APC, PDP fret as PRP makes inroad in Jos North

Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

There is palpable fear in the camps of the two dominant political parties—the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Plateau State as a seeming dark horse—the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), is gaining inroad and momentum into the heart of Plateau’s most dominant electoral local government area, Jos North. Daily Trust Saturday reports.

In Plateau’s political history, contenders and political parties have always strived to capture Jos North, which political pundits have described as the “bride” of the state due to its high voting population and its ability to give block votes among the state’s 17 LGA’s.

Incumbent Governor Simon Bako Lalong of the APC had in 2015 credited Jos North for his landslide victory against late Senator Gyang Pwajok of the PDP, which was in power at that time. With over 390,000 registered voters, Governor Lalong had won the 2019 gubernatorial election after Jos North gave the APC an impressive 109,161 votes which was only trailed behind by Shendam, the governor’s home LGA which gave him 61,798 votes.

However, pundits believe the political permutation now favours the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) which is gaining popularity in Jos North. Many political analysts had relegated the PRP to the background in previous elections until it pulled a surprise at the February 26, 2022 by-election for Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency. The by-election was necessitated due to the death of Hon. Haruna Maitala, who had represented the constituency in the green chambers. Maitala had died in a ghastly motor accident along Abuja-Jos Road in April 2021 and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) made the call to fill the vacuum.

In the election, which INEC declared PDP’s Hon Musa Agah as winner while it declared the PRP as second with the APC, a distant third, the PRP had challenged the matter before the election petition tribunal. And to the shock of many in the state, the tribunal, which delivered its judgement on September 2, 2022 declared the candidate of the PRP, Adamu Muhammed Alkali, as the winner. It concluded that it was wrong for INEC to declare the candidate of the PDP winner, pointing that PRP, having scored the majority of valid votes cast by voters in the election, was the winner.

With this judgement, a loyalist of PDP from Tudun wada, in Jos North LGA, Bitrus Shugaba admitted that such a judgement could best be described as a tsunami in Jos, saying: “We have never thought that this party could come from nowhere and win an election in a federal constituency. This is more than a surprise, I am completely disappointed,” he said.

Even though his party lost, an APC stalwart, Barr Yusufu Buhari, said he was not surprised that the PRP has made inroad into Jos North and has been declared winner of the federal constituency by-election.

“If anyone says he is surprised by the outcome of the tribunal, that is just being selfish, because the voting strength of that constituency lies in Jos North, and the people are known to give block votes. If you look back from 1999, Jos North has always determined the winner of election in that federal constituency,” he said.

Recent political development in the Tin City shows that there seems to be more political awareness in the state as many electorate are now looking beyond the dominance of the APC and the PDP to exercise their franchise.

The Director, Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO), Comrade Steve Aluko, while speaking on how the PRP made an impressive outing in the federal constituency by-election described Jos North/Bassa federal constituency as strategically occupying the capital city, adding that it is politically and geographically seen as the headquarters of Plateau State. “By its location, the federal constituency is the most populated and it is a metropolitan city and unarguably the most politically active zone in Plateau. As a cosmopolitan city, the constituency is a miniature Nigeria that hosts every ethnic group in Nigeria but with Hausa-Muslim as the dominant tribe.”

A former councillor in Jos North Local Government Council who represented Apata ward, Emeka Maduka, said: “If truth be told, the voting strength of the Hausa people in Jos North gives them advantage in any given election. No tribe in Jos has their kind of voting population, and the good thing is they are more politically conscious than others. They take politics and voting more seriously than other tribes.”

Pundits however say the political investments of PRP does not only end with Jos North as the party is also making inroads into all the 17 local government areas of Plateau State. As seen from the list of candidates of political parties contesting the 2023 general elections released by INEC, the PRP has 17 candidates contesting various elective positions across the state.

State Chairman of the PRP, Rabiu Lawal, while confirming the number to Daily Trust, said the candidates comprises one governorship candidate, two senatorial candidates, four House of Representatives and ten Houses of Assembly candidates. “If you check through the list of approved candidates for the 2023 election released by INEC, all the candidates of PRP were cleared, and because of our transparent ways of doing things, we don’t have any court cases as a result of the primaries,” he said.

A former Commissioner in Plateau State and the Director, League for Human Rights, Nankin Bagudu, told Daily Trust that the coming of PRP into the politics of Jos North means the APC and PDP would have a lot of work to do. “I think the 2023 election is a litmus test for PDP and APC. They need to work hard or else they will be shocked to see themselves as minority parties. A lot of political awareness is taking place on the social media and a lot of mobilisation is going on against the ruling party and the PDP. The PRP in particular, should be taken seriously, they have taken Jos North/Bassa federal constituency, and they are also contesting in four Houses of Representatives election in 2023, nobody should take them for granted,” he said.

Adding to the party’s momentum, a former House of Representatives member who represented Jos North/Bassa federal constituency, Hon Suleiman Yahaya Kwande, had dumped the APC for the PRP and is now the party’s senatorial candidate for Plateau North Senatorial Zone in 2023. “Kwande is a household name in Jos and has the capacity to defeat candidates of other political parties in any election,” said Hon Aminu Baba, former State Publicity Secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Plateau State.

“Losing such a popular brand of politician to PRP is seen by many as a serious set-back for the ruling party in the state. And for a former member of the National Assembly like Kwande to have dumped the ruling party for a smaller party like PRP shows that PRP has a strong base to win major elections in 2023,” he said.

Asked the secret behind his party’s popularity, especially in Jos North LGA, the state Chairman of the party, Hon Rabiu Lawal said the PRP is the oldest political party in Nigeria as it has existed since 1979, during the second republic. “The party has also been in existence in Jos. Remember, in 2019 we had a senatorial candidate in the person of Samaila Muhammed for Plateau North Senatorial zone, and he pulled serious weight then.”

“Here in Plateau State, we ensure that the party gets to all nooks and crannies of the state. In the last party congress, we had a very peaceful exercise throughout the state. So, as we speak, we have all the leadership structure from the ward up to the state level. The internal democracy of PRP is rancour free, and because of the love and unity in the party, the party is winning souls in Plateau State because we operate on the principles of truth and justice,” he said.

“Ours is a party for the masses, we don’t make noise in the media because we don’t have money, this is talakawas (poor people) party, and you know the masses are rural based, that is where we are,” said the party chairman.