The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, said that 80 percent of those who voted for Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi in the state are actually PDP members. He made the remark during an appearance on Channels Television’s *Sunrise Daily* programme on Tuesday, emphasizing that while Plateau voters preferred Obi for president, they still want the PDP to hold the governorship.
Obi won Plateau State with 466,272 votes, outpacing the PDP’s 243,808 and the All Progressives Congress’s 307,195. This outcome occurred despite the fact that the state’s two‑term governor, Simon Lalong, served as the Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council. Mutfwang argued that the support for Labour in Plateau was driven by personal admiration for Obi rather than allegiance to the party itself. “Eighty percent of the people who voted for Peter Obi are members of the PDP. They reverted to the status quo because they only went after Mr Obi because they believed in him,” he said, adding confidence that Plateau voters will back the PDP in the upcoming election.
He described the “Peter Obi phenomenon” as an expression of nationwide frustration with failed governance, noting that many voters sought change through Obi’s candidacy. However, Mutfwang stressed that local dynamics differ: “With due respect, the Labour Party does not exist on the Plateau. It was a movement gathered around Mr Obi, and some people tried to take advantage of that movement, but the National Assembly election proved which party is on the ground and which party the people prefer.”
Regarding the March 11 governorship poll, Mutfwang asserted that only the ruling APC, not the Labour Party, could pose a serious challenge to the PDP. “If I will bring any other party to contention, it will be the APC, not the Labour Party,” he concluded.
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