Incoming Taraba governor will inherit N200b debt, says Jukun group

Taraba State governor-elect, Lt-Col. Agbu Kefas (rtd.), will have a debt of about N200 billion to deal with, while battling with his campaign promises, which he promised to fulfil in 100 days in office.

In a statement, yesterday, National President of Jukun Development Association of Nigeria (JDAN), Chief Bako Benjamin, noted that the state’s financial burden included N90,807,647,838.11 (domestic) and $22,280,666.87 (external).

According to him, the indebtedness is just one of the many problems Governor Darius Ishaku created to cripple the incoming government.

“Giving me this mandate is a serious matter, and the social contract I have with the people is one I take seriously. I won’t play with their mandate. I promise to fulfil all I said and we shall accomplish them in our first 100 days in office,” Kefas reportedly stated, on Saturday, through his spokesperson, Emmanuel Bello.

But in a swift reaction, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Solomon Elisha, who did not disclose the exact debt profile of the state, said the amount was not up to N200 billion.

MEANWHILE, Peace and Mediation Working Committee on Election Violence Mitigation and Monitoring (EVMM) Project has commanded the electorate and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the peaceful conduct of the governorship and House of Assembly elections in Taraba.

It also commended members of the fourth estate of the realm in the state for their fair and balanced reportage of the entire electoral process.

The group, while reeling out its findings in a media briefing held at the Correspondent Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Jalingo, yesterday, said the process was a success in the state.

The Executive Director, Yahuza Magaji, said the 2023 governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state were generally peaceful and violent-free.