Connect with us

News

2023: Six parties scramble for Plateau gubernatorial sit

editor

Published

on

Plateau gorvernor candi

In the past only the candidate of the two major political parties APC and PDP were serious contenders in Plateau State, but next year’s governorship election in Plateau State will be contested by four other parties.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has lifted the ban on electioneering campaigns ahead of next year’s general elections. In the next four and half months, the candidates and their political parties have the opportunity to engage with the electorates to convince them that they have the interest at heart.

In Plateau State, the race for the coveted Government House, Little Rayfield, Jos, has taken off. Before the campaign proper, INEC published the names of all the candidates and the political parties that have been duly nominated for the contest. From the list, there are six major political parties and their flag bearers in the race. The parties are the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP), the Peoples’ Redemption Party (PRP), the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the Young Progressives Party (YPP).

The scramble among these six political parties to gain or retain control of the state has commenced in earnest. The scramble for the soul of Plateau State is no doubt regarded by the contestants as the biggest competition that is staged every four years like the Olympics. Every contestant has their eyes on the prize and no one is ready to let go or give up. However, only one among the six will succeed in clinching the plumb job.

Director of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Plateau State chapter, Gbenga Aluko said the importance attached to next year’s governorship election cannot be overemphasized.

“No wonder, the parties went for the best and capable personalities to bear their respective flag in the competition. It is a game that whoever wins takes control of the human and capital resources of the state for at least four years. Hence, each of these political parties had, through the primaries chosen a candidate with the requisite capacity for the election.” He added.

For instance, the ruling APC has Dr. Nentawe Yilwada as its flag bearer and the PDP Caleb Mutfwang. Others are Dr. Patrick Dakum of the LP, Dr. Samuel Abashe of the APGA, Prof Luka Pampe of the PRP, and Chief Manji Gontori of the YPP. These personalities are some of the best on the Plateau. None of them is a pushover because they are accomplished individuals in their own right.

APGA – Dr. Samuel Abashe

The APGA candidate, Dr. Abashe, is not a pushover in Plateau politics. He is a diplomat; therefore he is very knowledgeable in international relations and diplomacy, as well as public administration. Abashe has over 30 years of experience in international relations and diplomacy. He served at the United Nations (UN), assisting the world body in peacebuilding across Africa. No doubt, his experience in diplomacy, administration, management, and leadership garnered as a UN staff will help in the course of the electioneering campaign where such skills will be needed to sway the electorates to back him in the race.

YPP – Chief Manji Gontori

Similarly, the YPP flag bearer, Gontori, is a young man in his early 50s. He has considerable support from the electorate, even though his political party is relatively unknown in the state. Thus, he has the capacity to spring surprises, judging from the prevailing political awareness across the state.

Gontori became a household name in Plateau through the activities of his non-governmental organization, the Manji Gontori Foundation, Pankshin, which trains and empowers women and young people. The foundation has helped to train and empower a lot of women, youths, and other vulnerable persons through skill acquisition and the establishment of small and medium-scale businesses. In the words of supporters of the YPP: “Next year’s general election is not about incumbency factor, because the voters are wiser and are better informed of their rights to choose.”

PDP – Caleb Mutfwang

In the same vein, the PDP flag bearer, Caleb Mutfwang is a household. Aged 57, the former chairman of Mangu Local Government Area is a trained legal practitioner. He was enrolled as a solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1989. The ambitious lawyer took a bold step to establish his firm, known as Caleb Mutfwang & Co, a firm of legal practitioners, which was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission in 1996. As a professional, Mutfwang is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He also belongs to the International Bar Association (IBA), the Christian Lawyers’ Fellowship of Nigeria, the Christian Legal Society of America, and the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM).

Mutfwang is a devout Christian. He is clear-headed and credible, and observers believe he is someone capable of governing Plateau State and taking it to a higher level of development. He has acquired considerable leadership and administrative experience over the years that will help him to make a difference. His maturity and composure are believed to have endeared him to his admirers. As a former local government chairman, Mutfwang has a strong grassroots base as an advantage in the contest.

APC – Dr. Nentawe Yilwada

His APC counterpart, Dr. Nentawe Yilwada is also a strong candidate, based on his credentials and leadership capability. Yilwada is a digital system and energy engineering expert, a community developer, and a lecturer at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi. He has over 29 years of experience working as a consultant with international development partners, as well as organizations in the public and private sectors. The information and communication technology (ICT) guru also trained at the United Nations University International Institute for Software Tech., Macau, China on Building Electronic Governance Structure

Nentawe’s last place of work before he ventured into politics was the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), where he served as the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Benue State before he resigned to contest for next year’s governorship election on the Plateau. He was appointed INEC commissioner by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017.

At 52, Nentawe is much younger than other co-contestants. This has endeared him more to the youths. This advantage added to the fact that he is well-exposed and the candidate of the ruling APC, may give him an edge in the race. This means, for instance, that he has the incumbency factor behind him.

All things being equal, voters in Plateau State have to make their choice among the six candidates. Incidentally, each of them possesses the right credentials for the office they seek to occupy.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

Seven things to know about the Dangote refinery IPO

info

Published

on

By

Dangote Refinery 2 1024x831 1 e1778177983979.jpg

MTN ADVERT

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has opened its initial public offer to investors. Here are the key details.

1. The company is seeking about ₦2.15 trillion

The offer comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at ₦525 each. If fully subscribed, it will raise approximately ₦2.15 trillion.

2. The offer runs for one month

The IPO opened on September 14, 2026, and is scheduled to close on October 13, 2026.

