As Pressure Mounts on Gov Kefas to Drop Taraba’s Ailing Dep Gov…

Wole Ayodele writes that stakeholders in Taraba state especially opposition politicians are mounting pressure on Governor Agbu Kefas to set machinery in motion for the replacement of the state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Aminu Alkali, who has been ill since December, 2024.

On Tuesday, August 12, 2025, Taraba state governor, Dr Agbu Kefas did a state broadcast to address the people of the state on the lingering controversy over the prolonged absence of the state deputy governor, Alhaji Aminu Alkali from office due to ill health.

The deputy governor has been ill since December, 2024 and was hospitalised at the National Hospital, Abuja before he was flown to Egypt for further treatment. He was eventually discharged and returned to Nigeria in May, 2025 though he is yet to resume office as he’s still recuperating.

The health condition of Alhaji Alkali, who is said to have suffered a stroke, was very severe at earlier stages of the illness. According to the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Boma Bondiya, who visited him in Egypt, the ailment affected his mobility and his ability to talk.

But since his discharge and return to the country, his condition is said to have greatly stabilized and recovering much faster than anticipated. According to the Special Adviser to Governor Kefas on Media and Digital Communication, Emmanuel Bello, the deputy governor now called people on phone and he can also be reached on phone and he would have resumed office if not for his Doctors who advised otherwise.

In Bello’s words, “We’re extremely very grateful to God for the life of the deputy governor. His condition has improved significantly and today, unlike before, he can talk very well now and he calls people by himself on phone and he can also be reached except when he’s observing his rest”.

But as the deputy governor’s absence from his official duties prolonged, agitations for his removal from office began especially from opposition political elements who insist that his continuous absence runs foul of the provisions of section 189 of the 1999 constitution as amended.

There have been calls for the Executive Council of the State to initiate the process of constituting a medical team to ascertain the health status of the deputy governor who is the Vice Chairman of the Executive Council preparatory to his removal from office.

There were also insinuations that the State House of Assembly was making moves to declare Alhaji Alkali incapacitated to pave way for the emergence of one of the principal officers of the House as deputy governor. The Assembly however dismissed the insinuations and expressed its commitment and determination to do it’s best in ensuring Alkali returns to office.

But as days and months passed by without the deputy governor returning to work, the agitations for his removal intensified especially in recent times. Accusing fingers were being pointed at the governor of deliberately blocking the process of removing Alkali from office with the intent to run the office by proxy.
As the controversy rages, the governor was prompted to address the people of Taraba state where he acknowledged the agitations and their concerns that the state has been without a deputy governor for over eight months.

According to the governor: “Fellow citizens of Taraba State, I have heard the discussions going on in the media and among our people about the fact that our state has been without an active Deputy Governor for several months.

“I understand the concerns and questions, and I want to speak to you directly—not just as your Governor, but as a fellow human being guided by faith, morality, and conscience.

“In my years of service in the Nigerian military, I learned the meaning of esprit de corps—the spirit of togetherness, where we stand by one another regardless of religion, ethnicity, or background. In the field, we fight together and, if necessary, we make the ultimate sacrifice together. That spirit has never left me.

“Our Deputy Governor fell ill while serving Taraba State faithfully and on official duty. This is not a political matter—it is a human one. The constitution gives us laws to follow, and we have done everything required of us under the law. But laws alone are not enough; morality and conscience must also guide our decisions.
“Whether you are Christian, Muslim, or of another faith, one truth binds us all: God calls us to care for one another. In the Holy Bible, Galatians 6:2 teaches us to “bear one another’s burdens. In the Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Ma’idah (5:32) reminds us that “whoever saves one life, it is as though he has saved all mankind. These are not just religious words; they are moral duties.

“Our Deputy Governor served this state with loyalty. Now, in his moment of need, it is our turn to stand by him. Let us lift him in prayer, support his family, and show that in Taraba State, leadership is about humanity before politics”.

The governor maintained that he has no hidden agenda in the way the matter is being handled just as he stressed that he would not hesitate to act or trigger the application of the constitution on the matter if the circumstances and the need arises.

“I have no hidden agenda in the way we are handling this matter. If, in the course of time and circumstances, the need arises to act according to the constitution regarding his position, I will not hesitate to do so in the right way. But for now, our duty is clear—to care, to support, and to let compassion lead us. This is not just about politics—it is about humanity”, stated the governor.

But rather than the governor’s address to calm frayed nerves and lay the matter to rest, the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) took a swipe at the governor saying the address was a mere rhetoric and a self arrogation of power which smacks of a maximum ruler.

In a statement released by the party’s State Publicity Secretary, Aaron Artimas, the APC noted that the governor chose to moralize and personalize the issue by evoking religious sentiments to support the government’s inaction on the matter.

According to the press statement “The governor’s speech was a mere rhetoric, claiming some motion but without a single movement. In other words, the State is still where it was eight months ago regarding the fate of his excellency, Alhaji Aminu Abdulahi Alkali. Instead of offering a more tangible way forward, the governor’s speech was a self arrogation of power which smacks of a maximum ruler.

“The All Progressives Congress APC, as well as legal experts and other well meaning Nigerians have expressed concern over the continued absence of the Deputy Governor without adequate information which is a brazen violation of the constitution. The party had raised this issue when the absence exceeded the three months allowed by the constitution.

“In his speech, the governor towed the familiar path of moralizing and personalizing the issue by evoking religious sentiments to support the government’s inaction on the matter.

“While the APC and other Tarabans truly sympathize with the Deputy Governor over his subsisting predicament, we strongly insist that exposing him to wild insinuations and speculations is not the best way to assist him at this difficult time.

“We hereby insist that the constitution did not envisage a situation whereby the Deputy Governor would stay away from office for a long time or indefinitely, otherwise it would not have made it mandatory or a condition to be included in the single ticket for the governorship election. The Deputy Governor, as the vice chairman of the State Executive Council is neither idle nor a “spare tire”, in the sense some people are insinuating”, the party posited.

The APC however enjoined the governor to engage the family of Alhaji Alkali in a honest and sincere dialogue and if apparent that he cannot continue in office, he should be made to resign honourably and his entitlements paid in full adding that his family or immediate community may be allowed to nominate a replacement as a mark of honour.

“We advice the State Government to engage the family of the Deputy Governor in an honest and sincere dialogue, and when it is apparent that he cannot fully perform his responsibilities, he should be allowed to resign honorably while the government pays all his personal entitlements to enable him continue his recovery in peace.

“As a mark of respect, his family or his immediate community may be allowed to nominate a replacement so as not to continue marginalizing or shortchanging his immediate constituency in the process of governance.

“The APC in Taraba State would like to emphasize that the issue of the Deputy Governor’s illness is not a personal matter to be handled at the whims and caprice of the governor or to be subjected to some form of emotions of “e’spirit de corps”, since this is purely a constitutional matter and of public accountability”, the party maintained.

Meanwhile, the matter subsists, the coming days or months would define the direction the state follows as the generality of the people of the state continues to pray for the deputy governor’s full recovery and probable return to office.