The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it will formally receive Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, into the party in January.

The APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, disclosed this on Monday during a stakeholders’ meeting of the party held at Crest Hotel in Jos.

Nentawe recalled that he had announced Mutfwang’s defection to the APC last Thursday during the party’s 14th National Caucus meeting at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

Mutfwang, who was elected governor in 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said his defection has generated intense arguments and counter-arguments within Plateau State and beyond.

Addressing party stakeholders, Nentawe said the governor’s entry into the APC would further galvanise, consolidate and strengthen the party in the state, insisting that Plateau had effectively become an APC-controlled state.

He said the party remained open to receiving more members ahead of the 2027 general elections, stressing that broad participation was necessary to secure victory “from top to bottom”.

The APC national chairman also urged party members to participate in the ongoing electronic registration exercise to become bona fide members of the party.

Also speaking, former Plateau State Governor and serving senator, Simon Lalong, commended party members for their resilience, loyalty and sustained support for the APC in the state.

Lalong, who currently serves as the APC leader in Plateau, sought to allay fears among members arising from recent political developments, describing such concerns as unnecessary.

He assured party members that they would continue to be recognised, respected and carried along in all political arrangements within the party.

In his welcome remarks, the APC State Chairman, Hon. Rufus Bature, assured members that the party would continue to respect the decisions of its leaders while maintaining internal cohesion.

The meeting was attended by prominent party figures, including Senator Diket Plang; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ahmed Idris Wase; Dr Babayo Gagdi; Hon. John Dafa’an; Hon. Dalyop Fom; and the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Naanlong Daniel, alongside other lawmakers.

Others present were Senator I.D. Gyang, Victor Lar, Hezekiah Dimka, former Secretary to the State Government, S.D. Lot, John Gobak, Managing Director of the North Central Development Commission, Dr Cyril Tsenyil, Dr Umar Mantu, Prof. Artu and retired General John Sura, among others.

The development marks a sharp reversal of the party’s earlier position. At a similar stakeholders’ meeting held in Jos in October, which was attended by senior party figures including Nentawe and Lalong, the APC had overwhelmingly voted against accepting Mutfwang into the party.

However, Nentawe disclosed on Thursday that the governor had since joined the APC, a move Mutfwang publicly confirmed the following day.

Speaking during a meeting with political appointees and stakeholders at the Government House in Jos, Mutfwang said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu personally persuaded him to join the ruling party.

He said he initially declined the President’s overtures out of loyalty to his political convictions and past commitments.

“I pay my respects to President Tinubu for honouring our earlier decisions not to move to the APC and still maintaining a cordial relationship with us despite that,” the governor said.

Mutfwang revealed that, aside from Tinubu, several influential political figures, including APC governors, had also attempted to persuade him to defect, but he remained in the PDP until recent developments forced a reassessment.

According to him, his decision was largely influenced by unresolved structural and leadership crises at the PDP’s national level.

He added that although there had been tensions with the Plateau APC in the past, the Tinubu-led administration had maintained a cordial relationship with his government.

Meanwhile, political analysts say the governor’s defection has reconfigured Plateau’s political landscape, strengthening the APC’s numerical advantage in the North Central zone, while also introducing internal dynamics that could test party cohesion ahead of 2027.