The INEC portal list supplied for this article contains 17 names and their respective political parties in the race for the Plateau State governorship in 2027. None should be written off before the votes are cast on 6 February 2027 and the outcome is declared. By 7 February, the dust of the electoral contest may have settled sufficiently for the people to begin reflecting on the winner and the road ahead.
But, as the saying goes, all politics is local. Plateau State is no exception. Anyone attempting to forecast the outcome of the 2027 governorship election without consulting the locals risks mistaking personal assumptions for political reality.
I woke up yesterday to a post published about 17 hours earlier on the Facebook page Plateau Politics, managed by Nash Paul Isa. Titled “INEC Final List: Plateau State Governorship Major Candidates,” the post featured four candidates and their political parties: retired General John Sura of the ADC; incumbent Governor Caleb Mutfwang of the APC; Kefiano Kefas Ropshik of the PDP; and Akuns Jonathan of the NDC.
The four appeared to have been selected in alphabetical order of their political parties.
I will return to Nash Paul Isa’s presentation of these four as the major candidates. First, however, a fundamental question demands an answer: On what basis should 17 applicants for the same public office be reduced to four before the people have had an opportunity to assess them?
If INEC has listed 17 candidates, each deserves consideration under the applicable electoral rules and the same standards of public scrutiny.
Think of them as applicants seeking the same job. If all 17 have applied, it would be unfair to select four favourites without first establishing the requirements of the job and evaluating every applicant against them.
The question of who should do the job must not precede the question of what the job requires.
The assignment must come before the applicants. The job description must come before the job seekers.
THE 17 APPLICANTS FOR LITTLE RAYFIELD
For citizens who wish to assess the field beyond the four candidates highlighted by Plateau Politics, here are the 17 names and parties in the list supplied for this article.
No.| Party| Governorship candidate
1| A| Umaru Ankara Yakubu
2| AAC| Ayuba Adams Pangk
3| ADC| Sura John Sunday
4| ADP| Dawop Sani Sa’idu
5| APC| Mutfwang Caleb Manasseh
6| APGA| Jiga Isa Jarzuka
7| APM| Danauta Kyarshik Samuel
8| APP| Muhammad Aminu Hadi
9| DLA| Yusuf Sani Umar
10| LP| Nura Tanko
11| NDC| Akuns Jonathan Sunday
12| NDP| Yohanna Wilson Yilpan
13| NRM| Cosmas Jarlath
14| PDP| Ropshik Kefas Wungak
15| SDP| Dafup Simput Eagles
16| YPP| Jonathan Dalong Dogara
17| ZLP| Bingel Hurung Philomina
That completes our roll call of the applicants.
The next question is more important.
WHAT IS THE JOB TO BE DONE?
This is where consultations and conversations become indispensable.
Politics is driven by interests. Political parties and politicians pursue interests that may align with the public good but may also conflict with the broader interests of the state and its citizens. Citizens must therefore not surrender the definition of their collective needs to politicians alone.
We must deliberately create platforms where citizens can interrogate Plateau State’s challenges, establish priorities and determine the measurable outcomes expected from whoever occupies Little Rayfield.
The purpose is not simply to decide who should win an election. It is to establish what the winner must deliver.
Our consultations must confront the challenges citizens face and identify practical ways to ease the burdens of everyday life.
Such platforms must accommodate citizens across political parties, ethnic communities, religious traditions and even the different identities within individual religious communities. We must build bridges wide enough to accommodate our differences without demanding that everyone abandon their convictions.
Diversity of doctrine must not become an obstacle to nation building.
The biblical account of Israel’s twelve tribes offers a powerful illustration of distinct communities united by a shared identity, covenant and purpose. Their diversity did not erase their collective calling.
The Church, as a community of faith within the Nigerian nation, must demonstrate that unity across denominational boundaries is possible. If Christians cannot overcome internal divisions to engage constructively with the challenges facing their neighbours and nation, what moral example are they offering wider society?
The Church must help demonstrate the possibility of a united Nigeria, not merely preach it.
And the Church in Plateau State is rising to this challenge.
FROM THE CHURCH DIALOGUE TO THE APOSTOLIC ROUND TABLE
The Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) Church in Plateau State is taking a significant step through its church and nation dialogue, themed “Between Peril and Promise.”
The planning committee has consulted widely and reached out to Christian denominations, creating an opportunity for a broader conversation about the future of the Church, Plateau State and Nigeria.
The dialogue, scheduled to begin on Saturday, 17 October, and continue through Sunday, 18 October, with further engagements on Monday and Tuesday, offers an opportunity to examine the choices before the Church and the nation.
Will our decisions move us towards greater peril or open the way to promise? The answer depends not on declarations alone, but on the quality of our collective discernment and the actions that follow.
On Thursday, 22 October, the conversation will take another important turn at the Apostolic Round Table (ART), bringing together leaders from the apostolic spectrum and from ecclesiastical, public service, corporate and political life.
The theme is “Leadership and the Future of Nigeria: The Intelligence Option,” with Plateau State serving as the case study.
Three critical sectors will lead the conversation: Security, Education and Agriculture. General Henry Ayoola will address security, Dr Ekaette Ettang will lead the conversation on education, and Mr Chima Christian will examine agriculture.
The objective is not another gathering of speeches and familiar political declarations. It is to create an informed platform for interrogating leadership, identifying practical priorities and determining what performance should look like in Plateau State.
Before citizens are asked to choose among candidates, they must be equipped to ask the right questions.
What security outcomes should the next governor deliver? What educational standards should be measurable? How can agriculture become a stronger source of livelihoods, food security and economic opportunity?
These questions cannot be answered by political slogans. They require evidence, expertise, public participation and a willingness to hold leadership accountable.
The Apostolic Round Table is intended to advance the conversation initiated by the ECWA Plateau Church dialogue and contribute to a wider framework for Christian civic engagement in Northern Nigeria.
The longer-term aspiration is a Christian General Assembly for Northern Nigeria, a platform through which Christian communities can deliberate on shared concerns, strengthen cooperation and engage constructively with public leadership as the country approaches the 2027 elections.
We can no longer afford an attitude of convenience in which Christian communities mobilise only when a crisis becomes unavoidable. The challenges confronting Christians in Northern Nigeria, particularly insecurity and threats to vulnerable communities, demand sustained engagement, preparedness and responsible collective action.
This is not a call for religious antagonism. It is a call for organised, principled and constructive citizenship.
The Church must be prepared not only to pray about the future, but also to think critically, engage responsibly, measure performance and contribute to solutions.
That is the spirit in which Plateau State’s 2027 governorship contest should be approached.
The quartet identified by Plateau Politics may well attract considerable attention. But Plateau State’s future cannot be reduced to four photographs, four political parties or four presumed frontrunners.
There are 17 names to consider. More importantly, there is a state whose people deserve answers.
Before we ask who will occupy Little Rayfield, let us agree on what the occupant must accomplish.
Watch out for Part Two: The Job to Be Done.
Part Three: The Job Seekers.
Part Four: Towards a Christian General Assembly for Northern Nigeria.