Unknown Donor Gave Me $100,000 Before PDP Gov’ship Primary – Gov Mutfwang

Plateau State governor, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang, has disclosed that the Supreme Court judgment, which restored his mandate, saved his administration from an abrupt end.

He revealed that an unknown donor gave him $100,000 three days before the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election.

Mutfwang was in the PDP before he decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor, who described both developments as acts of divine intervention, said he would have lost his mandate but for the apex court’s verdict reinstating him as governor following the legal challenge to his election.

He disclosed while speaking during his third anniversary thanksgiving service at the Church of Christ in Nations, COCIN headquarters church in Jos, said: “I escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler. If not for the Supreme Court, I was gone.”

He recalled the jubilation that followed the Supreme Court’s 12 January 2024 judgment, noting that market women celebrated the verdict by giving away goods for free.

According to him, the event remains one of the most emotional moments of his political journey.

The governor also disclosed that his ambition to become governor received a major boost shortly before the PDP primary election, when an individual he had never met handed him a $100,000 gift.

“Three days to the primaries, somebody I had never known in my life gave me a gift and said, ‘Don’t open it until you get home.’ When I opened it, it was $100,000,” he said.

Mutfwang further revealed that a prominent elder statesman from Plateau State funded his entire governorship campaign, though he declined to disclose the benefactor’s identity or the amount involved.

“One of the fathers of the land told me, ‘My son.’ I won’t tell you the amount he gave me; one day, I will. He paid all my campaign expenses,” the governor stated.

On governance, Mutfwang said his administration spent more than N4 billion on humanitarian assistance to vulnerable residents across the state between January and December last year.

According to him, the funds were used to settle medical bills and school fees, and to provide various forms of support to Plateau citizens in need.

“From January to the middle of December last year, we spent over N4 billion assisting Plateau people. People I never knew and people I may never get to know, but as long as they are Plateau people, it touches my heart,” he said.

The governor highlighted some of his administration’s achievements, including the installation of solar-powered street lights, the provision of water projects and improvements in healthcare delivery.

Mutfwang cited the commissioning of a water project in Bukuru, saying residents who had gone for nearly two decades without access to potable water openly celebrated the intervention.

He also disclosed that the state government had reduced the cost of X-ray services in general hospitals by 50 per cent. At the same time, significant improvements had been recorded at the Plateau State Specialist Hospital.

Addressing security challenges in the state, the governor described the situation as complex but expressed optimism that ongoing efforts by security agencies were producing positive results.

He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for providing clearer direction to security agencies in tackling threats to national security.

“The body language of the Commander-in-Chief is becoming clearer by the day. Security personnel now understand that enemies of the state who threaten the sovereignty of the country must be confronted,” he said.

Mutfwang, however, lamented the loss of lives recorded in attacks across Plateau State.

The governor further decried what he described as a culture of division and hostility among citizens, warning that development could only thrive where people support rather than undermine one another.

“There is a spirit on the Plateau that if I don’t destroy my brother, I cannot move forward. It is happening in politics, in the civil service, in the church and everywhere. By the grace of God, we will overcome it,” he said.

Mutfwang thanked Plateau residents for their prayers and support over the past three years and pledged to remain committed to improving their welfare and security.