Opinion: What Commissioners’ List Exposed About Taraba Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas

By Oluwatosin Alex

Taraba was agog yesterday when news had it that the executive governor of the state, Dr. Agbu Kefas has submitted the long-awaited commissioners list to the state house of assembly for screening. Some quarters have begun to raise eyebrows due to the Governor’s inability to release the list within his first month in office as promised but the selection of nominees unveiled yesterday wowed everyone including the opposition. It was indeed a reflection of the statement ‘It is not how far or how long but how well’’.

Of course, Dr. Agbu Kefas promised to constitute his executive cabinet within his first 30 days in office but considering the fact that He expressed his wish to upgrade the ‘ancient’ system of governance in the letters sent to stakeholders, advising them to focus on the youth and women population, it was expected to take a lot of time to adequately compile the list of nominees. At the end of the day, did the duration matter? Certainly No, but was the time worth it? A Big Yes!

Without mincing words, Dr. Agbu Kefas is the most talked about Governor in Nigeria at the moment on account of the many giant strides he has pulled since he was inaugurated. In barely 40 days in office, He has been able to revamp the education sector at all levels; He recently slashed the tuition fee in Taraba State University by 50% and declared primary and secondary school education free in the state. His work rate especially in the education sector has made even opposition parties to attest to the excellence he portrays in his style of governance. The health, economy, aviation, agriculture, and other sectors have experienced significant turn-around since Kefas’ emergence and these are some of the reasons the people can’t skip talking about him. The commissioners’ list was an icing on the cake and a confirmation of the premonition that Dr. Agbu Kefas will move Taraba forward.

During his campaign, Dr. Agbu Kefas unveiled Youths and Women Empowerment as part of his 5-point agenda for the people of Taraba state. Sincerely, ‘Youth and women empowerment’ can be best seen as a redundant point in the manifestoes of Nigerian politicians. Every intending political officer in Nigeria have included it in their agenda but after their election, they follow the same route of appointing the ‘old cargos’ into juicy positions. For decades, that has been the culture for politicians in Nigeria but for Dr. Agbu Kefas, the aura is different.

The list of commissioners which comprises of twenty-one indigenes of Taraba state from almost all the local governments have placed Dr. Agbu Kefas far above his counterparts in other states. As promised, the list contained only Youths and for the first time in the history of Taraba state, five women made the list of nominated candidates. If screened and confirmed by the house of assembly, Taraba state will be the only state to have efficient and capable youths as commissioners. Other states have condemned the youth population to SA and SSA positions but under Dr. Agbu Kefas administration in Taraba state, the youths are being given hefty platforms to contribute their quota to the development of the state.

Dr. Agbu Kefas’ intention for the youths was first demonstrated with the there-day economic, youth and security submit which held two weeks after inauguration. The summit which is the first of its kind in the northeast zone was organized mainly for the youth population. At the summit, the governor revealed that the youths will have at least 80% of appointments in his administration and surely, the promise has been kept!

Since his emergence as Governor of Taraba state, Dr. Agbu Kefas has not for once hidden his love for the youth population. Most of his actions have been channeled towards enhancing the growth of the youth population and giving them platforms to unleash their hidden potentials.

Apart from the fact that the choice of commissioners further proves that this administration is focused on the youths, it also exposes the character of Dr. Agbu Kefas as a man who stands by his words even in the face of strong oppositions.

Even though he has promised to include youths in his administration, there were predictions that the list of commissioners will be hijacked by party stakeholders since the governor left them the responsibility to nominate candidates. It was widely believed that party stakeholders will influence the governor to compromise his decision to give the youth a larger share but alas, it came out well as planned.

By standing his ground to ensure the youths make the list, the toughness in the face of adversity, sagacity, fierceness, fearlessness, strength, and commitment of Dr. Agbu Kefas has been exposed.

May Taraba Succeed.