PT WHATSAPP CHANNEL

3. Investors can start with ₦5,250

The minimum subscription is 10 shares. At ₦525 per share, eligible investors can participate with ₦5,250.

4. The IPO will broaden ownership of the refinery

Aliko Dangote described the transaction as an “IPO for the people.” Its low entry point is intended to give Nigerians across different income and professional groups an opportunity to own shares in the business.

5. The transaction could reshape Nigeria’s capital market

FCMB Group Chief Executive Ladi Balogun said the offer could strengthen the Nigerian Exchange and support its ambition to become Africa’s largest and most relevant capital market.

The transaction may also encourage other large African companies to raise capital and list their shares in Nigeria.

6. FCMB Group is participating in the transaction through three operating companies:

FCMB Capital Markets is a joint issuing house. CSL Stockbrokers is the stockbroker to the issue. First City Monument Bank is a receiving bank and distribution agent.

7. Qualified Investors and High Net Worth Individuals purchasing 50,000 shares and more, with a working stockbroking account should fill out the investor subscription form and credit their account of choice, sending both to FCMB Capital Markets at the following email address: [email protected]

8. Interested Retail investors with an FCMB bank account can subscribe to the DPRP IPO by following these steps: Log in to the FCMB Mobile App or visit website

Follow the prompts to the Dangote IPO subscription portal.

READ ALSO: Bamboo, Cowrywise down due to Dangote Refinery IPO subscription traffic

Select if you have a CSCS/CHN number.

If yes, fill in the number and follow the instructions.

If not, follow the prompts to open a trading account with CSL Stockbrokers, after which a code will be generated for you.

Ensure your FCMB bank account is sufficiently funded to cover your subscription and authorize the direct debit.

Investors without an FCMB bank account who want to participate in the DPRP IPO can visit the CSL portal to open a stockbroking account. Instructions for opening a bank account are available online.


Discover more from Premium Times Nigeria

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Continue Reading

News

We don’t need AI regulation — leave safety to us, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says

info

Published

on

By

GettyImages 2219673294.jpg

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang made his position on the dangers AI poses very clear while speaking at Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference on Tuesday. To him, AI isn’t some new form of “alien mind,” as at least one OpenAI safety researcher has described it. It’s just hardware and software, he says, built by humans. That means, in his view, it can be controlled by humans and existing laws.

“Safety is an engineering problem, not a legal one,” he said. “We’re developing software after all. We’re developing computing systems after all. It’s a complicated computing system, but it’s ultimately a computing system.”

Therefore, there’s no need for new laws or regulations to govern it, he argues. In fact, Huang sees little need for new laws at all. The free market, he argues, will be enough to pressure companies not to release unsafe products.

“If we’re not confident about the safety of the products, like all companies, like you and I, all the companies here, if you build a product or a service, and you’re not confident in its functionality, capability, or safety, then don’t release it. And so that’s a very obvious thing to do,” he said.

He continued: “You pace yourself until you are confident you’re releasing something that the market would appreciate. The market forces are already there. We don’t need any new laws. We don’t need new regulations. We just need companies to decide that when [to] run as fast as they can. I think innovation, speed, and safe products … it’s a false choice. You could definitely have both at the same time. So run as fast as you can. But if you feel at any given point in time the company’s out of control, or the product’s not going to be safe, you know, take a pause and make sure you get it right.”

In some ways, this is a comforting thought. If anyone in the world knows AI, it is Nvidia’s founder, who’s been building the hardware brains of AI since well before ChatGPT existed and now runs a company that also makes open source models, agents, harnesses, and sandboxes.

Then again, if we’re being cynical, his point of view is also unsurprising for someone who’s had his bread so well buttered by the AI boom. Why would he want regulation to come along and add in a layer of hinderance that could slow down Nvidia’s quest to sell ever more AI systems and software? As he also said in the interview: “I’m more ambitious than ever. As a result of our ambition, and with the product productivity boost that we get from AI, the sky’s the limit for us. The sky’s the limit for our company. The sky’s the limit for every industry, for every single country.”

Unfortunately, even companies with the best intentions ship faulty products with unintended consequences, even software. Remember the 2024 CrowdStrike bluescreen-of-death fiasco that grounded thousands of flights and caused other havoc for businesses? Then there are companies accused of deliberately acting with less-than-good intentions. Meta just paid $18 billion to settle a lawsuit over social media harms to children.

And AI has already caused harm, too, whatever the intentions or safety testing involved, from an OpenAI model hacking into Hugging Face to lawsuits against the AI lab over the suicides of young people who engaged in long conversations with its chatbot.

The “leave them alone” strategy, which would let these companies release products as they see fit, could be an unwise approach to AI safety as far as society is concerned. Though Huang is right that it’s possible existing product liability laws could cover AI — if AI doesn’t somehow kill us all before enough cases get through the courts to test that theory.

He didn’t discuss the other route, which seems close to taking shape: industry self-regulation. Huang’s approach has been more to champion open-weight models and companies’ use of them as a competitive counterweight to proprietary AI labs.

But right now, the industry has a short window to institute self-regulation and to encourage AI labs worldwide, even those in China, to see the wisdom in participating. As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at the All-In Summit on Monday, “China should also deeply care about the same safety concerns if the United States cares about them, right? Why should it be different for them? It’s not like they won’t have the same hacking problem. It’s not as if they don’t want to make sure that their citizens are benefiting from AI, just like we would want our citizens to benefit from AI.”

For now, though, if Huang is a no on any new AI regulation, he may be influential enough to get his way. He also demonstrated this week that he, quite literally, has the ear of President Trump.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

Continue Reading

Trending