APC A Party Of Performance, Not Noise — Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as a party where “differences find direction”.

READ ALSO: Taraba Gov Kefas Registers As APC Member

Shettima, who stated this when he formally received Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, in Jalingo, said the APC had shown that it is a party of performance.

He said Governor Kefas’ decision to join the APC reinforces the party’s 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,” the Vice President was quoted as saying in a statement by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, on Saturday.

Shettima described the state as strategic to the nation’s food and energy security.

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He said President Tinubu had instructed him to assure the Governor of his place not only in the party, but in the continuing relationship to prioritise the development of the state.

“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 that Taraba is one of such strengths. It is a land that feeds, powers, and steadies the nation without demanding applause,” the Vice President said.

Conveying President Tinubu’s message, he said, “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 VP said the event was about 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 further said the APC was conceived as a unifying platform designed to bring Nigeria’s diverse regions together around a shared national 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. 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,” he added.

Welcoming Governor Kefas into the party, VP Shettima said, “Leadership, at its core, is the courage to align destiny with reality. He understands that governance is not an act of isolation, but an act of partnership. That progress is faster when vision meets structure,” he said.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, represented by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau, congratulated the Taraba governor for making the best decision for the state by joining the governing APC.

“By this decision, progress is brought to the state. This will enhance agriculture, infrastructure, and the economy of Taraba state,” he stated.

Barau said it was a wise decision that would bring prosperity to the state, noting that the entire National Assembly is in support of the decision.

Also speaking, the National Chairman of the APC, Nantawe Yilwatda, thanked Kefas for saving the state from what he called “the sinking PDP”.

“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 added.

Governor Kefas said his defection to the APC was not about playing politics or dwelling in the past, but to live with purpose.

He noted that while some may see his defection as perversion or ambition, his decision is for the youth, for infrastructure, for the elders and the progress of Taraba State.

The governor said Taraba must move into the centre to benefit from the policies and the programmes of the President.