POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE IN TARABA: SPEAKER, 13 LAWMAKERS STAGE MASS DEFECTION TO APC AHEAD OF GOVERNOR KEFAS’ EXIT

Taraba State was gripped by high-voltage political drama on Monday as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, John Bonzena, led a blockbuster defection of 13 lawmakers from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), triggering what analysts are already calling the most destabilising shake-up in the state’s political history.

The dramatic walkout, executed with military precision, immediately shattered the PDP’s dominance in the assembly and left the once-formidable opposition party scrambling for stability. Insiders described the coordinated exodus as “a strategic flight from a sinking ship,” signalling deep cracks within the PDP’s power structure in Taraba.

Monday’s political thunderstorm lands barely 48 hours before Governor Agbu Kefas is expected to make his own high-profile defection to the APC — a move long rumoured but confirmed during his inspection of renovation works at the Jolly Nyame Stadium, the venue being prepared for his grand decampment rally slated for Wednesday.

Kefas, a major PDP power base in the North-East, had already raised eyebrows when he joined Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Osun Governor Ademola Adeleke in boycotting the controversial PDP convention in Ibadan — a decision widely interpreted as a silent vote of no confidence in the crisis-ridden opposition party.

With the assembly emptied of its PDP majority and Governor Kefas now hours away from crossing over, political observers say the developments mark the total collapse of the PDP structure in Taraba State, handing the APC a sweeping advantage as the countdown to the 2027 general elections intensifies.

The defections, analysts warn, may reshape political alignments not only in Taraba but across the entire North-East, as parties scramble to reposition ahead of what is fast becoming a fiercely competitive electoral cycle.