The desperation by some compromised and shameless regional leaders to impose Nicholas Mutu on the people of Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency will ultimately fail. The people are no longer blind, intimidated, or willing to surrender their political future to a handful of self-serving individuals who have consistently placed personal interests above the collective good of the region.
Nicholas Mutu has remained in the House of Representatives since 1999 and is now pushing towards almost 32 uninterrupted years in the same office. In any serious democracy, such prolonged occupation of a single position would naturally invite scrutiny and demands for accountability. The APC must understand that aligning itself with this kind of recycled and exhausted political arrangement risks damaging its credibility and weakening its chances within the constituency.
What is even more disappointing is the conduct of certain so-called leaders from the region who have abandoned every sense of integrity and conscience in their blind endorsement of Mutu. These are leaders who shamelessly move from one community to another, begging for endorsements outside the constituency instead of allowing the people directly affected to freely decide their political future. What kind of politics is this? What responsible leader abandons his own people to market a candidate elsewhere if that candidate truly has the confidence and support of his constituents?
The truth is simple: if Nicholas Mutu truly enjoyed the trust and goodwill of the people of Bomadi/Patani, there would be no need for desperate political tours and externally arranged endorsements. Genuine leadership is validated by the people at home, not by staged endorsements orchestrated across other kingdoms and constituencies.
These regional leaders have exposed themselves as selfish political merchants who are only interested in protecting their own benefits and access to power. They neither represent the voice of the grassroots nor the aspirations of ordinary people. Their actions have shown clearly that they are prepared to mortgage the future of the constituency for personal gain.
The grassroots movement in Bomadi/Patani will not be intimidated by these biased and compromised leaders. The era when a few individuals could gather behind closed doors and impose candidates on the people is over. Every leader has only one vote, and no one possesses the moral authority to dictate the political destiny of an entire constituency.
It is important to note that many politicians who entered the House of Representatives in 1999 alongside Nicholas Mutu have since progressed to become governors, senators, and respected national leaders. Several have completed their service and left behind visible legacies and developmental achievements. Yet after nearly three decades in office, the people of Bomadi/Patani are still asking what tangible transformation can genuinely be credited to Mutu’s prolonged stay in power.
There is growing frustration among the people over the concentration of opportunities, influence, and constituency benefits within a narrow political circle while the larger constituency continues to struggle with underdevelopment. The people are tired of recycled promises, political manipulation, and entitlement politics.
We therefore reject every attempt to impose Nicholas Mutu on the constituency through so-called consensus arrangements engineered by compromised leaders. We stand firmly with Rt. Hon. Basil Ganagana and all credible alternatives that represent fairness, inclusion, and a new direction for the constituency.
The APC must take caution. If the party ignores the mood of the grassroots and continues with this dangerous politics of imposition, it will face serious resistance and political consequences. The people are demanding only one thing: open, transparent, and credible primaries where every aspirant is given a fair opportunity to test their popularity before the people.
Nobody will enslave Bomadi/Patani for Nicholas Mutu. The people have found their voice, and history will remember those who stood for justice and those who attempted to suppress the will of the people for selfish political interests.
Written by,
Thompson Tari Seiyefa.
