Ex-Lawmaker calls for accountability and fiscal responsibility in Taraba amidst rising debt profile
Daniel Mtindiga, Jalingo.
The former House of Representatives Member for Wukari/Ibi Federal Constituency, Hon. Danjuma Usman Shiddi widely called,Danji SS has tasked the Taraba State House of Assembly,political party critical stakeholders and citizens on accountability and fiscal responsibility in the management of the state’s resources.
In an open letter addressed to the state legislature, leaders of thought, youth leaders, and critical political stakeholders, Hon Danji cautioned that Taraba was “quietly bleeding” under the heavy weight of rising debts and unchecked borrowing.
“Our dear State Taraba is quietly bleeding.The pulse of our state grows faint, and if one listens closely enough, one can hear the low groan of a people whose future is being mortgaged without their consent,” he wrote, adding that, Taraba State was standing not merely at a political crossroads, but at the edge of a financial precipice.
“Over the past two years, Taraba has become a kingdom of borrowing — a province of perpetual debt. Since I cannot whisper these truths into the ears of every leader, I must write them in ink that history cannot erase. What we face today is not merely the ambition of one man, but the recklessness of an entire system hurtling toward insolvency, “he stated.
According to the ex-Lawmaker, Taraba State has accumulated borrowings and financial commitments estimated at over ₦1.2 trillion within the last two years, an amount he said was unsustainable for a state with an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of only ₦10.87 billion as recorded in 2023.
He mentioned loans and facilities including a ₦206.78 billion bank loan approved in 2023, a ₦350 billion bond issued in early 2025, and a $268.63 million (₦510 billion) facility obtained from the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), in addition to a ₦50 billion local government infrastructure loan from the United Bank for Africa.
“We are told that the EBID loan will fund energy, agriculture, and industrialization — beautiful promises indeed. But where are the projects? Where are they located? Who are the contractors? What are the timelines, and at what cost?,” he questioned adding that, “In Taraba, questions die before they are answered. Silence has become our official policy, and applause, our proof of progress.
He referenced the revenue inflows from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), estimating that between mid-2023 and mid-2025, Taraba State and its local councils collectively received ₦437.21 billion in federal allocations.He stated that despite the huge figures,the roads remain cratered, the schools dilapidated, hospitals gasping for breath, and workers lamenting unpaid wages.
“To truly see the scale of our decline, we must look backward. Under Governor Danbaba Suntai, Taraba maintained a cautious fiscal stance — external debt averaged about ＄18 million dollars in 2007 as provided from Debt Management Office. While under Governor Darius Ishaku, that restraint gave way to expansion: domestic debt rose from ₦14.6 billion in 2018 to ₦38.87 billion in 2019, ₦61.57 billion in 2020, and ₦105.98 billion by 2022. Today, under Governor Agbu Kefas, the debt remains high — ₦93.18 billion in 2023 and ₦87.96 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, monthly FAAC inflows in 2023 ranged between ₦5 billion to ₦8 billion per month, and Taraba’s internally generated revenue, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, was ₦10.87 billion — the third lowest in Nigeria. The gap between low IGR and heavy borrowing makes this path not just unsustainable, but ruinous, “he drew comparisons.
He further compared Taraba’s fiscal posture to other states, noting that while governors in Zamfara, Nasarawa, and Ogun have pursued self-sustaining growth through internal revenue generation, Taraba has remained a debtor amidst her numerous resources.
“Our borrowing now exceeds what the state will earn in four years. This is not progress; it is plunder — the slow strangulation of a people who deserve better, “he remarked.
He urged the Taraba State House of Assembly to exercise its constitutional oversight powers under Sections 128 and 129, calling for an immediate suspension of new loan approvals pending full disclosure and audit of existing facilities.
“You were not elected to clap.
Oversight is not rebellion; it is responsibility. If you cannot represent the truth, then you represent nothing, “he admonished the Lawmakers.
Similarly ,he called on elders and leaders of thought to counsel the Governor — to steer his vision toward productivity, not debt; to build through the wealth of the land, not the credit of the lenders stressing that, Ogun State built its IGR to ₦126 billion — not by magic, but by will so,Taraba could do same, if only everyone remember that leadership is not theatre and governance is not applause.
“Let posterity record that when Taraba was being drowned in silence, some of us raised our voices. Not out of malice, but out of love. Not out of anger, but out of duty. Because when truth dies, nations follow, “he concluded.
