On Sunday, the Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Sarah Adi Enoch, addressed the issue and said the real debt figures are much lower and are already recorded by the Debt Management Office.
According to Champion Newspaper, Taraba’s local debt stood at N85.51 billion as of December 31, 2025. That’s N2.45 billion less than the N87.96 billion the state had before Governor Agbu Kefas came into office. Dr. Enoch explained that an old DMO report from March 2023 is being misquoted online. That report only showed the state’s position as of September 2022, not what things look like now.
She also spoke on foreign loans. Taraba’s external debt moved slightly from $46.47 million in 2022 to $48.04 million in 2025. She described the increase as small, but said the government is keeping an eye on it because of exchange rate changes.
On the N206.78 billion bank loan that has been trending, she clarified that the State Assembly approved it in 2023 with Zenith, UBA, Fidelity and Keystone banks. The loan was secured against money the state already receives like FAAC, VAT and IGR. “The governor has collected N206 billion and we are almost done paying it back,” she said. “An approval is not the same thing as what you still owe.”
She also dismissed claims that Taraba has already received a N350 billion bond. According to her, the plan is to raise funds in stages, and the first phase will likely be about N35 billion once all approvals are in place.
Dr. Enoch further mentioned three agreements worth $268 million signed with EBID on June 26, 2026. The funds are meant to support three projects: a new industrial park, irrigated rice farming, and a 50-megawatt solar plant. She noted that signing an agreement does not automatically mean the money has been released.
She ended by saying the government’s position is simple. “Any money we borrow must fund real projects, must be within what we can repay, and must follow due process. Taraba welcomes questions, but let those questions be based on facts, not rumors.”