The Southern Taraba Frontier (STF), a political support group backing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant Hon. Dinshiya Usman, has said its campaign is motivated by the desire to restore people-oriented governance in Taraba State rather than personal attacks against Governor Agbu Kefas.
In a statement issued by the group’s spokesperson, Hikon Mathias, the STF maintained that its support for Hon. Usman is anchored on the need for responsive leadership capable of addressing the developmental challenges facing the state.
According to the group, it initially supported the administration of Governor Kefas with high expectations but has become disappointed over what it described as the lack of visible development despite increased federal allocations and the rising debt profile of the state.
“We have no hidden agenda other than bringing governance that puts the people first,” Mathias stated.
He argued that the people of Southern Taraba could not afford to “waste the remaining four years” of the zone’s governorship tenure without tangible progress, stressing that Hon. Dinshiya Usman represents an alternative capable of changing the state’s developmental narrative.
“We cannot sit and watch him waste the remaining four years allocated to the Southern zone. That is why we are presenting an alternative in Hon. Dinshiya Usman — someone who will come in and change the narrative within the remaining tenure,” the statement read.
The group further dismissed insinuations that the governorship ambition of Hon. Usman was driven by animosity toward the incumbent governor, insisting instead that it was inspired by the need to rekindle hope among Tarabans and demonstrate that Southern Taraba can provide purposeful leadership.
Mathias noted that if the current administration had met public expectations, many Southern Taraba political stakeholders now seeking the governorship ticket would have rallied behind Governor Kefas as they did during the last election cycle.
“We thought we had an accessible young leader who would deploy his energy to transform the state, but sadly our hopes have been dashed,” he said.
The STF also criticized what it described as attempts by “selfish politicians from other zones” to persuade Southern Taraba people to accept underdevelopment in the name of zoning and regional sentiment.
“It is mischief for a few selfish politicians from other zones to tell us to tolerate underdevelopment just because it is ‘our turn,’ and to allow an eight-year tenure that has shown no capacity to improve the lives of the people or the state at large,” Mathias added.
The group called on Tarabans to support leaders committed to the overall development of the state rather than politicians relying on ethnic or regional considerations without delivering meaningful governance.
According to the STF, the focus of the 2027 governorship contest should be competence, accountability, and the ability to improve the welfare of the people.
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