries favour  Nentawe as the sole  Gubernatorial  Candidate because his-Lalong wife hailed from the Ngas extraction 

Even though Lalong spent over 6 billion lobbying for the position of campaign DG of Tinubu-Shettima which impact was not failed in the state and Lalong couldn’t raise funds to support Tinubu but collected billions from the national headquarters of APC in Plateau State.

We describe Tinubu as a true politician and a father to all but we urge the President to resist any temptation Lalong trying to smuggle the name of himself and his associate.

The statement accuses, Hon. Yakubu Datti of hijacking Lalong to create confusion as the Chief of Staff to the Director General after resigning from Commissioner in the Plateau State.

Datti as a party stakeholder failed woefully to deliver APC in his polling unit, ward, and Local government Mikang like his boss Lalong. What type of stakeholders and acclaimed party leaders like Lalong, Like Datti, and Rufus didn’t win elections at their respective polling units? Datti is only good for writing rubbish to tarnishing personalities in media and nothing more.

As a group, we wish to draw the attention of His Excellency Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to rescue Plateau State APC now that the party needs revival and true reconciliation to move forward from the vultures who have inflicted pains in the state.