Mutfwang inaugurates Plateau APC campaign council, promises more security and return of displaced residents

Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has used the inauguration of his party's campaign council to promise more security men on the ground and the return of people displaced by violence to their home communities.

He spoke in Jos on Monday while inaugurating the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign council for the presidential and state elections.

Mutfwang said a fresh set of retrained Operation Rainbow operatives, the state's security outfit, would be commissioned the following week. Another 800 trained forest guards would follow within four weeks, he said.

"We are determined to ensure that our people return to their ancestral homes," he said, adding that his government would guard every part of the state's territory.

The governor said the security problem cannot be fixed with a quick turn of a tap. "Insecurity is not like tap water, where you simply turn on the tap and it flows down," he said, arguing that it needs steady and deliberate work.

He asked residents to keep faith with him. "Trust us, be patient with us, and by the grace of God, you will not regret it," he said.

No vacancy, no coalition

On the election, Mutfwang said Plateau has settled on one direction. He dismissed talk of a rainbow coalition, saying the state would fly the APC's flag in 2027.

He declared there was "no vacancy" in Aso Rock or in the Plateau Government House, and predicted victory for President Bola Tinubu on January 16, 2027, with his own mandate renewed two weeks later.

He said he needs a second term so that projects already started are not abandoned, comparing government to a relay race where each runner builds on the last.

Mutfwang also defended the President's economic reforms, saying Tinubu inherited an economy close to collapse in 2023. He said the previous government could not service external debts and resorted to printing money at the Central Bank, which he put at over N30 trillion.

He said reserves now stand above $50 billion and that fuel is available, though not cheap. He recalled past days of long queues at petrol stations.

At state level, he pointed to metro buses, a revived intra-city rail service, a 50 per cent cut in tertiary institution fees and higher student allowances as steps to soften the cost of living.

On zoning, he said Plateau's arrangement gives each senatorial zone two terms, and warned those questioning it to respect the deal.

State APC chairman Rufus Bature thanked campaign council members for accepting the job and urged a peaceful, fact-based campaign. "We have no reason to be courtiers of violence," he said.

Campaign council director-general Joe Ari promised a campaign that reaches the grassroots.

What happens next

The new Operation Rainbow batch is expected next week, with the 800 forest guards due within four weeks. The governorship and presidential elections are set for 2027.