Even though there is tension in almost every state in Nigeria due to the governorship election coming up on Saturday, 11th Of March, 2023, Taraba seems to be the only state without so much tension because the people technically know their next governor is the candidate of the PDP, Kefas Agbu.

This is no because he has the support of the incumbent or the PDP is the ruling party in the state but when we talk about wide acceptance by the people, Kefas Agbu seem to be the only one among other candidates who can boldly say he is widely accepted in the state by every tribe, religion, ethnic groups, sections in the state.

Kefas Agbu is not a novice in the nation’s development, he has contributed immensely to the development of the country right from his days as a military personnel in the Niger-Delta region of the country. He made successful efforts to restore peace to the region at a time when there was so much hostility around. Even in Taraba state, Kefas Agbu’s antecedents have placed him above every other candidate in the election.

For the people of Taraba, electing Kefas Agbu as the next governor of the state is more like handing over the state to someone who is part of them, one who has lived with them, one who has experience, one who knows where the shoe pinches and knows the solution the state needs to move forward. There are other candidates but none of them has the capacity of Kefas Agbu when we talk of nation building, positive contributions to the state, investment in the state, acceptance by the people, among a host of many others.

The wide acceptance Kefas Agbu has was evident in every of his rallies even in places that could be described as the most rural area in Taraba state. Among the candidates, Kefas Agbu is the only one that took his campaigns from the urban areas down to the most rural areas in the state, no one has ever done this successfully. How then won’t the people love him with everything within them?

Apart from his antecedents and wide acceptance, his biggest opponent in the election, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, the candidate of the APC is battling with the court to mandate INEC to include his name in the ballot paper. At the moment, the INEC has not recognized him as a contestant in the election following a Supreme Court order that sacked him as a candidate in the election. What this simply means is that the APC doesn’t have any candidate for the governorship election in Taraba state.

Although, the inclusion of Emmanuel Bwacha on the ballot paper will not make any difference to the bright chances of Kefas Agbu. Bwacha, being a senator representing Taraba South, has not spearheaded any significant development in his senatorial districts. He lacks the wide acceptance unlike Kefas Agbu so being on the ballot would even make it more interesting.

As earlier said, the people of Taraba already see their next governor in Kefas Agbu, the election will only be a formality and will be a landslide victory for the PDP.

By Oluwatosin Alex