The Mangu Youth Vanguard analyses why Mangu deserves to be handed the Plateau state Ministerial position in a press release.
Remember that Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong, the Minister of Labour and Employment, just reclaimed his senatorial seat at the appellate court, leaving Plateau state without a senatorial slot as he pursues a senate seat.
Numerous local governments and ethnic groups have expressed their desire to fill the vacant seat.
Read the following press release from the Mangu Youths Vanguard:
A CASE FOR MINISTERIAL SLOT FOR MANGU LGA: THE NEED TO APPLY THE DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY.
The Mangu APC Youth Vanguard, a watchdog of our great party in Mangu Local Government, has watched carefully the clamour by different local governments and sundry pressure groups for allocation of the constitutional ministerial slot of a minister per state to their local governments or specific individuals.
While it is their constitutional rights to do so, we humbly plead for the appointment by our dear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of a son or daughter of Mangu Local Government Area into this position.
Our appeal is informed by the vacancy created as a result of our most respected immediate past governor of the state and Minister of Labour and Employment, HE Simon Bako Lalong who is proceeding to take his well- deserved seat at the Senate based on his victory at the Appeal Tribunal.
Mangu Local Government occupies a very strategic place not only in the economy but also in the politics of this state based on its electoral strength. It falls in the league of three local government areas in the state with a voters’ population of over Two Hundred Thousand voters. It is superceded by only Jos North and Jos South in this category.
Until recently and for obvious political reasons and other factors including religious and ethnic dimensions, Mangu Local Government was a comfortable home of the All Progressives Congress, formed nine years ago in 2014.
In the 2015 gubernatorial election, it gave almost the entire winning votes to the APC gubernatorial candidate, Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong.
The APC candidate scored a total of 565 145 votes in the state against 518 089 votes of the PDP, giving a gab of 47 056 votes.
Mangu Local Government gave a whopping 74 977 votes to the APC candidate, Simon Bako Lalong as against the PDP 28 509 votes to the late Senator GNS Pwajok, a gap of 46 468 votes.
That the tide changed in the 2023 election is not surprising because ethnicity and religion unfortunately played a key role in the last general elections in the state. The gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in Plateau State, Barrister Caleb Mutfwang hails from Mangu LGA.
The APC in Plateau state was labelled as an Islamic party where the gullible and average voters fell victims of such trap.
In spite of that, it has been confirmed by the Appeal Court that there was massive electoral malpractices as BVAs were not used parts of the Local Government.
While the PDP had 77, 467 votes recorded for it 25, 544 votes were scored by the APC, thus leaving a difference of 51, 923.
In Kanke local Government Area where the APC gubernatorial candidate Dr Nentawe Yilwatda hails from, the PDP scored a little above 5 000 votes. Comparatively therefore, inspite of the aforementioned reasons in addition to blackmail, intimidation and open threats to voters, the APC did very well in Mangu LGA.
It is against this backdrop that the Mangu Youth Vanguard pleads with Mr President to apply the Doctrine of Necessity in the choice of a Minister by kindly considering the appointment of a credible and suitable candidate from Mangu the Local Government to replace HE Rt. Honourable Simon Bako Lalong who was massively voted for by the electorate in the Local Government Area in 2015 to occupy the exalted seat of the governor of Plateau State.
Doing so would, no doubt, reduce the pains the people of the local government are going through as a result of their losing out as the governor.
Going by the trends of the Appeal Court judgments, Governor Caleb Mutfwang would hardly survive retaining the seat when the Supreme Court delivers its verdict in a matter of few weeks from now.
Mr President being a deft and listening politician with human face, we believe, given the above scenario, would wipe the tears of the people of Mangu Local Government Area who were hoodwinked into voting the PDP which is lacking in internal democracy and therefore non existence of structure.
So far the PDP has lost all its members in the National and State House of Assembly.
E- Signed
Nathaniel Dakam ( Chairman)
Linus Abafaras ( Secretary)
MANGU YOUTH VANGUARD.
