Hon. Rufus Bature is the Plateau State chair of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and also former Secretary to the Government of Plateau State. In this interview with ISAAC SHOBAYO, Hon. Bature speaks on the recent defection of Governor Caleb Manasseh to APC, the controversies surrounding his acceptance into the party, and other issues.

THERE is the insinuation that your party on the Plateau here gave Governor Mutfwang conditions before he was allowed to defect. What are those conditions?

There was no condition given to him; all these are mere speculations and insinuations. I also heard of all these, but there’s no iota of truth in them. It was just that the party needed to understand him, and he also needed to understand what the party stands for. In politics, as I told you the last time, we sit down, discuss, and understand ourselves, and then we move ahead. So there was no condition given to him as far as coming into the party is concerned. The condition is what the Constitution of Nigeria provides: freedom of speech and freedom of choice. He has chosen to be with the APC, which the Constitution allows him to do, and we have accepted him.

Looking at what transpired before he was admitted into the party, especially the deep political resentment, as the chairman of the party in the state, how are you going to handle this situation?

You see, in this life, as they say in politics, there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends, but permanent interests. The common interest here is Plateau State. All of us strive to get political positions because we want to improve the lives of the people of Plateau State. We want to protect the people of Plateau State. We want to see how everyone can get three square meals on the table, and we believe that if we come together and put our heads together as people of Plateau, believing that Plateau is our common interest, we will move ahead. All those things that happened in the past are politics, and in politics, there is nothing that cannot happen. But the important thing is understanding yourselves. When you understand yourselves and where you want to go with a sincere heart, it doesn’t matter who is given the mantle to lead. The objective is to improve the lives of the people of Plateau State. So whoever is given the mantle to lead, we should, as people of Plateau, give him the backing if we are committed. For now, Mutfwang is the governor of Plateau State—take it or leave it. We have always believed that, even as an opposition in the state. He has been the governor, despite the fact that, based on our political leanings, we objected to certain things he did. But now that we are coming together, we believe that those things we felt he should have done, we should be able to tell him to do now that we are in the same family.

What about the alignment of interests and political interests in relation to elections and the rest? How will the party manage it now that the party has become bigger?

Everybody will be given a level playing ground to exercise his right of choice, either to be elected or to elect. We are going into this with a free mind. Nobody has said Mutfwang is the only candidate. There are people who are aspiring, and the Constitution provides for them to be given a level playing ground to exercise their right of choice. As a party, we encourage people to come out—those who want to be governor, those who want to be senators, and those aspiring at all political levels. The local government election is coming up in October. I want to assure our supporters there would be no hitch; everything would be done meticulously and in line with the constitution of our party and that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The coming in of Governor Mutfwang and his people definitely won’t create any problem. Now that we have come together, those who have joined the APC will campaign under the banner of the APC. We will give them a level playing ground. Whether you were in PDP, PAP, Labour, or any other party, now that you are in APC, you enjoy the rights and privileges of the party. We will allow everybody and give everybody a level playing ground.

Prior to now, your party had been criticising most of the steps taken by the governor, but now that you are on the same page, how is your party going to handle the differences?

We believe that they will sit down together, put their heads together, and see the doables within the manifestos so that we can forge ahead together as one and uplift the lives of the people of Plateau State. As I said earlier, all of us strive to be leaders so that we can use the mandate given to us by our people to change their lives. I believe that, with sincerity of purpose, the manifesto of our former candidate, who is now the National Chairman, and that of the present Governor can be married at some point so that we can improve the lives of the people of Plateau State.

We have discovered that there are people who are still livid with this political marriage. How are you going to handle this?

Of course, it’s not 100 percent. There are people who are not happy with this marriage—definitely. In a situation like that, one is bound to have such people. You cannot get 100 percent acceptance. But the important thing is that the majority of the people have aligned with this coming together, and I believe that we will move further ahead on the Plateau with governance. It is a matter of time; all of us will soon be on the same page.

There is the insinuation that the governor was forced on you people in the party, not just that you willingly accepted him (cut-in).

For APC, we only have branches of the party. So Plateau State cannot work independently of the national. The local governments cannot work independently of the state. We think together, we collaborate together, and we cooperate together. Whatever decision we take at the state level, we take it to the national level, and then they ratify it. So the role of the presidency is to ensure that the party is kept intact at the various branches so that we can move together as one. Whatever we do, politics is local.

As a Democrat, are you not disturbed that with the governor moving into the APC, the role of opposition has been eroded in the polity of Plateau State?

There are political parties that are registered and existing on the Plateau, and I believe there are people who are working as opposition. As we are seated here now, there are people who are ready to contest for the governorship and other positions in different political parties. We have a member of the Labour Party in the House of Assembly, we have a member of the YPP in the House of Assembly, and we have a senator from the ADP. So the opposition is not dead on the Plateau.

Your state is home to your party’s National Chairman. What does Plateau State stand to gain from his chairmanship? Is he capable of delivering for the party at both the state and national levels in 2027?

Very well, very well. He is a team player. He has the capacity and capability. He is a young man who has attained the highest peak of academia as a professor. He has worked in the civil service as a Resident Electoral Commissioner, and he has participated actively in politics. For him to have come out for the first time and shown the dexterity he displayed in his quest to be Governor of Plateau State, I believe he has enough experience to weather the storm. I believe he will deliver APC at both the national and state levels. For the past few months that he has been in office as the national chairman of the party, he has not failed anyone; the party has continued to wax stronger under him.

More than two years in office, the APC-led government at the center is yet to deliver on its mandate to the people of Nigeria; the standard of living is still at the ebb. What is your opinion on this?

When you talk about hardship, hardship is relative. As of last Christmas, rice was selling for N90,000 to N100,000. Today, you go to the market, and rice is N50,000 to N60,000. Maize has gone down. Foodstuff has come down. And whatever you do, if you don’t eat, you cannot do anything. The prices of food items have reduced. And fuel prices—before now, almost every Christmas period, you would see queues everywhere. I bought fuel in Abuja at N738 per liter. Two or three months ago, it was N1,000 and above. So you can see that, for the first time in Nigeria—except for the issue with marketers—the prices of some items have refused to come down because those who sell have refused to realize that they are also leaders. When you point one finger at someone, the other fingers are pointing back at you.

They increased prices because of fuel and other factors, but now fuel prices have come down. Therefore, as Nigerians, we should also take responsibility for building the economy. We are leaders in our various homes and places of work, so I believe all of us as Nigerians have a responsibility. President Tinubu is a president who has dared many things, and he is continuing with the Renewed Hope agenda. Nigerians should trust him and put sentiments aside. Not many presidents—none at all—have taken the drastic decisions Mr. President has taken in his reform agenda to change Nigeria for good.

Nigerians are of the opinion that Mr. President has not scored the required points in tackling insecurity nationwide. Do you believe this?

To the best of my knowledge, insecurity is still there, and we now hear about people sponsoring insurgency and other crimes. One thing that has not helped is that people have not been made examples of. People have not been punished accordingly. The President needs to put machinery in place so that those who are prosecuted and found guilty are punished appropriately. When people are punished, it will serve as a deterrent to others.

As far as I am concerned, Mr. President is doing his best to curtail insurgency. Nobody wants to govern a traumatized people—people who are kidnapped or killed every day. As a politician, you need people. Why would you not care about the lives of the people you expect to vote for you? Even if they will not vote for you, life is important. The sanctity of human life is very important for any serious and living human being. So, I believe that the president is doing his best. (TRIBUNE)