Nephew Strikes Back: Danjuma’s Family Moves to Reclaim Taraba

For decades, General T.Y. Danjuma has been the ultimate kingmaker in Taraba State politics. His influence shaped governors; his network decided winners. But the kingmaker just watched his nephew enter the race, and the message is unmistakable: the family wants its seat back.

Hon. David Dinshiya, Danjuma’s nephew, has officially declared for the 2027 Taraba governorship race under the PDP banner. The announcement came at a public gathering in Jalingo, following extensive consultations with traditional rulers, youth bodies and party stakeholders. His campaign message is that Taraba “must and will do better.”

The drama lies in what is unsaid. Governor Agbu Kefas, the man currently occupying the Government House, was once a beneficiary of Danjuma’s political machinery. But Kefas recently defected from the PDP to the APC, taking the entire state apparatus with him. In one move, he shifted Taraba’s political centre of gravity. Dinshiya’s entry is widely interpreted as the Danjuma family’s direct counterpunch, an attempt to reclaim the mandate that party loyalists believe was stolen.

Adding fuel to the fire is the rumour of a broken gentleman’s agreement. Political circles are buzzing with speculation that Kefas initially agreed to a single term to maintain a delicate zonal balance between the region’s ethnic and geographic factions. Whether such an agreement ever existed, Dinshiya’s early and aggressive campaign launch signals that the opposition is not waiting to find out. They are moving now.

Dinshiya is also capitalising on genuine public frustration. His campaign directly attacks the current administration for widespread youth unemployment, decaying rural roads and underfunded healthcare. By pairing his family’s massive philanthropic reputation with an anti-incumbency message, he poses a serious threat to the APC’s hold on the state.

This is no longer a routine election. It is a proxy war between a billionaire elder statesman and the governor who stepped out from under his shadow. Taraba politics has just entered a very interesting season.