The Taraba State Government has rejected claims that the state is currently burdened with about ₦1.2 trillion in debt, saying the figure combines different categories of financing and does not accurately represent its financial position.
Commissioner of Finance Sarah Adi said public discussions about Taraba’s finances should distinguish between existing debt stock, approved credit facilities, outstanding balances and proposed or undisbursed financing.
According to the latest publicly available data from the Debt Management Office (DMO), Taraba’s domestic debt stood at about ₦85.51 billion as of December 31, 2025.
The commissioner said the figure was approximately ₦2.45 billion lower than the ₦87.96 billion domestic debt recorded in earlier DMO data before Governor Agbu Kefas assumed office.
She also clarified that the DMO publication issued in March 2023 reflected Taraba’s debt position as of September 30, 2022, rather than its position at the time the publication was released.
On external debt, Taraba’s obligations increased from about $46.47 million as of December 31, 2022, to approximately $48.04 million as of December 31, 2025. The government described the increase as relatively modest but acknowledged the potential impact of foreign exchange movements on the state’s obligations.
N206.78bn Bank Facility
The government also addressed a ₦206.78 billion commercial bank financing facility approved by the Taraba State House of Assembly in 2023.
The facilities involved Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa, Fidelity Bank and Keystone Bank and were backed by designated revenue streams.
The government said the original approved value of a credit facility should not automatically be treated as the state’s current outstanding debt because the amount actually drawn may differ from the approved limit.
Adi said determining the true outstanding liability requires consideration of the amount disbursed, repayments made, any restructuring and the current balances on the individual facilities.
N350bn Capital Market Programme
The government also dismissed claims that Taraba had already received ₦350 billion under a proposed capital-market financing programme.
It said the programme remains subject to regulatory, statutory, market and disclosure requirements.
According to the commissioner, the proposed programme is designed to raise funds in stages, with an initial tranche of about ₦35 billion under consideration.
She therefore cautioned that the full ₦350 billion programme size should not be regarded as money already received by the state or as an existing drawn liability.
$268m EBID Agreements
The administration further clarified three financing agreements worth about $268 million signed with the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) on June 26, 2026.
The financing is intended to support an integrated industrial park, irrigated rice production and processing, and a 50 megawatt solar power project.
The government stressed, however, that signing financing agreements does not mean the funds have been immediately disbursed.
It said the facilities remain subject to conditions precedent, regulatory procedures and statutory approvals before any drawdown can take place.
Government Warns Against Combining Financing Figures
The government identified four categories that should be considered separately when assessing Taraba’s finances: existing debt stock, approved facilities, outstanding balances, and proposed or undisbursed financing.
It warned that adding headline figures from all four categories together would create a misleading picture of the state’s actual debt burden.
The Kefas administration said its borrowing policy is guided by development needs, repayment capacity, transparency and accountability.
It pledged to comply with relevant borrowing and disclosure requirements while encouraging stakeholders to examine actual drawdowns, repayments, outstanding liabilities, financed projects and the state’s capacity to service its debts.
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