The campaign organisation of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in Taraba State, Danjuma Usman Shiddi, has explained the rationale behind the appointment of Professor Ambrose Audu Zemba as Director-General of the campaign.
The campaign team, in a statement made available to journalists on Saturday in Jalingo, said the appointment had continued to attract attention in political circles, particularly because Zemba is primarily known as an academic, university administrator, climatologist and community leader rather than a career politician.

According to the team, the choice was based largely on his extensive leadership, administrative and organisational experience accumulated over decades.
The campaign spokesperson, Emma Umaru, said Zemba had spent several years in the Nigerian university system, where he served in various positions of responsibility, including Head of Department and Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at Modibbo Adama University, Yola.

Umaru said the professor’s administrative experience involved managing people, coordinating complex activities, resolving institutional challenges and working with individuals and groups with diverse interests.
He added that beyond the university environment, Zemba had also participated in professional, environmental, cooperative and community organisations.

“These engagements have exposed him to different communities, interests and perspectives—experiences that could prove valuable in managing a statewide political campaign,” Umaru said.
The campaign team maintained that modern political campaigns require more than political visibility, stressing that effective coordination, strategic planning, communication, discipline and the ability to bring different structures and interests together were essential.

“These are areas in which Professor Zemba’s professional background could provide an advantage,” the team said.
It further noted that Zemba’s academic career had equipped him with analytical skills, including research, critical thinking, planning, evaluation and problem-solving, which could be applied to the strategic management of the campaign.

The team said the appointment could therefore be viewed as an effort by Shiddi to introduce professional management and organisational discipline into his campaign structure rather than relying solely on conventional political experience.
Umaru also noted that Zemba, who is of Mumuye extraction from Zing Local Government Area of the state, had a record of professional and community service and experience working with people from diverse backgrounds.

Such experience, he said, could prove particularly relevant in Taraba State, which has considerable political, ethnic, cultural and geographical diversity.
The campaign organisation clarified that the position of Director-General was distinct from that of the candidate and the political structures of APGA.

The team said the appointment therefore placed emphasis on competence, leadership, experience, organisation and strategic thinking.
It added that the effectiveness of the appointment would ultimately be determined by events in the coming months, but described the decision as a reflection of Shiddi’s confidence in an academic and administrator whose career had been built around knowledge, planning, leadership, coordination and service.