By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi
adeyemi@ddnewsonline.com
The countdown has begun: Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas is poised to officially defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on November 19, marking another seismic blow to the opposition and bolstering President Bola Tinubu’s grip on the Northeast ahead of 2027.
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Sources within the APC National Working Committee confirmed the date to DDNewsOnline, describing the move as “a done deal” after Kefas’ high-stakes consultations with Tinubu and party brass in Abuja. The ceremony, slated for Jalingo, will feature a grand reception, signaling Taraba’s full alignment with the federal government.
Kefas, 58, hinted at the switch during a tense stakeholders’ meeting on November 4 at TY Danjuma House, blending PDP and APC leaders. “I’m working on that rumor to become a reality,” he declared, citing the need for “unity and development” in the agrarian state plagued by banditry and underfunding.
APC Northeast Zonal Chairman Mustapha Salihu hailed the move: “Taraba will no longer be an orphan federal resources will flow.” Deputy National Women Leader Hajia Zainab Ibrahim added: “This is a turning point for progress.”
Kefas’ exit would leave Adamawa’s Ahmadu Fintiri as the PDP’s lone Northeast governor a “settled matter” per insiders, with Fintiri’s own defection rumored soon. The 2023 polls saw PDP sweep five Northeast states; now APC eyes total control.
The Taraba Unity, Progressive and Reconciliation Forum urged an “unconditional” join: “Welcome with open arms for a stronger Taraba.”
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PDP chieftains decried the “betrayal,” but Kefas’ camp insists it’s about “inclusivity” – not ambition. His approval ratings hover at 62% for infrastructure pushes, but federal isolation has starved Taraba of projects.
Senator Shuaibu Lau (Taraba North, APC) tweeted from the November 4 meeting: “Kefas will clarify next week – unity for Taraba.”
APC State Chairman Ibrahim El-Sudi: “No preconditions. Kefas joins to harmonize politics.”
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As November 19 nears, Jalingo buzzes with billboards and whispers. For PDP, it’s another governor lost; for APC, a Northeast sweep in sight.
DDNewsOnline