A group under the auspices of Plateau Youths Liberation Movement, PYLM, has urged President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to appoint Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda as minister to succeed the former Governor of Plateau state Simon Lalong.

PYLM said with the issuing of certificate of return by INEC to Mr Simon Lalong, the Minister for Labour and Employment, as Senator-elect representing Plateau South Zone, a vacuum has been created. 

"We therefore, appeal to the President to appoint Dr Nentawe Yilwatda, as minister from Plateau. We believe this will reduce the political impasse in the state."

Addressing newsmen Friday in Jos on the current political happenings in Plateau and Nation as a whole, Mr.Jephta Joshua, acting coordinator PYLM, appealed to National Judicial Council (NJC) and other stakeholders in the Judiciary to stand in defense of democracy.

According to the acting coordinator, "it is no longer secret that the recent Court of the Appeal judgments that nullified the election of Gov. Caleb Mutfwang and some members of the National and State assembly from Plateau, is generating serious debate.

"The judgments, considered by many notable jurists, legal practitioners and public commentators, to be based on technicalities rather than facts, are really heating the polity. 

"We are not in anyway undermining the place of the revered justices of the Court Appeal, but it is evident that the judgments were skewed to favour the ruling APC because governor Mutfwang and the sacked lawmakers actually won their elections.

"While we call on the the justices of the Supreme Court to critically look into the Court of Appeal judgments with a view to reversing them, we also call on the National Judicial Council (NJC) and other critical stakeholders in the judiciary to act in the defence of democracy."

The groupp also call on President Bola Tinubu to wade into the matter, saying allowing the issues to escalate may bring serious disharmony in Plateau and Nigeria. 
 
"We call on the president to support Gov. Caleb Mutfwang to succeed as governor of Plateau. Mutfwang emerged through a popular mandate; he scored 525,299 votes to defeat Dr Nentawe Yilwatda of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 481,370 votes. 

"This does not in any way mean that the people rejected Nentawe Yilwatda, but an indication that his time to be governor has not yet come.

"Mutfwang has started on a good note, his developmental strides and political will to take Plateau to greater heights and place it on the world map has necessitated this appeal.

"Therefore, he needs all the support from the federal government to enable him sustain the good work he has started. 

"We are appealing to the justices of the Supreme Court to stand on the side of the truth in order to strengthen our democratic values and increase public confidence in the electoral process."