Tinubu Receives Taraba Gov, Kefas into APC, Says Govs are Party Leaders

Deji Elumoye in AbujaPresident Bola Tinubu has declared that governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) remain the party’s leaders in their respective states.Tinubu made the declaration yesterday at the official reception of the Governor of Taraba State, Agbu Kefas, into the ruling party in Jalingo, the state capital.

Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, President Tinubu pledged a stronger development partnership between the federal government and the state following Kefas’ formal entry into the APC.Speaking at a grand reception to formally receive Kefas, the Vice President described the state as being instrumental to Nigeria’s food and energy security.

Shettima said President Tinubu had instructed him to assure the governor of his place not only in the party but also in the ongoing relationship, to prioritise the development of the state.According to the vice president: “What makes us different from other political parties is that we believe that nations endure when they learn to recognise their quiet strengths. We believe Taraba is one such strength. It is a land that feeds, powers, and steadies the nation without demanding applause”.

Conveying President Tinubu’s message, Shettima assured  Kefas of his full place within the ruling party and a continued relationship focused on development.“My dear brother, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has asked me to assure you of your place not only in the party, but in our continuing relationship to prioritise the development of our people. He has demonstrated that no region is expendable. No state is ornamental,” he said.

The Vice President said the event was not about discovering the state’s relevance, but acknowledging its long-established role in national cohesion.“Today, we are not discovering Taraba. We are just acknowledging what we have always known: its place at the centre of Nigeria’s political stability and future,” Shettima stated.

The vice president said the APC was conceived as a unifying platform designed to bring Nigeria’s diverse regions together around a shared national purpose.“The All Progressives Congress was built as a meeting point. A place where regions converge. Where differences find direction. Where ambition is disciplined by purpose.”

According to him, Taraba’s entry into the ruling party strengthens that convergence at multiple levels, noting that “to have Taraba firmly within this fold is to strengthen that convergence – strategically, politically and economically. This is so because Taraba sits where food security meets energy security, where fertile land meets flowing water. Where mineral wealth meets industrial possibility.”

Welcoming Governor Kefas into the party, Shettima said the decision reflected a clear understanding of governance as a partnership rather than isolation.He said: “Leadership, at its core, is the courage to align destiny with reality. He understands that governance is not an act of isolation but of partnership. That progress is faster when vision meets structure.”

The vice president said Governor Kefas’ decision to join the APC reinforces those principles and strengthens national cohesion.“Today also showcases what the APC represents: That we are a party that grows by conviction, not compulsion. By inclusion, not exclusion. By performance, not noise,” Shettima further said.

Shettima commended Kefas for his understanding of Taraba’s ethnic and religious diversity and his efforts to promote unity in the state, urging residents to rally behind the governor to advance development.“We are proud of Governor Agbu Kefas for his sense of inclusivity and his development drive. I urge the people of Taraba State to support him as he delivers on his mandate,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that Shettima described the governor as the undisputed leader of the APC in the state.Also speaking at the event, Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, represented by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau, said Kefas’ defection to the ruling party was a wise decision that would bring prosperity to the state, noting that the entire National Assembly is in support of the decision.

On his part, National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nantawe Yilwatda, thanked Governor Kefas for saving the state from what he called “the sinking PDP.”He said moving from such a sick party is the best decision he has made, describing it as a move to accelerate progress, development, and prosperity in the state.

“The best thing is to align with the centre so that all the good things and policies happening at that level will come to Taraba State,” he noted.In his remarks, Governor Kefas commended the state’s security operatives for ensuring citizens’ safety, saying his defection to the APC was not about playing politics or dwelling on the past, but about living with purpose.

The governor said Taraba State must move into the centre to benefit from the policies and the programs of the present government.

Also speaking was Ekiti State Governor, Abiodun Oyebanji, who represented the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, and said Governor Kefas made the best decision by joining the progressives to attract the dividends of democracy to the state.