By Ben Adaji
When the Taraba State governor, Agbu Kefas defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, late last year, most people thought he was going to have the sole ticket of the party. However, as activities begin to gear up in the run up to the party primaries, it is clear that a political battle of an epic proportion awaits him, as party members already have about four options to pick from.
The tussle for who clinches the governorship ticket of the APC is to be taken to the 168 political wards across the 16 local government areas of the state since the party appears to have settled for direct primary election.
Understadably, Governor Kefas, a former Minister of Transport, Alhaji Jaaji Sambo, a business mogul and former Commissioner on the Board of the North East Development Commission, Chief David Sabo Kente, and Alhaji Saleh Mamman, a former Minister of Power have already purchased nomination forms preparatory for the primary election.
Interestingly, the State Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Abubakar Bawa said the floor is open for any interested person to aspire for any position and mobilize grassroots support since the people will decide who flies the party’s flag through direct primaries.
Speaking in Jalingo, Alhaji Bawa dismissed speculations that any aspirant would be granted automatic ticket or given preferential treatment.
“There is no preferred candidate. All aspirants who passed the screening process will participate in a direct primary election. The decision will rest with party members at the grassroots”, he said.
However, it was reliably gathered that only members of the party who underwent the APC electronic registration will participate in the coming primary election.
Intrestingly too, political observers are already looking at the strength and weaknesses of each of the candidates based on a number of factors that play key roles in the political calculation of the state.
DR. AGBU KEFAS
Kefas is the incumbent governor and enjoys the power of incumbency and state resources. He was also instrumental in bringing onboard, the present leadership of the party in the state shortly after his defection early this year. It was alleged that the governor singlehandedly handpicked them.
He is presently serving his first term and typically should be favoured to complete a second tenure.
More so, he is from the southern zone that had already ruled for 11 consecutive years, with former Governor Darius Ishaku spending eight years and Kefas already in his third year.
People will ordinarily prefer that he completes his second term so that the seat could return to either the Northern or Central Senatorial Zones.
However, it is also clear that his very low performance, as indicated so far, leaves so much to be desired and the people may not want to take the chance of retaining him in office for another tenure.
Probably, that is the reason why many Tarabans refer to the governor as “Father Promise and Fail”.
Since inception of office in 2023, it has been one promise after another without any tangible development. That was what Godwin Villannah, a former Secretary of the party in the state, observed at a recent press conference.
“This government prides itself with the free education policy and reduction in tuition fees. While this is commendable, its implementation has left so much to be desired. Most primary and secondary schools are grossly overcrowded without the corresponding infrastructure.
“Students are learning while sitting on bare floors. The failure to provide regular running cost to school heads has made it more difficult for some schools to even afford basic needs like chalk, report cards or even registers.
“It is also very disappointing that the first road the governor commissioned in three years is the Ibi/Nwonyo 5km road which is an eyesore. The promised Wukari Flyover, township roads and international stadium are mere dreams without any feasible way forward. Not a single step has been taken by the administration towards starting the advertized projects. This is similar to so many other pronouncements that he has made across the state.
“The several foreign trips have yielded no results as the much talked about foreign investments is a mirage. Even after spending billions of naira hosting a wasteful Taraba Investment Summit (TARAFEST) last year, there are no indications of any response to the venture. Perhaps the governor was just using state funds for his personal investments around the world.
“Youth and women empowerment that the governor spoke about so much have not taken any shape after three years in office. The question now is, when will he stop campaigning and start implementing his promises and provide good governance? This is simply a litany of failure that the people can no longer put up with”, he said.
Another thing that may affect the governor’s chances of victory is his inability to address the issue of the 3,000 legitimate workers who were allegedly replaced by cronies of the people in his government. For many, it shows obvious insensitivity to the plight of the people.
Recently, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha joined other voices to disclose that the governor has mortgaged the state by incurring a debt of over N1 trillion with nothing to show for it.
This is already sending shockwaves and deep fear about the future of Taraba. These factors and the fact that most critical stakeholders who worked for his election in 2023 feel abandoned, betrayed and taken for granted will make his reelection a tough nut to crack.
What may be Kefas greatest undoing is his resolve to retire old politicians from active politics. The governor announced shortly on assumption of office that old politicians have no place in his government, hence all his appointees are youths who have no political value in their respective localities.
ALHAJI JAAJI SAMBO
Alhaji Jaaji Sambo, a former Minister of Transportation under late President Muhammadu Buhari, hails from Jalingo Local Government Area in the Northern Zone. Most people are saying that the zone should have produced the governor even in 2023 based on the rotational arrangement adopted since the return to democracy in 1999. This gives Sambo a strong selling point.
