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Opinion: What Commissioners’ List Exposed About Taraba Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

By Oluwatosin Alex

Taraba was agog yesterday when news had it that the executive governor of the state, Dr. Agbu Kefas has submitted the long-awaited commissioners list to the state house of assembly for screening. Some quarters have begun to raise eyebrows due to the Governor’s inability to release the list within his first month in office as promised but the selection of nominees unveiled yesterday wowed everyone including the opposition. It was indeed a reflection of the statement ‘It is not how far or how long but how well’’.

Of course, Dr. Agbu Kefas promised to constitute his executive cabinet within his first 30 days in office but considering the fact that He expressed his wish to upgrade the ‘ancient’ system of governance in the letters sent to stakeholders, advising them to focus on the youth and women population, it was expected to take a lot of time to adequately compile the list of nominees. At the end of the day, did the duration matter? Certainly No, but was the time worth it? A Big Yes!

Without mincing words, Dr. Agbu Kefas is the most talked about Governor in Nigeria at the moment on account of the many giant strides he has pulled since he was inaugurated. In barely 40 days in office, He has been able to revamp the education sector at all levels; He recently slashed the tuition fee in Taraba State University by 50% and declared primary and secondary school education free in the state. His work rate especially in the education sector has made even opposition parties to attest to the excellence he portrays in his style of governance. The health, economy, aviation, agriculture, and other sectors have experienced significant turn-around since Kefas’ emergence and these are some of the reasons the people can’t skip talking about him. The commissioners’ list was an icing on the cake and a confirmation of the premonition that Dr. Agbu Kefas will move Taraba forward.

During his campaign, Dr. Agbu Kefas unveiled Youths and Women Empowerment as part of his 5-point agenda for the people of Taraba state. Sincerely, ‘Youth and women empowerment’ can be best seen as a redundant point in the manifestoes of Nigerian politicians. Every intending political officer in Nigeria have included it in their agenda but after their election, they follow the same route of appointing the ‘old cargos’ into juicy positions. For decades, that has been the culture for politicians in Nigeria but for Dr. Agbu Kefas, the aura is different.

The list of commissioners which comprises of twenty-one indigenes of Taraba state from almost all the local governments have placed Dr. Agbu Kefas far above his counterparts in other states. As promised, the list contained only Youths and for the first time in the history of Taraba state, five women made the list of nominated candidates. If screened and confirmed by the house of assembly, Taraba state will be the only state to have efficient and capable youths as commissioners. Other states have condemned the youth population to SA and SSA positions but under Dr. Agbu Kefas administration in Taraba state, the youths are being given hefty platforms to contribute their quota to the development of the state.

Dr. Agbu Kefas’ intention for the youths was first demonstrated with the there-day economic, youth and security submit which held two weeks after inauguration. The summit which is the first of its kind in the northeast zone was organized mainly for the youth population. At the summit, the governor revealed that the youths will have at least 80% of appointments in his administration and surely, the promise has been kept!

Since his emergence as Governor of Taraba state, Dr. Agbu Kefas has not for once hidden his love for the youth population. Most of his actions have been channeled towards enhancing the growth of the youth population and giving them platforms to unleash their hidden potentials.

Apart from the fact that the choice of commissioners further proves that this administration is focused on the youths, it also exposes the character of Dr. Agbu Kefas as a man who stands by his words even in the face of strong oppositions.

Even though he has promised to include youths in his administration, there were predictions that the list of commissioners will be hijacked by party stakeholders since the governor left them the responsibility to nominate candidates. It was widely believed that party stakeholders will influence the governor to compromise his decision to give the youth a larger share but alas, it came out well as planned.

By standing his ground to ensure the youths make the list, the toughness in the face of adversity, sagacity, fierceness, fearlessness, strength, and commitment of Dr. Agbu Kefas has been exposed.

May Taraba Succeed.

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Christian police fellowship of Nigeria bestows award of excellence on PMF president, Bishop Anthony

Published

2 days ago

April 13, 2025

Sahara Weekly

Bishop Chidi Anthony is the founder of Kings In Christ Power Ministries International and the president of Pentecostal Ministers Forum of Nigeria,PMF.

He is one of God’s generals that has impacted many as he propagates the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; uniting and fostering unity and togetherness among ministers of God through Pentecostal Ministers Forum of Nigeria which he happens to be the president, young ministers have benefited immensely from the organisation as PMF offers financial support to it’s members that are in need.

