Anxiety is spreading within the Taraba State House of Assembly as lawmakers who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) grapple with an uncomfortable reality: joining the ruling party may not secure them tickets ahead of the next round of party primaries.
What was once hailed as a smart political calculation is now giving way to deep uncertainty. With preparations for the next general elections quietly gaining momentum, the lawmakers are beginning to question whether their high-profile defection has truly improved their electoral chances.
Months ago, sixteen legislators elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made a dramatic switch to the APC, following the defection of Governor Agbu Kefas. At the time, the move was widely interpreted as a strategic alignment with the federal centre, expected to offer political stability, smoother navigation within power structures, and a clearer path to re-election.
Publicly, the defection was framed as a display of unity and political foresight. The lawmakers appeared confident, projecting optimism about their future within the ruling party. Privately, however, unease has been growing.
Sources say several of the defectors are now increasingly worried about their prospects in APC primaries, realising that their move has distanced them from familiar party networks while exposing them to fierce internal competition. Many of the APC members who control party structures at the grassroots level are figures the lawmakers previously contested against.
“We are new in the APC, and the majority of APC members are people we contested against in the past,” one lawmaker told DAILY POST. “How do we now face them in a primary election where they dominate the party structure?”
The fear is particularly pronounced in constituencies where the APC has long enjoyed dominance. There are concerns that entrenched party loyalists and influential local powerbrokers may resist the defectors, limiting their chances during primaries.
Another lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, appealed for protection of the political interests of those who followed Governor Kefas into the APC.
“We followed Governor Kefas to the APC, and our interests must be protected. We should not be sacrificed or allowed to suffer in the APC,” the lawmaker said.
Those expectations, however, appear to clash with the stance of the APC’s national leadership. The party has consistently maintained that its internal democratic processes will not be compromised, regardless of political status or timing of defection.
The APC’s Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, recently made the party’s position clear, insisting that no aspirant would be handed an automatic ticket.
“There will be no automatic tickets for anyone. All aspirants must go through the party’s primaries,” he said.
While the defecting lawmakers have publicly defended their decision as being driven by ideology, national interest and the need for closer cooperation with the federal government, critics argue the move was largely motivated by re-election concerns.
With the APC leadership insisting on open and competitive primaries, analysts say the political calculation behind the defection now looks increasingly uncertain. Rather than offering protection, joining the ruling party may have set the stage for the lawmakers’ toughest electoral battles yet.
As the primaries draw closer, the political future of the defecting Taraba lawmakers remains unclear.
When contacted, the Taraba State Chairman of the APC, Barrister Ibrahim Tukur El-Sudi, declined to address the concerns directly.
“I have no jurisdiction to talk on that. All elections of Houses of Assembly, governors and members of the National Assembly are conducted and managed by the national leadership of our party,” he said.
