Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
A fresh political twist has emerged in Taraba State ahead of the 2027 governorship election after members of the Itchen community associated with Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate Emmanuel Bwacha declared their support for Governor Agbu Kefas’s bid for a second term.
The group, operating under the Itchen APC Progressive Movement, announced its position during a political meeting at the Jalingo residence of Danladi Baido Tijo, director-general of the Kefas re-election campaign organisation. The endorsement also extended to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for another term in office, according to statements made at the meeting.
The development is politically significant because Bwacha and Kefas are expected to be major contenders in the 2027 Taraba governorship contest, although both men have changed political platforms since their last major electoral battle. Kefas won the 2023 governorship election as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, while Bwacha contested the same election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.
Kefas has since moved to the APC and secured the party’s ticket for the 2027 governorship election. Bwacha, meanwhile, is now the PDP’s governorship candidate. The two men are therefore preparing to face each other again, this time under reversed party identities.
Speaking for the Itchen group, Elder Assemboh Shamaki said the decision to support Kefas was based on what members described as the governor’s performance since taking office. He specifically pointed to the administration’s approach to insecurity and the rehabilitation of public infrastructure as reasons for backing the incumbent.
Shamaki said the governor had made the protection of lives and property a priority and argued that measures taken by the administration against criminality had restored relative peace to rural communities affected by insecurity.
He also promised that the group would undertake grassroots mobilisation in support of Kefas ahead of the 2027 election, turning the endorsement into a declared campaign effort by members of the community.
The group’s decision comes against the backdrop of an increasingly competitive political contest in Taraba. The state has become a significant battleground as politicians reorganise their structures and seek alliances across ethnic, religious and geographical lines ahead of the next general election.
For Kefas, the endorsement provides support from a community linked to his principal challenger. It also gives his campaign an opportunity to present the backing as evidence that political loyalties in the state are not strictly determined by party affiliation or the political identity of an individual leader.
Responding to the endorsement, Baido Tijo said it had disproved suggestions that the Itchen ethnic community was alienated from the Kefas administration. He welcomed the decision and called on other political groups in the state to support the governor’s second-term bid.
Baido also invoked Taraba’s recent political history, arguing that every elected governor of the state since 1999 has secured a second term. He presented the record as a precedent favouring Kefas as the governor seeks to retain office.
The 2027 contest is nevertheless far from settled. Kefas’s record in office will remain a central issue as the campaign develops, while opponents are expected to challenge the administration’s performance and offer alternative programmes to voters. Bwacha has already criticised the governor’s performance and said his dissatisfaction with the administration helped drive his decision to return to the governorship race.
The political rivalry between the two men dates back to the 2023 election. Official results from that contest showed Kefas winning the governorship with 302,614 votes. The New Nigeria Peoples Party candidate, Muhammad Sani Yahaya, finished second with 202,277 votes, while Bwacha, then the APC candidate, received 142,502 votes.
The 2023 result gave Kefas the governorship but did not remove the underlying political competition. His subsequent move from the PDP to the APC changed the configuration of the next election, while Bwacha’s return to the PDP created a direct reversal of their previous party positions.
Kefas’s APC candidacy has already received backing from party structures in Taraba. The state APC previously endorsed him for a second term, alongside support for President Tinubu. The governor subsequently secured the APC governorship ticket, putting him in position to seek re-election under the ruling party.
Bwacha has also been building his PDP campaign. In July, he announced engineer Aminu Zakari as his running mate after consultations with political, traditional and community stakeholders. He has presented the ticket as one focused on unity, competence, accountability and development across the state.
The former senator has also publicly pledged support for Tinubu at the federal level, despite contesting the Taraba governorship under the PDP. That position illustrates the complex alliances emerging ahead of 2027, where state-level contests and national political alignments do not always follow the same party lines.
The latest endorsement therefore adds another layer to an already fluid race. It does not determine how the wider Itchen community will vote, nor does it establish that all of Bwacha’s supporters have abandoned him. The announcement was made by a specific political group identifying itself as the Itchen APC Progressive Movement, and its position should be understood in that context.
For Kefas, however, the timing is valuable. With the election still months away, the governor’s campaign is seeking to consolidate support across the state while emphasising security, infrastructure and continuity. The endorsement gives the campaign another talking point as it reaches into areas where political competition is strong.
For Bwacha, the development is an indication of the challenge facing any candidate attempting to rely on traditional political loyalties. His candidacy will require him to build support beyond his immediate political base and convince voters that his programme offers a stronger alternative to the incumbent.
The 2027 Taraba election is now taking shape as a contest not only between two experienced politicians but also between competing narratives about performance, continuity, political realignment and the future direction of the state. As campaigns gather momentum, endorsements such as the one announced in Jalingo are likely to become increasingly important, but they will ultimately be tested at the ballot box.
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