Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Taraba State Government has vehemently rejected claims that the state is burdened with about N1.2 trillion in debt, describing the figure as inaccurate, misleading and a deliberate attempt by opposition parties to attract cheap sympathy ahead of the 2027 elections. Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Sarah Adi Enoch, made the clarification over the weekend in Jalingo, urging Tarabans and Nigerians to disregard what she termed "fake news" peddled by critics of the Governor Agbu Kefas administration.
Adi insisted that public discussions about the state's finances must distinguish between existing debt stock, approved credit facilities, outstanding balances and financing arrangements that are yet to be disbursed. According to the latest publicly available data from the Debt Management Office, Taraba's domestic debt stood at approximately N85.51 billion as of December 31, 2025. The commissioner noted that this figure represented a reduction of about N2.45 billion from the N87.96 billion domestic debt recorded in DMO data available before Governor Kefas assumed office. She also clarified that the DMO publication released in March 2023 reflected Taraba's debt position as of September 30, 2022, rather than its debt position at the time the report was published.
On external debt, the commissioner said the state's obligations increased from about $46.47 million as of December 31, 2022, to approximately $48.04 million as of December 31, 2025. Adi described the increase as relatively modest, while acknowledging the potential impact of foreign exchange fluctuations on external obligations. "The official DMO figures therefore do not support suggestions that Taraba State's recognised domestic debt stock has risen to anything approaching N1.2 trillion," she stated.
Addressing the N206.78 billion commercial bank financing facility approved by the Taraba State House of Assembly in 2023, the commissioner explained that the amount should not be interpreted as the state's current outstanding liability. The facilities, involving Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa, Fidelity Bank and Keystone Bank, were backed by designated revenue streams including Federal Account Allocation, Joint Account Allocation Committee proceeds, Value Added Tax receipts and Internally Generated Revenue. Adi stressed that the original approved value of a credit facility should not automatically be treated as the state's current outstanding debt, as repayments, restructuring and the actual amount drawn could have altered the liability. "Approval or original facility value is not the same thing as the outstanding liability at a later date, as repayments and restructuring had taken place under the facilities," she added.
The government also dismissed claims that Taraba had already received N350 billion under a proposed capital-market financing programme. According to the commissioner, the programme remains subject to regulatory, statutory, market and disclosure requirements and is designed to raise funds in stages. She said an initial tranche of about N35 billion was under consideration, stressing that the full N350 billion programme size should not be interpreted as funds already received or as an existing drawn liability.
The administration further clarified three financing agreements worth about $268 million signed with the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development on June 26, 2026. The facilities are intended to finance an integrated industrial park, irrigated rice production and processing, and a 50-megawatt solar power project. Adi stressed that signing financing agreements did not automatically translate into disbursement of funds, explaining that the facilities remained subject to conditions precedent, regulatory procedures and statutory approvals before any drawdown could take place.
The government said four categories should be considered separately when assessing Taraba's financial position: existing debt stock, approved facilities, outstanding balances, and proposed or undisbursed financing. The statement warned that simply adding headline figures from the four categories together would produce a misleading picture of the state's actual debt burden. Adi urged the public to examine actual drawdowns, repayments made and current balances rather than conflating approvals with liabilities.
The commissioner described the opposition's claims as "blatant lies" and an attempt to attract cheap sympathy, since they lack facts to criticise the Kefas-led administration. She said the Kefas administration was instead reducing the state's debt burden inherited in 2023, contrary to the opposition's claims. According to the commissioner, the administration's borrowing policy is guided by development needs, repayment capacity, transparency and accountability. The government pledged to comply with relevant borrowing and disclosure requirements while encouraging stakeholders to assess the state's finances based on verified DMO data rather than opposition propaganda.
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