Knives out for Kefas
Can Governor Agbu Kefas survive the barrage of accusations, criticisms and outright media attacks that hover on his head and scale through the second term of his administration? Williams Ayooso asked rhetorically as he excavates the recriminations of bad governance labeled against him.
The Position of Dr Kefas Agbu as Governor of Taraba State is no longer an enviable one. Like the swords of Damocles, there is a vicious circle of criticism hanging over his head and obviously, his hands seems to blistered with the handling of affairs of the state.
Those coordinated attacks, emanating from people across different shades of opinion, are accusing Governor Agbu Kefas over aspects of administrative malfeasance, including profligacy, globetrotting, insensitivity on welfare of people, a midst absence of visible development features.
According to a report published by the Sahara Reporters and which has not being contradicted by any government source, Governor Kefas expended a whopping sum of N2.4billion on the renovation of the Taraba State Government House, which is further renamed after his godfather, TY Danjuma. The amount involved in the renovation drew concerns among the people, who have wondered why such a huge sum of money will be channeled on such a project in face of water scarcity, dilapidated education infrastructure and other projects of the general public concerns.
Two weeks ago, the Leadership Newspaper in its recent report, stated that the Governor has spent the spent N5.22B, just in six Months on foreign trips. Leadership, which based its source on the information it obtained from the Taraba State Government website, as gathered by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), elaborated that the money was spent on the foreign trips between January and June 2025.
As the figures and events continued to shove the Governor Kefas administration to the blink of infamy, some critical stakeholders have folded up their sleeves and joined the flare. Among them is Prof. Sani Yahaya, candidate of the NNPP who gave Governor Kefas a close chase in the previous governorship election in the state.
Prof. Yahaya decried what he described as a deepening debt crisis in Taraba State under Governor Kefas, pointed out that almost N1trillion in loans allegedly secured over two years by the state government without any meaningful development to show for it.
Yahaya who spoke to SaharaReporters said the debts were obtained on behalf of the state and its 16 local government areas, yet the socio-economic landscape of Taraba remains bleak.
“We are gravely concerned about the massive borrowing nearly one trillion Naira with virtually no infrastructure or public service improvement to justify it.” Yahaya said.
Citing an independent assessment comparing development indices across Nigeria’s 36 states, Yahaya revealed that Taraba ranked among the lowest in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and governance, despite being one of the most indebted
“The Governor has spent billions on foreign trips supposedly to attract investors, yet no single company has come to Taraba to build a factory or invest,” he said. Despite the state’s rich potential in agriculture, solid minerals, and tourism, he lamented that these sectors remain untapped” He said.
Even as the salvo that Prof Yahaya of the NNPP fired was still dangling on the state’s socio-political space, an APC group drew its knife to cut its own pound of fresh, accusing the Kefas administration of embarking on a borrowing spree, despite an increase in federal allocations to the state.
The spokesperson for the group, Rikwensi Muri, in a statement issued to newsmen blamed the State House of Assembly for approving a ₦350 billion bond request for the governor without thorough scrutiny.
According to him, “Despite the apparent increase in federal allocations, rising from approximately ₦3 billion to ₦13 billion monthly—and the growth in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) over the past two years, the state has witnessed an alarming trend of escalating debt.
“We strongly condemn the recklessness exhibited by the Taraba State House of Assembly in approving this bond without adequate checks and balances.“It is imperative that our elected representatives prioritize the welfare of the people over political expediency. This approval is not just a fiscal decision; it is a direct threat to the future of Taraba State.” the release stated among other things.
For the Nigeria former ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Alhaji Hassan Jika Ardo, the debts are just but a process of mortgaging Taraba State’s financial future. He spoke with Journalists in a telephone interview.
Ardo, who was also the former chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Taraba state chapter, criticized the growing debt of the state under Governor Agbu Kefas, alleging that the administration has borrowed over ₦400 billion in less than two years without any significant developmental projects to justify the expenditures.
“I have observed the situation in Taraba quietly, but things are getting out of hand. This government has not initiated and completed a single project since its inception, just renovations,” Ardo stated.
Perhaps, what can be described as the most unkind cuts emanated from the Governor’s home front, Rt. Hon. Danjuma Usman Shiddi, member, 8th and 9th National Assembly, House of Representatives, another scion of the Kwararafa kingdom. His dagger was sharp and the cut, deep, given the emotions that weaves around it and the public response that it elicited.
In his salvo, which came in a format of an open letter, Hon. Shiddi, unarguably, a respected voice, not only in the Kwararafa kingdom, but in the entire Southern, said that, under Governor Kefas, Taraba is not just wounded; it is hemorrhaging—slowly, quietly, painfully.
“What we are witnessing is not growth or transformation. It is regression. Taraba is not standing tall. It is staggering, bleeding, and neglected.
“The state’s debt profile speaks louder than any prepared speech ever could. Over 400 billion Naira in accumulated debt, including a 350 billion Naira bond approved by the State House of Assembly, and an external debt of 21.92 million dollars as of the second quarter of 2023. Yet, what can we show for this level of borrowing? Which landmark project can we point to? What breakthrough in infrastructure or social welfare? If we are mortgaging the future of our children, should we not at least be able to show them what their future is being traded for?
“Hospitals are barely functioning. Schools are collapsing. And the average citizen is left wondering what benefit, if any, these billions have brought. The only thing growing is public frustration.
“For two years, you have been traveling the world in the name of attracting foreign investors, yet there is no evidence of a single successful investment. Your governing style has become increasingly authoritarian. The perception is growing that Taraba State is being run like a personal estate. Where is democracy in all of this?”
The open letter reads in part.
If the situation of the state as graphically painted by Hon. Shiddi did not upset Governor Kefas, nothing will.
Now, Can Governor Agbu Kefas survive the barrage of blame, accusations, criticisms and outright verbal attacks that hover on his head and scale through the second term of his administration?
Despite that the answer is obviously subjective, the state’s political temperature is slanting in a direction that might not be favourable to Governor Kefas.
Three factors will count against him. Apart from the negative posture that he is draped with, making him a bad product in the political market, he will lose a home support that is critical to victory. Already, David Sabo Kente, DSK, who anchored his (Kefas) victory in Wukari local government and beyond, has indicated his interest in the state’s coveted position. Senator Emmanuel Bwacha of the APC, is still coming. It is believed that this time, he will have a good measure of experience t back up his efforts. Prof Yahaya might come again, with the force of thunderbolt.
A more disturbing factor is the instability of the PDP at the national level. If the vicissitudes and intrigues that wave around the party is anything to go by, it will not be out of place to posit that winning election under its umbrella will be a herculean task.
Governor Kefas is likely aware of this looming disadvantage, hence he is reported to be making efforts to cross carpet to the ruling APC.
Unfortunately, his ambition proves to be dead on arrival, as ambassador Jika Ardo, a APC stalwart has declared that there is no automatic ticket for Kefas.
“I can confirm that the governor is making moves to join the APC and we are all aware of that. It is actually not a secret and we in the APC are not against that. However, you know that the governor has performed poorly in his first two years in office and so he is not bringing anything tangible to the table. In fact, they are political liabilities. What value are they bringing to the table? They have lost followership and people have lost confidence in them..” He said.
In the game of politics, anything can happen. Whether Governor Kefas, will wiggle and wobble his way into his second term as governor in the face of these attacks, amidst the lingering morbid and toxic socio-political atmosphere, remains to be seen.