Christian Police fellowship of Nigeria decided to honour bishop Chidi Anthony for his marvelous and magnificent impact in the Christendom .CPFN bestowed an award on him yesterday at the police College,Ikeja.Bishop Anthony was there with his lovely wife,Rev.Nkiru Anthony to receive the award,his exhilaration was very conspicuous and he said “I’m really elated receiving this award today,I want to encourage people to keep doing good and impacting lives positively,you don’t know who is watching and taking note of you,I actually never envisaged receiving an award,I never knew that they were contious of my good works, I’m really enraptured,I want to show utmost gratitude to CPFN for the award and pray that God will continue to bless them ”

Finally,he advised churches in Nigeria, especially the popular ones with massive congratulations to help their members in this critical period of the nation because Christianity is about love and care ,he enunciated that you can’t preach Jesus to a hungry soul,you need to feed him first if you really want him to listen and accept Christ

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Uromi killing:stop going to other states with guns prophet Ikuru warns the Northern

Published

4 days ago

April 11, 2025

Sahara Weekly

By Collins Nkwocha

The prophetic hall of fame and Ambassador of peace, prophet Godwin Ikuru of Jehovah Eye Salvation Ministry has castigated the Northern people, especially the Fulanis for always travelling and entering other states with arms.

The prophet of the nation who outrightly condemned the killing of Northern people in Uromi also enunciated that it’s wrong for the Northern people to invade other states with arms based on the tensed security threat the nation is facing at the moment “I want to condemn the killing in Uromi because nobody has the right to take another person’s life,they should have been handed over to the security operatives, the killing in cruel and barbaric,but it’s wrong for the Northern people to keep invading other states with arms, the rate of insecurity in the nation is high, anyone seen with a gun is dreadful and harmful,Fulani Herdsmen have perpetuated so much heinous and callous act for people to be apprehensive of their presence,my in Law was a victim of their heinous act,they assaulted her in her farmland,their presence with arms is really terrifying and it’s making farmers to desert their farmlands, prompting food scarcity ”

The prophet of the nation advised the government to take a proper look at the possession of arms by these men and reiterated that the North is big enough for thousands of hunters and herdsmen to explore “travelling to other states with arms is not good, the North has got the largest landmass in the country,why leave the North to other states with little Landmass , the North is very massive, it’s very obvious that their is hidden agenda,why will someone leave a river to look for fish in a swimming pool, the government need to look at these area critically,arms should be prohibited, anyone that is not a security operative shouldn’t be seen with arms ”

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Rivers Crisis: Pro-Democracy Group Demands Reversal of LGA Appointments, Urge Tinubu To Rein in Sole Administrator

Published

6 days ago

April 9, 2025

Sahara Weekly

Budget Constraints, Infrastructure Woes Stall Diplomatic Deployment

Citizens for Democratic Watch (CDW), a pro-democracy group, has condemned the appointment of administrators for the 23 local government areas in Rivers State by the sole administrator, Ibok-Ete Ibas, describing it as “a dangerous abuse of power and a direct attack on the constitution”.

This latest action, which came just 24 hours after a federal high court restrained Ibas from making such appointments, has triggered widespread concern over what CDW calls “the rapid erosion of democratic institutions under the guise of emergency governance”.

In a statement on Wednesday, Dr Hassan Dantani, Executive Director of CDW, called on President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of the National Assembly to intervene before the situation spirals out of control.

“Appointing 23 sole administrators in clear defiance of a federal court order is not only unlawful — it is tyrannical,” Dantani said.

“No state of emergency gives anyone the license to override the judiciary, erase local governance, and act above the law. This must be condemned in the strongest terms.”

Dantani noted that the local government system is a constitutionally recognised tier of government, and any attempt to run it without democratic structures sets a very dangerous precedent.

“This action by Ibok-Ete Ibas is a grave violation of Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the system of democratically elected local government councils,” he said.

“Our democracy cannot function if unelected individuals are imposed to run local governments under military-style appointments.”

CDW warned that if allowed to stand, the appointments could embolden future political actors to trample on the rule of law and weaken the judiciary.

“The blatant disregard for a valid court order should alarm every Nigerian, regardless of political affiliation,” Dantani said.

“When leaders ignore court rulings and impose their will, what remains of the rule of law? If we allow this to stand in Rivers, it could happen anywhere else.”

The group called on the National Assembly to urgently summon the Rivers sole administrator to explain his actions and ensure that all constitutional boundaries are respected.

“We urge the Senate and House of Representatives to treat this matter as a priority,” he added.

“Democracy must not be sacrificed on the altar of expediency or political convenience.”

Dantani concluded by demanding the immediate reversal of the LGA appointments and a return to constitutional order.

“The people of Rivers State deserve legitimate, elected representation — not handpicked appointees. We must not normalise authoritarian shortcuts in a democratic society,” the group warned.