God Forbid Nigeria Becomes One-Party State – Ex-Plateau Gov, Jang Warns

Former Plateau State Governor and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Jonah David Jang, has warned against Nigeria drifting towards a one-party system, saying such a development would pose a serious threat to the country’s democracy.

Jang raised the alarm while addressing stakeholders at a meeting of the PDP in Plateau State, following the recent defection of Governor Caleb Mutfwang from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“God forbid that Nigeria becomes a one-party state. By God’s grace, it will never happen. We must stand to ensure this democracy survives. We must not fail the nation,” Jang said.

He stressed that Nigeria’s democracy must be protected and strengthened, insisting that the country’s political system should not be allowed to collapse under the weight of unchecked defections.

The former governor blamed the Nigerian political system for encouraging indiscriminate defections by elected office holders, describing the practice as harmful to democratic growth.

According to him, electoral mandates belong to political parties and not individuals.

“I have never seen the name of any individual written on any ballot paper. It is a party that is written on the ballot paper. It is the party that wins election, not individuals,” he said.

“Nigeria is the only country where somebody is elected on the platform of a party and takes the mandate of that party to another party. I have never seen this in a democratic country.”

Jang also accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of interfering in the internal affairs of the PDP, insisting that the electoral body lacked the constitutional powers to do so.

“PDP has not been deregistered and therefore INEC has no right to stop any PDP candidate from contesting elections. That is not their job,” he said.

“Their responsibility is to ensure elections are conducted properly. Courts should also stop interfering with the internal affairs of political parties.”

Reacting specifically to Governor Mutfwang’s defection, Jang said the governor should resign his position and seek a fresh mandate on the platform of his new party.

“I don’t know where we got this idea of carrying people’s mandate without even thinking twice about it to other areas and you start giving all kinds of reasons,” he said.

“You should first resign that position, call for a fresh election and then you can recontest in the new party. That should be the right democracy.”

Jang insisted that Mutfwang was a product of the PDP and could not take the party’s mandate elsewhere.

“Caleb Mutfwang is still the governor of Plateau State and it is we that brought him to power. Before he disposes of us, he has to complete this tenure with us. He can’t take our mandate anywhere,” he said.

“We campaigned and voted for him. It is the PDP government that built that Government House.”

The former governor concluded by urging PDP members to remain united and resolute, assuring them that the party would rally its founding leaders at the national level to confront what he described as growing threats to Nigeria’s democracy.