Taraba South 2027: Is Sen Jimkuta’s Scholarship Goodwill Enough To Secure His Re-election?

 

There appears to be a brewing political battle ahead of the 2027 senatorial elections in Taraba South Senatorial District, currently represented by Senator David Jimkuta of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

 

Jimkuta is leaving nothing to chance in his bid to extend his stay in the hallowed Red Chamber of the National Assembly beyond 2027. The upcoming contest is shaping up to be both fiercely competitive and politically significant, not only as a platform to settle lingering political scores but also as a test of whether Jimkuta can surpass the high-performance benchmarks set by former Senator Emmanuel Bwacha and Hon Danjuma Usman Shiddi during their terms in office. 

 

 

Of particular importance is the case of Hon.Shiddi, who, since falling out of political favor following a Supreme Court judgment that ousted his senatorial candidacy in favor of Senator Jimkuta in 2023, has never shied away from expressing his continued interest in the Taraba South Senatorial seat to anyone who cares to listen.

 

His position is bolstered by the widespread belief that a significant portion of the electorate in the southern part of the state voted for the APC in that election under the assumption that he was the party's rightful candidate.

 

Political analysts are quick to note that his recent defection from the APC to the increasingly popular African Democratic Congress (ADC) is a strategic move—one clearly aimed at setting the stage for the upcoming senatorial duel. Hon. Shiddi himself often asserts, with characteristic confidence, that his performance during his two terms in the House of Representatives remains "visible to the blind and audible to the deaf."

 

Many political onlookers, however, express concern over whether the African Democratic Congress (ADC), where Hon. Shiddi is currently seeking refuge, has the political structure and grassroots machinery necessary to connect effectively with voters especially given the party's relatively low popularity in Taraba State.

 

This concern is swiftly dismissed by his close associates, who argue that Hon. Shiddi had previously won two consecutive elections under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), a "Category C" party at the time. They maintain that if he could achieve electoral success under a lesser-known platform in the past, he is more than capable of repeating the same magic with the ADC in 2027.

 

 

Senator Jimkuta, on the other hand, continues to solidify his position as the incumbent lawmaker. He has consistently rolled out empowerment programmes aimed at endearing himself to the hearts and minds of the electorate.

 

 

In a major move, the Senator empowered no fewer than 1,000 individuals with items ranging from cars and motorcycles to grinding machines, refrigerators, and sewing machines, among many others. In fact, feelers suggest that over ₦1 billion was expended on this empowerment initiative, an indication of the scale and seriousness with which he is approaching his re-election bid.

 

 

While the dust from his previous empowerment initiative is yet to settle, the lawmaker rolled out yet another remarkable programme this time sponsoring about 40 students to pursue undergraduate studies in India.

 

This is a practice more commonly associated with far-flung places like Kano in Northwestern Nigeria, where it has become customary for indigent but qualified students to be sent abroad to acquire knowledge in advanced institutions of learning after rigorous screening exercises. 

 

However, as commendable as the programme may appear on the surface, it could also become Senator Jimkuta's greatest political undoing.

 

Allegations have since flooded social media, claiming that no formal examinations or screening processes were conducted for qualified and indigent students in Taraba South to apply for the foreign scholarship opportunity. Instead, the programme is said to have been politicized, with only party loyalists allegedly given the privilege to nominate beneficiaries a pattern many voices of conscience have described as unsenatorial and lacking transparency.

 

 

In fact, the Jukun Wanu, a prominent cultural group in Taraba South, has openly criticized Senator Jimkuta over the handling of the selection process. The group lamented that none of their sons or daughters made the list of beneficiaries, rhetorically asking whether they are no longer considered bonafide indigenes of Southern Taraba.

 

As if that were not enough, many discerning observers have noted that the list of scholarship beneficiaries fails to reflect the religious diversity and peculiarities of the people of Southern Taraba. Critics point to a glaring imbalance—allegedly a 30-to-10 ratio—arguing that such a skewed distribution undermines the principles of equity and inclusion.

 

They contend that a lawmaker who frequently presents himself as a unifier, one who claims to carry everyone along should act with the heart of a true statesman, not as a religious jingoist.

 

Gaddafi is a legal practitioner and can be reached at Ibrahimgaddafi0@gmail.com. He writes from Abuja, the nation's capital.