No fewer than 8,000 bags of fertiliser allocated to the Taraba State Government under President Bola Tinubu’s Fertiliser Input Support Programme are unaccounted for.

President Tinubu announced in July 2026 the procurement of 449,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser to enhance food security nationwide. Taraba received 20,000 bags of NPK and Urea under the programme early this month.

Of the allocation, 12,000 bags were handed to the Taraba State chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) for distribution to its members, while 8,000 bags were released to the state Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for onward distribution to cooperatives and organised farmers.

The Director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Taraba State, Mr Luka Dabut, confirmed that the ministry received and handed over the 8,000 bags to the state government.

However, the Taraba State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Prof. Nicholas Namessan, denied that the ministry took custody of the fertiliser.

Responding to an enquiry on the whereabouts of the 8,000 bags, the commissioner said in a text message, “There’s a Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Taraba State. They handled the distribution by themselves.”

Meanwhile, AFAN was observed distributing the 12,000 bags allocated to it at the Veterinary Warehouse opposite the Christian Centre along FGGC Road in Jalingo.

However, farmers who were expected to benefit from the 8,000 bags allocated to the state government said no such distribution had taken place.

They called on security agencies, the Presidency and Governor Agbu Kefas to investigate the matter and establish what happened to the fertiliser.