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‘I didn’t sign 60-40 cabinet sharing deal with anyone’ – Gov Mutfwang 

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Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has dismissed reports that he signed a 60-40 cabinet-sharing formula before defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

He insisted that no such agreement was reached between his administration and the APC hierarchy in the state.

The controversial agreement was raised by a group within the APC known as the “Legacy Group,” loyal to former Governor Simon Lalong, following a recent cabinet reshuffle carried out by Mutfwang.

The Legacy Group had condemned the cabinet reshuffle, which it said negated the terms of an agreement allegedly signed by the governor before he joined the APC.

The group had argued that under the terms of the agreement, its members should also have been included in the cabinet-sharing process.

However, while reacting to the alleged agreement, Mutfwang insisted that at no time did he enter into such an arrangement with the Lalong group, nor did he base his defection to the APC on the understanding that his cabinet appointments would be shared on such terms.

Mutfwang, who addressed what he described as a wild misconception during the swearing-in of three new commissioners on Friday at the Government House in Jos, denied ever promising to give 40 per cent of cabinet appointments to members of the Legacy Group.

“To correct some rumours that have been going around, the APC chairman is here; I never made any promise to share government positions since my journey to the APC. I made a commitment to share party positions. I never had an agreement to do a 60-40 per cent cabinet,” the governor said.

Mutfwang, however, noted that even after he joined the APC, those who had benefited most from appointments and party positions were members of the Legacy Group, even more than those who defected with him from the PDP.

He emphasised that 16 of the 24 APC House of Assembly candidates were members of the Legacy Group, while only eight joined the party alongside him from the PDP.

“The time has come when we must kill the dichotomy between the governance group and the Legacy Group. We are one big family.

“As I am talking to you today, out of the 24 members of the House of Assembly, 16 are APC Legacy members. Only eight who crossed with me became candidates for the House of Assembly. Are we fair?

“We have people who have been in the APC, but we bring them into government because we believe they have something to offer, not because they are APC members,” he added.

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Lagos 2027 gets hot as Hamzat, Rhodes-Vivour make INEC final list [FULL LIST]

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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has unveiled the final list of Lagos State governorship candidate.

The list is contained in a document released by INEC on Saturday in preparation for the 2027 general elections.

According to the document, the Lagos State deputy governor, Femi Hamzat is listed at the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Also on the list is Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, candidate.

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Find attach below document containing the full list.

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Pantami’s Name Missing As INEC Releases Final List Of Gombe Gov Candidates

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has omitted former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, from its final list of governorship candidates for Gombe State ahead of the February 6, 2027 election.

Politics Nigeria reports that the commission released a list of 16 cleared candidates for the election, but Pantami’s name was missing despite his earlier inclusion in the provisional list published on August 29.

Among the candidates on the final list are Bala Bello Tinka of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Babayo Ardo Kumo of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).

Others include Zubairu Mu’azu Halilu of the Labour Party (LP), Lamela L. Silas of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Ibrahim Jalo Abubakar of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Adamu Mohammed Ma’aji of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Pantami’s exclusion comes amid a series of legal disputes over his emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the state.

The former minister had initially sought the APC governorship ticket but left the party after it settled for Gwamna as its consensus candidate. He subsequently joined the PDP and emerged as the party’s flag bearer through voice affirmation at its governorship primary.

However, a Federal High Court sitting in Gombe nullified his initial emergence on May 26, following a challenge to the primary process.

The court ordered a fresh primary election, which Pantami won on September 29 with 2,054 votes, defeating Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry.

Garry had challenged Pantami’s emergence, arguing that the required primary election was not properly conducted before the former minister was declared the party’s candidate.

Despite winning the court-ordered rerun, Pantami’s eligibility remained in doubt following the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026 judgment on provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing political party membership registers and candidate eligibility.

The Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 and upheld INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 elections.

The provisions bar political parties from fielding candidates whose names were not included in the membership registers submitted to INEC within the stipulated period.

INEC has maintained that parties found to have violated the requirements will not be permitted to participate in the elections through candidates whose nominations breach the law.

Mohammed Haruna, an INEC national commissioner in charge of information and voter education, said the commission would not allow parties to replace candidates affected by the provisions.

Haruna made the clarification during an appearance on Trust TV’s programme on Wednesday evening, explaining that allowing substitutions would enable political parties to benefit from their own violations.

INEC Chairman Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan

He cited previous disputes involving Zamfara and Plateau states to illustrate the consequences of parties failing to comply with electoral requirements.

“It’s like you committed an offence. And then, you come and benefit from it,” Haruna said.

He added that allowing parties to substitute candidates in such circumstances would amount to permitting them to benefit from an offence they had committed.

Haruna also indicated that the commission expected to make a definite pronouncement on the implications of the Supreme Court judgment by the following Tuesday.

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