Taraba 2027: Can Bwacha, Tutare, Others Dislodge Kefas?

The race for Taraba State’s governorship is gathering momentum ahead of the February 6, 2027 election, with incumbent Governor Agbu Kefas facing a major political test from Senator Emmanuel Bwacha and Senator Abubakar Tutare. Although 19 candidates are seeking the coveted seat, the contest is increasingly revolving around the three leading contenders, writes Wole Ayodele

With the February 6, 2027 governorship election approaching, Taraba State is witnessing an increasingly competitive political contest, with incumbent Governor Agbu Kefas, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha and Senator Abubakar Tutare emerging as the leading contenders for the state’s coveted governorship seat.

Besides the three leading candidates, two others, Prof. Jerome Nyame of Accord and Hon. Danjuma Shiddi of APGA, are also likely to make an impact in the election.

Although 19 candidates are in the race for the coveted seat, other candidates and their parties are either strong but face considerable odds or are relatively unknown political featherweights contesting largely to make up the numbers.

As it stands, Governor Kefas and Bwacha are the most visible candidates and have dominated political discussions across the state. However, Hon. Shiddi and Prof. Nyame are also making significant inroads in the media space.

Realistically, and without prejudice to the other candidates, the election is likely to be keenly contested between Kefas and Bwacha, who, incidentally, was the APC candidate in 2023, while Kefas contested on the platform of the PDP. This time, the political roles have been reversed.

AGB KEFAS

The incumbent Governor, Kefas, will go into the election as the favourite. He was elected in 2023 on the platform of the PDP before defecting to the APC earlier this year. Besides enjoying the benefits of incumbency and federal backing, some of his key policies have resonated positively with sections of the state’s population. Notable among the policies and projects of the Kefas administration are the free education policy for primary and secondary schools and the 50 per cent reduction in tuition fees at state-owned tertiary institutions.

In addition to providing free and compulsory education for primary and secondary school students, the administration also provides pupils and students with free uniforms, school bags, sandals, books and other instructional materials. Similarly, the Kefas administration has been dubbed ‘Youth O’Clock’ because of the number of young people appointed as commissioners and special advisers. Arguably, no administration since the creation of the state has given more appointments to young people than Kefas, providing him with a strong support base going into the election.

Another factor that could work in Kefas’s favour is incumbency. Since 1999, every governor who has ruled the state has served two terms, unless the people of the state decide otherwise.

Meanwhile, Kefas’s defection to the APC is arguably his greatest advantage going into the election. The move brought the structure of a faction of the PDP into the APC, creating a larger and broader political platform. Although a section of the PDP refused to follow the governor to the APC, what remained of the party after the defection was largely a carcass until Senator Bwacha returned to pursue his governorship ambition.

Not a few people believe that even the remnants of the PDP were left in place by the governor to retain control of the political structure. Therefore, with the APC having become a political behemoth in the state, defeating the party in an election would be a herculean task. However, as the saying goes, nothing is impossible in politics, and only time will tell.

On the other hand, the major weakness that may work against Governor Kefas’ re-election is the array of candidates from his Senatorial zone especially from Wukari and Ibi local government areas. As at the last count, there are seven gubernatorial candidates from Southern Senatorial district jostling for the governorship seat apart from the governor himself. Though some of the candidates are not really a threat to him, however, Bwacha, Shiddi and Ishaka Bawa of APM may decimate his ‘home advantage’

Shiddi has been winning Wukari/Ibi Federal Constituency which is Kefas’ constituency while Ishaka Bawa, another homeboy from Ibi who also represented the constituency twice may be an albatross.

Besides, the rumoured strain relationship between the governor and his political godfather, General T.Y. Danjuma, is a serious challenge to the governor though there have been several refutals of any strain relationship between the governor and Danjuma by the governor’s handlers.

However, the governor has been able to rally round the major political stakeholders across the three Senatorial districts in the state to himself and may be able to weather the storm.

SENATOR EMMANUEL BWACHA (PDP)

Senator Bwacha is a household name in Taraba politics. In fact, he is among the most prominent and experienced politicians currently contesting for elective positions in the state. A deeply rooted grassroots politician, he was the APC governorship candidate in 2023 but lost to Kefas of the PDP.

Before then, he served three terms as a senator and was a principal officer of the Senate for eight years. He was also a member of the State House of Assembly, a commissioner and a member of the House of Representatives. Apart from the ruling party and the incumbent administration, none of the other candidates has a political structure comparable to Bwacha’s.

He has flagged off his campaign and inaugurated a 281-member campaign council headed by Ambassador Ardo Jika. In recent times, he has also been challenging the incumbent administration on various issues in a bid to win support for his ambition.

Although he is a formidable politician who cannot be dismissed lightly, defeating an incumbent governor is a herculean task in Taraba. He will, therefore, have to work extra hard and cover considerable ground to displace Kefas.

SENATOR ABUBAKAR TUTARE

Senator Tutare was a former Commissioner for Finance and Secretary to the State Government before his election to the Senate in 2011. Since leaving the Senate in 2015, he has not held any elective political office.

Going into the forthcoming election, Tutare’s strongest support base is the Muslim Ummah. There are speculations that the Muslim Ummah in the state has decided to throw its support behind him, as it did in 2023 for Prof. Sani Yahaya of the NNPP, who eventually came second in the election. Although Prof. Yahaya is also contesting the forthcoming election on the platform of the NDC, there are indications that he may not enjoy the full support of the bloc he had in the last election. Therefore, with the support of the Muslim Ummah, Tutare has emerged as a major force in the contest. However, whether he can win the election with the support of the bloc alone remains to be seen.

In the same vein, Tutare will be hoping to leverage the political structure of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in the state to coast to victory. Atiku is the presidential candidate of the ADC and has maintained a strong political base in Taraba over the years. However, whether his political machinery remains as potent as it once was will be determined by the election.

JEROME NYAME – ACCORD

Prof. Nyame contested for the PDP governorship ticket in 2022, but the process eventually produced Agbu Kefas as the party’s flag bearer. Although he has not previously held any elective political office in the state, he is a household name, having served as a principal assistant to former Governor Jolly Nyame. He is also a professor of business at Taraba State University, Jalingo. Although he does not have deep pockets, he enjoys a strong following among young people and considerable support from his Mumuye ethnic group, which is arguably regarded as the most populous tribe in the state.

DANJUMA SHIDDI – APGA

Hon. Danjuma Shiddi of APGA made a name for himself in the state when he was elected into the House of Representatives in 2015 on the platform of APGA, a relatively unpopular political party in the state. He went on to win a second term in 2019 on the platform of the party, despite fierce challenges from the PDP and APC. In 2023, he contested for the Senate on the platform of the APC and won before the court ruled that he was not the rightful candidate of the party.

There are insinuations that he is being backed by Gen. T.Y. Danjuma, although that assertion has not been independently verified.