An Open Letter to the Leadership of the All Progressives Congress

To the Esteemed Leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC):

– National Chairman and Executives

– Taraba State Chairman and Executives

Dear Esteemed Leaders,

I write this letter as an independent political observer who has followed the affairs of Taraba State and the All Progressives Congress for many years—not as a card-carrying member of any faction, but as someone concerned with the health of Nigeria’s democracy and the stability of its major political platforms.

The defection of Governor Agbu Kefas from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress on January 31, 2026, was a moment of high political theatre. With Vice President Kashim Shettima personally present at the Jolly Nyame Stadium reception, the event carried the full weight of federal endorsement.

On the surface, it appears to be a textbook strategic coup: an incumbent governor crossing the aisle, bringing state machinery, incumbency advantages, and the promise of a more unified North-East bloc for President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Yet beneath the celebration lies a quiet but growing fracture—one that could undermine the very gains the defection was intended to secure.

Longstanding APC figures in Taraba, most notably Chief David Sabo Kente, have spent more than a decade labouring to keep the party alive in often hostile territory. They delivered the Taraba South senatorial seat and two House of Representatives seats in 2023 when the APC was otherwise routed in the state.

They mobilised voters, funded party activities, and endured exclusion from patronage when there was little to share. Now, with an incumbent governor entering the fold, many of these loyalists fear their ambitions—particularly the governorship aspiration—are being quietly but firmly closed off.

Chief Kente’s pointed absence from the defection ceremony, together with a significant portion of his support base, was not mere coincidence.
It was a visible signal of unease.

In interviews late last year and in early 2026 remarks, he welcomed the governor’s move as one that “will boost the party ahead of 2027,” but he added a condition that deserves national attention: nobody’s ambition should be blocked.”

That single sentence captures the heart of the matter. In Nigerian politics, defections are commonplace. What is far less common—and far more dangerous—is the perception that loyalty is punished while opportunism is rewarded.

When longstanding members who built the structure feel they are being pushed aside to make way for a newcomer with state resources and presidential blessing, the result is not unity; it is resentment, reduced enthusiasm, and in the worst cases, quiet sabotage or outright exit.

Taraba’s ethnic and zonal arithmetic already makes any appearance of favouritism risky. Both Governor Kefas and Chief Kente hail from Wukari in the Jukun heartland of Taraba South—the zone widely expected to retain the governorship until 2031.

Any process that appears to anoint one son of the soil over another without genuine contest will inflame communal sensitivities and depress turnout among core voters who feel their fidelity has been taken for granted.

From a cold electoral perspective, the APC stands to lose far more than it gains by alienating proven grassroots mobilisers. A united party that combines the governor’s incumbency leverage with the organic support networks of figures like Kente would be formidable in 2027.

A party fractured by perceptions of imposition would enter the race carrying unnecessary baggage—low morale, fractured structures, and a narrative of betrayal that the opposition can exploit.

The remedy is neither complicated nor revolutionary. It requires only political maturity and fidelity to the party’s own stated principles of internal democracy:

– Commit publicly and unambiguously to transparent, direct primaries in which every qualified aspirant can compete on equal terms.

– Establish genuine reconciliation mechanisms that integrate defectors without allowing them to immediately dominate party organs or pre-empt longstanding members.

– Issue early, clear guidelines on zoning, ticket criteria, and the treatment of loyalists versus new entrants.

– Ensure national oversight during the primary process so that no side can credibly claim the deck was stacked.

Governor Kefas’s defection is a tactical victory for the APC—if—and only if—it enlarges the tent rather than shrinking it for the convenience of a few.
Nigerian voters have grown cynical about parties that celebrate cross-carpeting while quietly sidelining those who stayed faithful in the lean years.

If the APC wishes to convert this moment of realignment into lasting dominance in Taraba, it must demonstrate that loyalty still matters and that ambition, when pursued within the rules, will not be unjustly crushed.

The choice is stark: open competition that builds strength through inclusion, or managed consensus that risks breeding division. History shows which path usually produces the more durable victory.

I respectfully urge the national and state leadership to choose wisely.

Yours sincerely,

A Concerned Political Observer

February 28, 2026

Pamela Ogwata, political columnist and commentator.