…as Shettima says, state strategic to nation’s food, energy security
President Bola Tinubu has pledged a stronger development partnership with Taraba State following the formal entry of Governor Agbu Kefas and his supporters into the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This came just as Vice President Kashim Shettima had said that the state was pivotal to Nigeria’s food and energy security.
Shettima, who represented the President at a grand reception to formally receive Kefas into the APC in Jalingo on Saturday, said the President had instructed him to assure the Governor of his place not only in the party, but in the continuing relationship to prioritise the development of the state.
“What makes us different from other political parties is that we believe that nations endure when they learn to recognise their quiet strengths. We believe that Taraba is one of such strengths. It is a land that feeds, powers, and steadies the nation without demanding applause,” the Vice President said.
Conveying Tinubu’s message, Shettima assured Kefas of his full place within the ruling party and a continued relationship focused on development.
“My dear brother, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has asked me to assure you of your place not only in the party, but in our continuing relationship to prioritise the development of our people. He has demonstrated that no region is expendable. No state is ornamental,” he said.
The Vice President said the event was not about discovering the state’s relevance, but acknowledging its long-established role in national cohesion.
“Today, we are not discovering Taraba. We are just acknowledging what we have always known: its place at the centre of Nigeria’s political stability and future,” Shettima stated.
He said the APC was conceived as a unifying platform designed to bring Nigeria’s diverse regions together around a shared national purpose.
“The All Progressives Congress was built as a meeting point. A place where regions converge. Where differences find direction. Where ambition is disciplined by purpose.”
According to him, Taraba’s entry into the ruling party strengthens that convergence at multiple levels, noting that “to have Taraba firmly within this fold is to strengthen that convergence.
“Strategically. Politically. Economically. This is so because Taraba sits where food security meets energy security. Where fertile land meets flowing water. Where mineral wealth meets industrial possibility,” he added.
He added that the state reinforced the APC’s commitment to balanced national development.
Welcoming Kefas into the party, Shettima said the decision reflected a clear understanding of governance as a partnership rather than isolation.
“Leadership, at its core, is the courage to align destiny with reality,” he said. “He understands that governance is not an act of isolation, but an act of partnership. That progress is faster when vision meets structure.”
Shettima said Kefas’ decision to join the APC reinforced those principles and strengthened national cohesion.
“Today also showcases what the APC represents: that we are a party that grows by conviction, not compulsion. By inclusion, not exclusion. By performance, not noise,” the Vice President said.
Also speaking at the event, the Senate President, represented by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau, congratulated the Taraba Governor for making the best decision for the state by joining the governing APC.
“By this decision, progress is brought to the state. This will enhance agriculture, infrastructure and the economy of Taraba state,” he stated
Barau said it was a wise decision that would bring prosperity to the state, noting that the entire National Assembly is in support of the decision.
Also speaking, the National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nantawe Yilwatda, thanked Governor Kefas for saving the state from what he called “the sinking PDP.”
