Don't Bring Down Yourself to a Local Champion, Plateau APC Group Caution Nentawe.

A prominent political support group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State, Vanguard for Plateau First, has cautioned the party’s National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, against reducing the exalted national office to what it called “the level of a local political champion.”

In a statement issued in Jos and signed by its spokesperson, Comrade Ibrahim Ropshak, the group urged Prof. Nentawe to rise above the emotional shadows of his 2023 governorship defeat and instead focus on the serious national responsibility of rebuilding and repositioning the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Ropshak criticised recent remarks credited to the APC Chairman, in which he boasted of being able to unseat Governor Caleb Mutfwang in 2027. He dismissed the comments as “empty chest-beating,” insisting that the political realities on the Plateau make such claims unrealistic.

According to the group, Prof. Nentawe should not forget that Governor Mutfwang, then with far fewer political structures, defeated him in 2023 despite Nentawe enjoying the full weight of national and state backing. With what the group described as Mutfwang’s “remarkable performance” in under 30 months, it argued that any future contest would be even more daunting for the APC Chairman.

The statement warned that reducing the national chairmanship to petty local politicking risks portraying Prof. Nentawe as a “serial failure,” urging him instead to demonstrate the maturity, restraint, and national vision expected of the leader of Nigeria’s ruling party.

Ropshak also noted that many who underestimated Governor Mutfwang in 2023 have since been compelled to revise their views, pointing to the governor’s calm leadership style, reform-driven governance, strong grassroots connection, and visible development across rural Plateau.

He further dismissed as “child’s play” the alleged behind-the-scenes manoeuvres reportedly aimed at blocking Mutfwang from joining the APC, arguing that the governor’s record and goodwill across party lines place him in a strong position to win re-election “on any platform he chooses” in 2027.