A former National Chairman of the National Population Commission, Chief Samuila Danko Makama, has declared that the people of Plateau State will not support another governor from the Berom ethnic group in 2015.
Chief Makama, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party raised the eyebrow over the plans to impose Senator Gyang Pwajok as the successor of Governor Jonah Jang in the 2015 general election.
Both Pwajok and Jang are of the Berom ethnic stock.
The alleged plan is for Jang to replace Pwajok in the Senate in 2015, while the senator takes over as governor.
But Makama stated on Saturday: “I did tell Governor Jang when he called us to a stakeholders meeting to ask for our support for Senator Pwajok as governor in 2015 that Plateau people will not support government’s candidate.
“Plateau people will not only reject government’s candidate, we will reject another Berom candidate to replace Jang in 2015.
“Governor Jang is a Berom man and he has been in power for two terms of eight years.
“The Berom people should allow other tribes to also produce a governor.
“We have over 50 ethnic groups in this state.
“Allowing only Berom to rule after eight years of Jang amounts to perpetuating ethnic hegemony.
“In the spirit of equity and fairness, the Berom should allow other zones to take the governorship slot in 2015.
“We don’t want one particular tribe to dominate and enslave others.”
Makama said stakeholders in the state will soon form a forum for equity and justice to produce the next governor from other zones outside the Berom zone.
“We have to respect existing zoning arrangement in the state.”
The Eagle Online reports that the people are not happy with the arrangement because Pwajok and Jang are Beroms from the Du district in the Northern Senatorial District of Plateau State and the planned imposition of Pwajok is being taken as an affront on other tribes in the state.