Diah Peter Abel (Rt. Hon.)

About Diah Peter Abel (Rt. Hon.)

Rt. Hon. Diah Peter Abel, also known as Abel Peter Diah, is a Nigerian politician from Taraba State and a former Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly. He currently represents Mbamnga Constituency in the Taraba State House of Assembly and is the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Sardauna/Kurmi/Gashaka Federal Constituency in the 2027 House of Representatives election. His political career has involved several years of legislative service at the state level, including his tenure as Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly.

Diah Peter Abel was born around 1972, according to the age recorded for him in the Independent National Electoral Commission's 2019 final list of Taraba State House of Assembly candidates. The same INEC record listed his qualifications as a Diploma and Advanced Diploma. Publicly available sources provide limited verified information about his childhood, family background and early professional career, so those details are not expanded here beyond what is documented in electoral records.

His political career has been closely connected to Mbamnga Constituency in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State. He has represented the constituency in the Taraba State House of Assembly across multiple legislative periods. His long involvement in the state legislature eventually brought him into the leadership of the House, where he became one of the prominent political figures in Taraba State.

In June 2015, Diah was elected Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly at the inauguration of the eighth Assembly. His emergence followed the nomination of his name by fellow lawmakers, and he was elected without opposition. In his inaugural remarks, he identified peace-building and cooperation among the different ethnic and political groups in Taraba as important priorities for the Assembly. He also emphasized an open-door approach and cooperation between the legislature and executive branches of government.

Diah continued as Speaker into the following legislative period, but his tenure in the leadership of the Assembly eventually became the subject of political controversy. In December 2019, he resigned as Speaker, citing personal reasons. His resignation followed weeks of political disagreements within the Taraba State House of Assembly. Despite leaving the speakership, he continued his legislative career and remained involved in state politics.

As a legislator, Diah has also participated in policy discussions concerning governance, security and public administration in Taraba State. In 2025, while serving in the State House of Assembly, he sponsored the Taraba State Residents Registration Bill. The proposed legislation sought to establish a unified database of residents across the state, with objectives including improved security planning, better social-service delivery and more accurate demographic information for government planning. The bill received its first reading in the Assembly in November 2025.

His political career subsequently moved toward federal representation. In April 2026, Diah formally declared his intention to contest the House of Representatives seat for the Gashaka/Kurmi/Sardauna Federal Constituency. At the time, he was still serving as the representative of Mbamnga Constituency in the Taraba State House of Assembly. His declaration marked his transition from state-level legislative politics toward seeking a seat in the National Assembly.

In May 2026, Diah emerged as the APC candidate for the Gashaka/Kurmi/Sardauna Federal Constituency after the party's primary election. His emergence positioned him as the APC's candidate for the 2027 House of Representatives election. Subsequent changes to the APC's submitted candidate list resulted in Peter Abel Diah being forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission as the party's candidate for the constituency, replacing Sanusi Mohammed Galadima.

The current 2027 candidate records list Diah Peter Abel as the APC candidate for the Sardauna/Kurmi/Gashaka Federal Constituency. The constituency covers Gashaka, Kurmi and Sardauna Local Government Areas of Taraba State. His candidacy therefore represents his attempt to move from the Taraba State House of Assembly to the federal legislature after a political career that has included constituency representation and leadership of the state legislature.

Overall, Diah Peter Abel's political career has been built around legislative service in Taraba State. His experience includes representing Mbamnga Constituency, serving as Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, participating in state-level policy and lawmaking, and later seeking federal office. His 2027 candidacy under the APC marks the latest stage of that career as he seeks to represent Gashaka, Kurmi and Sardauna in the House of Representatives.