Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has acknowledged that powerful political stakeholders are pressing him to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The governor made the remarks on Saturday during an event held at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Jos, where he addressed party executives from the state’s 17 local government areas. 

According to the governor, while the pressure is real, his loyalty remains with the PDP. He stated that only two people can legitimately authorise him to change party affiliation: “one is the God of heaven, then the other is you, the people who voted me in,” he told the audience  which responded with a resounding “No” when he asked if he should go anywhere. 

Governor Mutfwang also addressed rumours that the APC in Plateau had already accepted him. He said that those who opposed his alleged defection were acting out of fear. “The truth is that 60 to 70 percent of the people in the APC in Plateau would be glad to have us in their party; they know I will not join them, and that is why they are angry and trying to twist it,” he said. 

Pressure on the Opposition: What this means

The comments from Governor Mutfwang come amid a wave of defections from the PDP to the APC among governors since the 2023 general elections. Among those who have already switched are the governors of Akwa Ibom, Delta and Enugu states.  For the PDP, the governor’s public insistence that he will not defect may offer some relief  but it also highlights how opposition party leaders feel vulnerable in a political space dominated by the ruling party.

For political watchers and media outlets focusing on Nigeria’s 2027 electoral landscape, the keyword PDP governor pressure to join APC is emerging as a topic of interest. It ties into wider themes of party loyalty, political realignment and how regional power brokers respond to central pressure.

Governor Mutfwang’s stance also underscores the importance of both grassroots consent and religious conviction in political identity as he framed his decision within those twin lenses of faith and the electorate. Whether this translates into stronger unity within the PDP in Plateau or sets the stage for future overtures remains to be seen.