The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Plateau state governor Caleb Muftwang and Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Hon. Gabriel Dewan, of coercing the party’s members of the House of Assembly to sign post-dated resignation before they can be inaugurated.
The Court of Appeal had ordered the 16 APC elected members be inaugurated as members of the Plateau State House of Assembly.
While only 9 out of 16 have been sworn in by the speaker, the remaining 7 are yet to be inaugurated.
In a statement released Thursday in Abuja by the APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, alleged that “The Governor and the Speaker coerced and illegally procured APC lawmakers to sign post-dated resignation letters as a pre-condition for their inauguration as members of the Plateau State House of Assembly.”
According to the statement, Nine lawmakers that succumbed to the intimidation and coercion, and signed the demanded post-dated resignation letters and verifying affidavits were inaugurated by the Speaker as members of the House of Assembly on April 5, 2024. Seven members-elect that refused to submit to this illegality were denied inauguration by the Speaker.
“The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to disturbing and unlawful acts of the Governor of Plateau State, His Excellency Caleb Muftwang, and the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Gabriel Dewan, in relation to APC members of the House of Assembly ordered by the Court of Appeal to be inaugurated as members of the Plateau State House of Assembly.
“We condemn this brazen act of Governor Muftwang and Speaker as utterly outrageous, anti-democratic, illegal and a vile contempt of the binding judgement of the Court of Appeal that ordered the inauguration of all 16 APC members-elect as members of the House of Assembly.
“We wonder why Governor Muftwang and Speaker Dewan are unwilling and seemingly terrified to comply with a valid judgment of the Court of Appeal but would rather resort to illegal and underhand tactics to intimidate, blackmail and cajole members to sign post-dated resignation letters in violation of the laws of our land.
“The continued refusal of the Speaker to inaugurate the remaining seven APC members who have stoutly refused to submit to this illegality has become a clear and present threat to the peace and stability of Plateau state. Constituents of yet to be inaugurated members are becoming increasingly restive and may resort to peacefully protesting the unlawful refusal to inaugurate their own elected representatives.
“This is avoidable and must be avoided. The good people of Plateau state deserve to live in peace and security. Governor Muftwang bears a solemn duty to govern fairly, maintaining peace and security, upholding the law, and doing justice to all, irrespective of political differences.”
The ruling party called on the Speaker to unconditionally swear in the remaining seven APC lawmakers without further delay in keeping with the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
