The political landscape in Plateau State, recently distorted by sectarian-cum religious conflicts, is taking a shape of its own as the exit date of Governor Jonah Jang approaches.

By Marie-Therese Nanlong

As a former military officer, Governor Jonah Jang may not be too scared of warfare. But to successfully prosecute two wars on two front-lines, is however, not what the former air force officer may have bargained for; especially when conspiracy-prone bloody civilians are involved.

Gov Jonah Jang of Plateau

On one front, the governor is enmeshed in a cat and mouse game with the state House of Assembly over what is alleged to be a plot by mischief makers in the legislature to probe the financial affairs of his administration.
Few days ago, the administration fired a memo to all appointees and government officials not to honour any invitation by the legislature without the express approval of the governor.

On the other front, the governor is enmeshed in a battle of wits with the state party chairman, Mr. Haruna Dabin over the 2015 gubernatorial succession.

Dabin, a former party apparatchik at the PDP headquarters in Abuja had for long shown his eagerness to take over from Jang in 2015. His problem was that for more than one year, even after he had told many other people, he was unable or unwilling to inform Jang. Two weeks ago after Jang returned from an overseas visit, Dabin finally mustered courage to inform the governor and that was after Dabin’s traditional ruler had made the way for him.

Governor Jang was said to have wished the state PDP chairman well on his ambition and promised as the state party leader to provide a level playing ground. As Dabin prepared to leave, the governor was said to have reminded him of the need to resign as party chairman as he, Dabin cannot be a referee in his own contest. And that was where a showdown between the party chairman and the governor developed as Dabin insisted he would not resign.

Before the showdown, the governor according to sources on the plateau had become uncomfortable with Dabin following suspicions that his one-time acolyte was fraternising with renegade members of the PDP mostly based in Abuja. His suspicions were fired when he, Jang led a delegation of Plateau PDP to the new National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu‘azu and was shocked to see a number of Abuja based Plateau chieftains opposed to him at the national secretariat. The governor was said to have wondered how they were invited for the occasion?

So following the face-off between the governor and Dabin last week, the governor was reported to have instructed his close aides that it was time to move against Dabin.
In view of this, the State Working Committee, SWC of the PDP had in a meeting last week asked Dabin to resign his  as state chairman of the party and face his gubernatorial ambition.

Vanguard gathered that four members of the SWC had in the said meeting held at the State Party Secretariat in Jos walked out on the now suspended chairman.

Members of the SWC were said to be infuriated over the insistence of Dabin to preside over the said meeting.
A source said Dabin was asked to resign as he “cannot remain as Chairman of the Party as well as the Party candidate but when he insisted on presiding over the meeting, they walked out on him.”

Meanwhile, associates of Dabin are saying that his travail is the handiwork of party members who are hatching a  plot to allow somebody from Jang’s Plateau North succeed him.
Meanwhile, a signature drive for an emergency meeting of the State Executive Committee, SEC of the party was initiated last week by the pro-Jang stakeholders with the aim of neutralising Dabin.

More than 95 per cent of statutory members of the SEC including the Deputy Governor, Mr. Ignatius Longjan, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Titus Alams, Principal officers of the House, National Assembly members, Local Government Council Chairmen, Local government Party Chairmen among others were said to have honoured the SEC meeting last Monday despite an SMS campaign by the Dabin camp to boycott the meeting. At the end of the meeting, a communiqué drafted by a five man team was issued.

Before the meeting mutual friends of Dabin and Jang had pressured the embattled chairman to throw in the towel, but he apparently rebuffed the entreaties as he fought back disclaiming the SEC meeting as illegal. He had sympathy in about two members of his executive, but it was to no avail. Dabin apparently sensing the determination of the state secretary, Saleh Pam to join the forces against him, had in a statement prior to last Monday’s meeting accused Pam of trying to create disunity in the party.

Meanwhile, Dabin also summoned a meeting of the SWC of the party to hold at the secretariat at about the same time as the SEC meeting was about to take off at the Presidential Lodge. His meeting was largely boycotted.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the SEC meeting on Monday, 16th June and read by Barr. Caleb Mutfwang, Chairman, Mangu Local Government Area who represented elected council chairmen, the Deputy Chairman of the party, Raymond Dabo was mandated to take over the affairs of the Party as Acting State Chairman pending the outcome investigations by the Party’s Disciplinary Committee.

Muftwang in the communiqué said, “in view of the deliberate refusal by Party Chairman, Dr. Haruna Dabin to call meetings of the various organs of the Party for unduly long period and the failure to render financial accounts to the Party and instigating some members of the Party to institute a lawsuit against the Party, the State Executive Committee is constrained to suspend the Chairman pending the outcome of investigations by the Party’s Disciplinary Committee within two weeks”.

He added, “the Party assured of a level playing ground for those aspiring for political offices in 2015 but urged people holding post which is likely to compromise the impartiality of electoral process to resign their positions”.

Dr. Dabin in his response to the developments told Vanguard: “I was not invited for the meeting I only heard it on radio. We were hoping to hold the State Working Committee meeting in the office this morning but my staff called me that the Police came in with an order to seal the office and they were asked to go home.”