A prominent businessman and philanthropist from Taraba State, Chief David Sabo Kente (DSK), has officially entered the 2027 governorship race under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Kente, a retired Director of Finance at the National Assembly and a long-standing APC chieftain, confirmed his ambition after obtaining the party’s expression of interest and nomination forms. He previously contested the APC governorship ticket in 2023 but lost to Senator Emmanuel Bwacha.
The nomination forms were procured on his behalf by the Chief David Sabo Kente Political Organisation, a coalition of APC stakeholders across Taraba State.
Presenting the forms to him on Saturday, the group—led by David Villannah—said the decision followed a crucial meeting held on April 14 and 15, 2026, in Wukari. The gathering, which brought together party stalwarts and representatives from all 16 local government areas, unanimously endorsed Kente as their preferred candidate for the 2027 election.
“The group, at the end of the two days meeting, resolved to contribute money to purchase both the Intent/Nomination forms for him to enable him to come and rescue Taraba State. Though Chief Kente turned down the offer, but we deemed it very compelling and indeed necessity that Chief Kente should heed the calls from the overwhelming number of people of Taraba State and come out to rescue the state from misgovernance and the embarrassing level of underdevelopment,” Villannah stated.
The stakeholders also reflected on Kente’s political stance during the last election cycle.
“It is noteworthy that Chief Kente prevailed on the DSK political organisation across the 16 local government areas to vote the present governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas during the last cycle of elections even when he was in PDP. This was owing to the fact that the candidate imposed by the APC was not sellable.
“The expectations of all those who worked for the victory of Governor Agbu Kefas was that he will deliver the dividends of democracy and work for the development of the state.
“Unfortunately, what we have witnessed for the last three years is terribly disappointing. Rather than dividends of democracy, it has been failed promises without any tangible development to show. This is so even with the quantum of resources that had flown into the state within the period under review.”
The group further accused the governor of sidelining key APC stakeholders since defecting to the party.
“It is indeed no longer news that Governor Kefas, since his defection to the APC, has been running the affairs of the party like his personal estate thereby sidelining the stakeholders and chieftains of APC who had invested their personal resources to build the party over the years. These group of APC leaders were neglected and excluded from the affairs of the party in the State.
“Again, Governor Agbu Kefas has closed his ears to the cries of APC members who have demanded for equal power sharing opportunities especially in appointments between the old and new members of the party, arguing that the present appointees of the present administration were all those who accompanied the Governor from the PDP.”
They also criticised the pace and quality of infrastructure development in the state.
“It is also very disappointing that the first road the governor has commissioned in three years is the Ibi/Nwonyo 5km road, which is an eyesore. The promised Wukari Flyover, township roads, and International Stadium are all mere dreams without any feasible way forward. The Jalingo township roads he announced he was going to carry out through military engineers have remained worse than he met them three years ago.
“The several foreign trips embarked upon by the governor have yielded no results as the much talked about foreign investments is still a mirage. Perhaps the governor was just using state funds for his own personal investments around the world.”
The stakeholders concluded by expressing concern over the APC’s preparedness ahead of the 2027 elections.
“As patriotic citizens, and committed party members who uphold the true values of democracy, we are worried and concerned about the readiness of our party, the APC, going into the 2027 governorship contest with our greatest might,” the group stated.
