The governors under the All Progressives Congress (APC) including those who recently defected are party leaders in their respective states.
President Bola Tinubu made the declaration on Saturday at the reception to formally welcome Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State into the APC held in Jalingo, the state capital.
He was represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima. Tinubu announced that Kefas has assumed the leadership of the party in the state by the virtue of his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the APC.
Senator Shettima said the decision of the Taraba State governor, Agbu Kefas and his supporters to join APC was informed by a clear understanding of governance as a partnership rather than an isolation.
Shettima told the gathering that President Tinubu had instructed him to assure the governor of his place not only in the party, but in the continuing relationship to prioritise development of the state.
He said: “Leadership, at its core, is the courage to align destiny with reality.
“He understands that governance is not an act of isolation, but an act of partnership. That progress is faster when vision meets structure.”
“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.”
He further clarified that having joined the ruling party Governor Kefas status as a leader of the party in a state is guaranteed.
“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.”
The VP said the event was not about discovering the state’s relevance, but acknowledging its longstanding 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,” VP Shettima stated.
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.”
He said moving from the erstwhile ruling party is the best decision he has made, describing it as a move to accelerate progress, development and prosperity in the state.
“The best thing is to align with the centre so that all the good things and policies happening at that level will come to Taraba State,” he noted.
In his remarks, the Governor of Taraba State, Kefas, commended the security operatives in the state for ensuring the safety of the citizens, saying his defection to the APC is not about playing politics or dwelling in the past but to live with purpose.
He noted that while some may see his defection as perversion or ambition, his decision is for the youth, for infrastructure, for the elders and the progress of Taraba State.
The Governor said Taraba must move into the centre to benefit from the policies and progress of our President of the present government.
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