GOVERNOR MUTFWANG HAS DONE EXCELLENTLY WELL - Senator Fwet

By Onjefu Odaudu, Jos, Nigeria

Senator Simon Mwadkwon Fwet needs no introduction in Plateau politics as an astute politician,scholar and administrator.

He was a former President of the Berom Youth movement (BYM) Former Chairman of Riyom Local Government Council, Member of the House of Representative representing Riyom/ Barkin Ladi Federal Constituency and Senator representing Plateau North in the 10th Senate where he was the Senate minority leader before the Court of Appeal truncated his tenure in a controversial ruling.

Through out his political journey he has been a staunch member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP)

In a recent interview he asseses the administration of Barrister Caleb Mannaseh Mutfwang of Plateau State and spoke on other sundry issues.

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On 2 years of the Governor Caleb Mutfwang administration in Plateau State what's your take sir considering that some members of the opposition have termed him a non performer? 

Well we are not praise singers and we like to say things as they are I don't want to praise him with empty words.

The new road networks for instance can attest to that and you will notice that before now Jos was filled with gabbage and the town was literarily smelling but all that has been taken care of and our city is looking clean and smarter than before.

Apart from security in the area of agriculture giant strides have been achieved particularly in the area of fertilizer, other farm implements and critical interventions whereby fertilizer is supplied when due and at highly subsidized rates to our farmers and I am also aware that 1000 youths are being trained in agriculture at BARC farms in Zalaki and another batch will soon be deployed so that they can be self reliant and have something doing for themselves .What he has done in this sector is to have food produced  all year round and not seasonally as done in the past.You will also notice that our "Plateau Potatoes" is now produced all year round thereby ramping up the food value chain in the state.

Back to security the governor has done very well while we are not talking of absence of skirmishes here and there because he has been inclusive devoid of ethnicity,tribe or religion which he has done through the peace building agency and personally by preaching peace and the advantages of living together in unity and good neighborliness.

In the health sector you can see the massive turn around at the Plateau State Specialist equipment where state of the art facilities have been deployed.

I could go on and on but the point is that the governor has virtually touched every sector in the State and I will rate him at over 70 percent level of performance which you know is excellent and we just have to encourage him to do more so that he doesn't get carried away for me he has done well.

You can see the series of endorsements across the state as citizens and communities are urging him to continue in office for a second term particularly not from politicians but the people in the state the citizenry as a statement of fact which is a court of public opinion so to me he deserves a second term in office.

What are the Chances of the opposition party in the State the APC in the 2027 gubernatorial polls?

Well politicians like to paint beautiful pictures  by promising Utopia and people get carried away what we call bandwagon however we have to talk about the realities on ground.

Though the APC is the ruling party at the national level I will categorically say that has nothing to do with Plateau and our dynamics is totally different.

The system we practice now where money is shared by the federation account is faulty because in other developed climes states are allowed to generate and control their resources which is fiscal federalism then they contribute to the central government so the idea that we on the Plateau should jettison a performing governor to join the centre is sucidal to us.

Plateau State is capable of generating revenue to sustain the economy particularly agriculture I recall the governor re christening the "Plateau Potatoes" which has now become indigenous to us,coffee is thriving here and there is virtually no vegetable you cannot find here.

You don't change a winning team imagine  your football team playing well do you change the team simply because you want some players to be fielded?

There are states in Nigeria today that are not of the APC extraction and they are doing very well even better than the ruling party states.

I can confidently tell you that the achievements of the Governor Muttwang administration in 2 years has surpassed the 8 years of the former Governor Senator Simon Bako Lalong led APC.

It's my wish that all the elections are conducted in one day to save costs and also to deepen our democracy due to this notion that if the president wins his elections which usually comes first on the timetable then others must follow suit.

We shouldn't be afraid to amend laws while we are in office because one day you may not be there.

My take is that Plateau people will not deviate from the PDP and even at the national level I am confident we will the Presidential elections by the grace of God.

As the 2027 elections approach are you still throwing your hat in the ring for the Plateau North Senatorial Zone?

You are aware of what happened to us at the Court of Appeal a decision the Supreme Court upturned for the gubernatorial elections and the injustice inherent in the Appellate Court judgement which unfortunately was our court of last resort.

Presently I am engaging critical stakeholders and citizens in my zone and very soon we will come out and chart the way forward.