Plateau: One-Term Pledge Not Enough, PIGD Tells PDP’s Kefiano

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The Plateau Initiative for Growth and Development has urged the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate, Chief Kefas Ropshik Kefiano, to present a detailed development agenda instead of centring his campaign on a pledge to serve only one term.

PIGD made the call in a statement on Monday by its National Coordinator, Nengak David, who said the pledge raised questions about the candidate’s priorities and campaign commitments built around zoning.

According to the group, Plateau voters deserve explanations of how Kefiano intends to address insecurity, unemployment, infrastructure, agriculture, education and healthcare.

The group said, “The people need to hear what Chief Kefiano will do with power, not merely how long he says he will hold it,” David said. “A one-term pledge cannot substitute for a practical programme showing how the state will be governed and developed.”

PIGD urged Kefiano to explain policies, timelines and measurable targets, allowing voters to assess him on competence and character rather than zonal sentiment.

The organisation also questioned why the electorate should accept the pledge without scrutiny, drawing a comparison with Kefiano’s career in business.

“Chief Kefiano is a businessman who has never publicly declared that he intends to stop making money,” the statement said.

“Why, then, should Plateau citizens simply believe that a politician who wins power will willingly surrender it after one term? Such a promise requires more than words; it requires convincing guarantees and demonstrable sincerity.”

The group stressed that its intervention was not directed solely at Kefiano or the PDP, but at candidates and parties across Plateau State.

Continuing, the group said, “We call on politicians, irrespective of party affiliation, to speak honestly to the people,” David said. “Campaigns must be driven by truth, realistic promises and a genuine commitment to service. Plateau has suffered enough from convenient declarations that disappear once elections are over.”

PIGD advised residents to interrogate campaign pledges and demand issue-based engagements from candidates ahead of the election.

“Democracy becomes stronger when citizens refuse to be carried away by sentiment,” it added. “Every candidate must tell Plateau people what will be done, how it will be done and how the public can hold the government accountable.”, it said.