7th April, 2015
The Labour Party (LP), Mega Progressives Peoples Party (MPPP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau have joined forces to fight Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the April 11, elections.
The LP gubernatorial candidate, Ambassador Bagudu Hirse, and the MPPP candidate, Mrs Elizabeth Yirse, told journalists in Jos on Tuesday that they had fused into APC to enable them to defeat PDP.
Both LP and MPPP candidates, who addressed newsmen on the issue, said the APC candidate, Mr Simon Lalong, would be their sole candidate for governorship election on Saturday.
Hirse said that their decision was in line with the air of change that was blowing across the country and a fight against the PDP which had not obeyed the zoning principle earlier agreed on.
Plateau must not be left behind in the wind of change sweeping across the nation.
“Our decision to merge into the APC for the polls was purposefully to unseat the PDP tyrannical government that tended to create a dynasty against the belief of Plateau people favouring just one out of the no fewer than 50 ethnic nationalities.”
According to him, the PDP has not kept faith with the Plateau people as the present leadership has been making deliberate attempt to rewrite the history of Plateau to favour just a particular ethnic group which is unfortunate.
Hirse said that he was a strong advocate of rotational government and believed it was the turn of the southern Plateau where Lalong comes from to produce the next governor of the state.
The former Minister of State, Foreign Affairs described the electorate as heroes and urged them to overwhelmingly vote out PDP and vote in APC candidate in the governorship election on Saturday.
“You voted overwhelmingly for the apostle of change, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari during the March 28 elections, please come out en mass and vote for the APC governorship candidate,” he urged.
Hirse stated that at a point he was accused of being sponsored by the PDP as a spoiler to scatter the votes in the central zone in favour of the party, adding that those who were peddling such rumours were now disappointed.
Yirse on her part said her decision was to forester greater unity in the state to enshrine peaceful coexistence.
She said that she and Lalong shared the same vision of uniting the people and to recognise and empower women and youth in the state.
APC Chairman, Mr Letep Daban, expressed happiness with development and said that the unity had further brightened the chances of APC in the forthcoming elections in the state.
He said that sacrifices made by the candidates were for the benefit of the state, for the present generation and generations yet unborn.
According to him, the unity was a clear sign of an eclipse that the reign of PDP in state was over.