Excerpts from an editorial of THE NIGERIA STANDARD Newspaper, Wednesday, January 14, 2026
SOMETHING very profound has certainly shifted in Plateau State. And the people can feel it. Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s decision to move from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has at once altered party affiliations and changed the political mood of the state. It has also reopened an important national conversation about unity, insecurity and the place of the Middle Belt in Nigeria’s overall power equation.
THAT shift was unmistakable during last week’s joint flag-off of the APC electronic membership registration and revalidation exercise in Dengi, Kanam Local Government Area, and Langtang, Langtang North Local Government Area. What stood out was not merely the ceremony but the profundity of the symbolism surrounding it. For the first time since the tense and polarising 2023 elections, Governor Mutfwang and the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe (once political rivals) were visibly relaxed and genuinely aligned.
AND public response across the state reflected a deeper sentiment. Plateau people, like many across the Middle Belt, are weary of endless elite conflict that delivers neither security nor development. Years of persistent armed attacks on indigenous communities, displacement, loss of livelihoods and deepening mistrust have exposed the limits of fragmented leadership and perpetual political hostility. The tragedy of the Middle Belt has not been violence alone, but the absence of a unified political voice capable of commanding sustained federal attention.
IT was, therefore, against this backdrop that Prof. Yilwatda’s remarks resonated beyond Plateau. While explaining that the APC’s nationwide e-registration and revalidation exercise was designed to deepen inclusiveness, cohesion and internal democracy, he made a point that carries strategic weight. He declared that political alignment with the federal centre enhances access to national opportunities, development projects and security cooperation. More significantly, he publicly drew a line under the culture of hostility. “We were never enemies; we only had political differences. Today marks the beginning of a new political consensus anchored on development and inclusion,” he said.
ON his own part, Governor Mutfwang framed his decision in equally sober and patriotic terms. He presented it not as personal ambition but as a choice made in the broader interest of Plateau State and its people. “We have started a journey of unity with my brother, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, a journey of raising hands together to take Plateau State to greater heights,” he said. He went further: “We are taking our destiny into our own hands and moving together as one people. This digital registration exercise will translate our unity into measurable political strength.”
THEREFORE, Governor Mutfwang’s decampment to the APC is not a mere political manoeuvre. It must be viewed as a calculated, forward-looking and patriotic intervention that seeks to align Plateau State with the federal development agenda while lowering political temperature at home. As the governor aptly put it, “We have started a journey of unity… a journey of raising hands together to take Plateau State to greater heights.” For a region desperate for peace, stability and sustainable development, that journey, if sustained with sincerity and concrete action, may yet prove consequential.
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