President Bola Tinubu on Monday received Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, at the State House in Abuja—his first official visit to the Presidency since leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Gatekeepers News reports that Kefas arrived at the Presidential Villa around 1:30 p.m. and proceeded into a closed-door meeting with the President at about 2:00 p.m. He was accompanied by the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda.
The visit follows Kefas’s suspension of his formal APC reception earlier scheduled for November 19. The governor had called off the event in the wake of the abduction of schoolgirls in Maga, Kebbi State, saying it would be “insensitive” to hold a political celebration during a period of national distress.
Kefas’s defection reflects an ongoing realignment in Taraba’s political landscape. Recently, the Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly and 15 other lawmakers also dumped the PDP for the APC, citing the need to “align with the centre” amid persistent internal turmoil within the PDP at the national level.
Their move aligns with the APC’s broader strategy to attract major opposition figures ahead of the 2027 general elections, with party sources hinting that more high-profile defections across the North and Middle Belt are expected.
Kefas, a retired lieutenant colonel and former chairman of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), won the March 2023 governorship election under the PDP. A native of Wukari, he also previously served as chairman of the Taraba State PDP before emerging as its governorship candidate.
