The Taraba State Government has challenged reports putting its current debt at ₦1.2tn, insisting that the state’s recognised domestic debt is about ₦85.5bn.
The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Sarah Adi, gave the clarification during a fiscal briefing held in Jalingo on Saturday.
She said the ₦1.2tn figure appeared to have been arrived at by combining actual debts with approved credit facilities, proposed loans and funds that had not been accessed.
According to the commissioner, data from the Debt Management Office showed that Taraba’s domestic debt was ₦85.51bn at the end of December 2025. She noted that this was below the ₦87.96bn recorded before the present administration took office.
Adi also explained that an earlier DMO report published in March 2023 reflected the state’s debt position as of September 30, 2022, rather than its current financial situation.
“The official DMO figures therefore do not support suggestions that Taraba State’s recognised domestic debt stock has risen to anything approaching ₦1.2tn,” the commissioner said.
She disclosed that the state’s external debt stood at approximately $48.04m by December 2025, compared with $46.47m recorded in December 2022.
While acknowledging the effect of fluctuations in the exchange rate on foreign loans, Adi said the government would continue to consider such borrowing based on its ability to repay.
“The State Government remains conscious of exchange-rate risks associated with foreign-currency obligations and will continue to ensure that external financing is considered within the limits of fiscal sustainability and repayment capacity,” she said.
The commissioner also explained that the ₦206.78bn in bank facilities approved by the Taraba House of Assembly in 2023 should not be mistaken for the amount the state currently owes.
She said the facilities, obtained from Zenith Bank, UBA, Fidelity Bank and Keystone Bank, were tied to specific revenue streams and could not be treated as one outstanding debt figure.
Adi stressed that an approved loan limit does not necessarily mean the entire amount was accessed by the state.
“Approval or original facility value is not the same thing as the outstanding liability at a later date,” she added.
She similarly rejected claims that Taraba had already received ₦350bn under a proposed capital-market financing programme.
The commissioner said only an initial tranche of roughly ₦35bn was being considered, while the wider programme remained subject to the required regulatory and statutory procedures.
“It is therefore incorrect to treat the entire ₦350bn programme size as money already received by the State or as an existing drawn liability,” Adi said.
On the $268m financing agreements signed with the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development in June 2026, she said the funds were earmarked for an industrial park, irrigated rice production and processing, and a 50MW solar power project.
However, she clarified that the agreement did not mean the funds had already been released to the state.
“The signing of a financing agreement must, however, be distinguished from actual disbursement,” she said.
Adi said the facilities would only be accessed after the necessary conditions, regulatory procedures and statutory approvals had been fulfilled.
She urged residents and other stakeholders to differentiate between money borrowed, facilities approved, funds actually drawn and proposed financing that remains undisbursed.
According to her, merging all these figures and describing the resulting amount as Taraba’s current debt gives a false picture of the state’s finances.
The commissioner said the Kefas administration remained focused on ensuring that any borrowing undertaken by the state was linked to development, affordable repayment and proper financial management.
“The proper questions are not simply the headline amount of a proposed facility,” she said, listing the key questions as how much was approved, how much was actually drawn, how much had been repaid, what remained outstanding, what had not been disbursed and what projects were being financed.
Adi assured that the state would continue to pursue responsible borrowing, transparency and prudent management of public resources.