However, most political observers are of the opinion that the odds are stacked too high against him. They feel he is not on ground except for the two or three township roads that he lobbied for Jalingo, the state capital while he served as minister. He simply abandoned the state since he was relieved of his appointment.
Besides, Sambo is considered the least popular of all the aspirants, as the only time his name was on the streets was when he served as minister. His complete lack of touch with the state is one factor that could count against him. He cannot boast of visible structures outside Jalingo, his home local government. However, whether he is able to persuade party members to trust him with the party’s flag between now and the primaries is left to be seen.
Besides, religion and ethnicity have always played key roles in determining who emerges governor and invariably, in favour of Christians. As a Muslim and Hausa/Fulani in the state, his chances of breaking the Rubicon in this regards are slim.
CHIEF DAVID SABO KENTE
Another popular member of the APC who has obtained the forms and is warming up to aspire to fly the party’s flag in the forthcoming general elections is Chief Kente, a popular philanthropist and business mogul.
Kente, a two time aspirant and former governorship candidate, is widely known and accepted across the state because of his philanthropy through the DSK Foundation that has touched several lives.
In 2023, Chief Kente played a key role leading to the election of Governor Kefas, even though he was then in the PDP. He hails from Wukari Local Government Area in the Southern Senatorial Zone, same as the incumbent governor.
Late last month, a cross section of politicians, drawn from various political parties, had an extensive meeting in Wukari to persuade him to join the race, but he politely turned down the offer. He had said on several occasions that left to him, he will rather support the incumbent governor to win if he delivers. He had explained that the only condition that may push him to join the race is if it is the resolve of the majority of the people of the state.
It is however not surprising that he has finally accepted to join the race after some stakeholders bought and presented the forms to him, insisting that he was the prefered candidate to rescue Taraba from the misgovernance of the present administration.
To his advantage, Kente is considered the most popular and experienced candidate amongst the four who are in the race so far. What may be an additional advantage to him is that he has built structures across the 16 local government areas and may not labour too much to win the state for the APC if he secures the ticket.
For Kente, religious politics may not come to play because he enjoys the acceptance of both Christians and Muslims because his philanthropic gesture has no boundary.
What perhaps may be his biggest advantage is, he hails from the southern zone, same as the incumbent and so for many people from the zone, it will be to their advantage if he wins the governorship to complete Kefas eight years from the zone.
Chief Kente is also a grassroots politician with structures across the 16 local government areas and has carved a niche for himself in the APC, having singlehandedly sponsored the party for years during its dark days.
As a Christian from the state, Kente stands a good chance of taking advantage of the poor performance of the present governor and convince the people to sway their votes to his advantage since he has proven that he could impact so many lives even outside government.
Again, Kente said he is coming to complete the remaining four years of Governor Kefas after which he promised to relinquish power to other zones of the state.
ALHAJI SALEH MAMMAN
The embattled former Minister of Power, Alhaji Saleh Mamman is also another contender for the ticket of the APC in Taraba State. Maman hails from Lau local government area of the state.
Being from the northern zone, the argument about zoning system could easily tilt to his advantage though the south’s remaining four years is under contention because of Kefas failure.
Sadly, that could be his only advantage. He performed remarkably poor while serving as a minister and the current legal battle against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, cast a dark and gloomy shadow over his ambition.
His inability to take decisive actions towards the commencement of serious work on the Mambila Hydroelectric dam and the subsequent allegations of mismanagement of resources that were meant for the project has made him a “no go area” in any serious political discourse in the state.
Being an engineer by profession and from Taraba State that hosts the site of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Dam, late Buhari saw Mamman as the right choice for a minister that could successfully commence the final implementation of the project that had remained on the drawing board since 1972. However, he squandered the opportunity. This single factor has made the people of Taraba not to forgive him, at least not in the near future, let alone supporting his gubernatorial ambition.
Meanwhile, as the battle for who grabs the ticket of the party may be decided in a few days to come, stakeholders hold that the APC may risk losing the election to an obscure political party if the right candidate is denied the ticket in the name of incumbency or concensus.
Over the years, one undisputable fact that has been established in politics is that there are no definite absolutes. This can change very quickly. As preparations for the governorship election in 2027 gathers momentum in the state, it is clear that the struggle for the ticket of the APC will be a battle that will be faught fiercely among political gladiators, each with his advantage over the other players.
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