Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, has put APC Deputy National Women Leader Zainab Ibrahim at the centre of early speculation over his possible running mate for the 2027 governorship election.
The suggestion emerged during a visit by APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, to Jalingo, where Kefas received him at the TY Danjuma House as part of activities marking his 58th birthday.
During the protocol session, Kefas introduced Ibrahim as the “future deputy governor of Taraba State.”
Yilwatda subsequently referred to her as the “incoming deputy governor”, giving further political weight to the governor’s description.
No formal announcement naming Ibrahim as Kefas’s running mate was made at the event. The significance of the development therefore lies in the language used by the two APC figures and what it could suggest about the governor’s thinking ahead of 2027.
A Remark That Put Ibrahim In The Picture
Ibrahim currently serves as the APC’s Deputy National Women Leader, making her a figure within the national leadership structure of the ruling party.
Kefas’s public introduction of her as a future deputy governor consequently places her name in early discussions over the composition of his potential ticket.
Yilwatda’s description of Ibrahim as the “incoming deputy governor” added another layer to the speculation.
Taken together, the remarks suggest that Ibrahim could be under consideration for the position, although the information available does not establish that a final decision has been reached.
The Political Setting
The comments came during Yilwatda’s visit to Taraba, where activities were also held to mark his birthday.
The APC leadership had organised a state-wide medical outreach as part of the celebrations, with doctors providing free treatment and surgeries to residents.
Kefas commended the initiative, saying the response from beneficiaries had been encouraging.
But the governor’s remarks about Ibrahim gave the visit a separate political dimension, particularly because they came in the presence of the APC national chairman.
Kefas Signals Where Taraba Stands
Beyond the question of his possible running mate, Kefas used the occasion to express strong support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC.
The governor said Taraba would support the party in recognition of what he described as interventions by the Tinubu administration.
“For us in Taraba State, we are all for the APC to pay back what Mr President has done for us,” Kefas said.
He also pointed to Tinubu’s recent approval of an Army division for Taraba, describing the development as significant for the state’s security.
According to the governor, the intervention was capable of helping stabilise the state.
A Broader Political Alignment
Kefas’s comments place the possible running-mate speculation within a wider picture of his relationship with the APC leadership.
His support for Tinubu and the ruling party, combined with the public presence of Yilwatda, created the setting in which Ibrahim was described using language associated with the deputy governorship.
Kefas also made a striking comment about the political contest in Taraba.
“Mr Chairman, here in Taraba, we in the APC are not contesting elections with anybody. We only have people participating with us,” he said.
The remark further underscored the governor’s confidence in the APC’s position in the state ahead of the next election.
What The Words Actually Establish
The available information does not establish that Ibrahim has been formally selected as Kefas’s running mate.
What it does establish is that Kefas publicly referred to her as the “future deputy governor of Taraba State”, while Yilwatda called her the “incoming deputy governor.”
Those descriptions are significant because they came from two senior APC figures at the same political gathering.
At the same time, neither statement, as presented in the source material, amounts to a formal nomination or official announcement of a 2027 running mate.
That distinction leaves Ibrahim’s precise status unresolved while placing her firmly within the political conversation surrounding Kefas’s next ticket.
The Question Behind The Remark
The most consequential part of the episode may therefore not be whether an announcement was made, but why Kefas chose to describe Ibrahim in those terms in the first place.
A governor publicly identifying a serving APC national officer as a “future deputy governor” is a stronger political signal than an ordinary expression of praise.
Yilwatda’s subsequent use of “incoming deputy governor” reinforced that signal.
For now, the remarks provide an indication of where political calculations around Kefas’s 2027 ticket may be heading, without establishing that the final decision has already been taken.
And that leaves the central question surrounding the development: was Kefas simply acknowledging Ibrahim at an APC gathering, or was he publicly revealing the person he intends to place beside him in the 2027 Taraba governorship race?
