The ambition of a business mogul, Geoffrey Bawa Shitgurum, to be governor of Plateau State under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019 hangs in the balance after allegations and questions on his integrity were raised by a group within the party.
He was said to have defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP last month.
The PDP for Peace and Good Governance Forum, a pressure group, is asking for an investigation be carried out on the its own allegations.
The National President of the forum, Rev. Jonah Pam, told journalists in Jos that the entry of Shitgurum in the political race of Plateau state will be a great minus and disservice to the party.
But when contacted, a loyalist of Shitgurum who didn’t want to be named, dismissed the allegation, saying that it was the mischief of the APC and the ruling government in the State.
His words, “Shitgurum is an accomplished businessmen and technocrat who has done well for himself and the nation. I don’t know why the people making the allegation decided to wait till the election period to raise the allegations. It’s the hands of Esau and voice of Jacob. In 2019, Shitgurum is taking over Plateau Government House. The APC in Plateau state is gone; they’re fretting over impending defeat.”
Another source disclosed that the hatchet job being orchestrated on Shitgurum stems from the sour relationship that developed over a deal gone awry between him and a prominent citizen of the State.
“He is believed to have sponsored and bankrolled the ambition and subsequent emergence of that citizen which was not reciprocated in financial terms. He was more or less taken for a fool and has now decided to pay back by contesting the highest office in the State. This has sent jitters all around and that is why he is being maligned and blackmailed. Remember what happened between Akwe Doma and Al-makura in Nasarawa? That is what is playing out here,” the source said.
But Pam said “Even as the elders were happy about the defections coming into the PDP, we must not fail to point out anomalies where they occur in our journey to relevance and we must say that in this instance an anomaly has occurred which must immediately be addressed by our party if we want to be taken seriously.
“We have noticed that one of the persons who has defected to our great party, is a certain character whose presence in our party will not only spell doom for it in the current build up to the general elections but may dent our image as a party to the extent that we may not be able to recover in the near future.
“The defection of Geoffrey Bawa Shitgurum ordinarily should have been welcomed by all lovers of our party since the man has carved out an image for himself as somebody who knows his way in business and politics.
“But that is only a perception and we must not let such inconsequential impressions not based on any empirical evidence, make us lose sight of the bigger picture, which is what the party stands to lose if the anomaly is not addressed.”