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By Ben Adaji Jalingo
Within the past two years, the Governor of Taraba State, Dr. Agbu Kefas has prioritised security, education, healthcare, agriculture and the welfare of civil servants as the cardinal points of his administration.
To many, Kefas has done his best in these key areas. But to the larger population of the state, the Governor’s performance in these areas is not enough in the two years life span of a serious government.
In addition to improving Security of lives and property, provision of free education, enhancing agriculture by providing modern inputs, rehabilitation of healthcare facilities and enhanced welfare for civil servants, the people also expected the construction and rehabilitation of both township and rural roads, provisions of electricity, provision of portable water and many other developmental projects to receive equal attention.
It is indeed, a statement of fact that Taraba is in dare need of numerous basic and social infrastructure across the sixteen local government areas. Jalingo, the state capital itself is yearning for access roads among several social services just like the case in all the sixteen local government areas and their rural communities.
Understdably, Governor Agbu Kefas has acknowledged this, as he promised to hit the ground running to tackle the problems of the state shortly after his assumption of office in 2023.
But after two years in office, Kefas main achievements which is in the areas of security, agriculture, civil service and partially in the education sector appears not to have met the expectations of Tarabans. This aspiration is coming after several foreign trips that are yet to produce tangible results.
Again, the people are grumbling over some hasty promises made by the Governor at the onset of the administration that are yet to see the light of the day.
All these gave Kefas’ two years in office a bad name, name calling, disappointment and total disenchantment with some people even losing hope on the administration. Many have concluded that at the end of his first four years, Kefas may be rated as the worst Governor in the history of Taraba State.
Last week, Governor Kefas came out from the blues, promising to prove the doubting Thomases wrong. He argues that the best masquerade in a dancing competition does not just jump into a dancing arena unprepared.
He said all those criticising his approach to governance may be right in their own opinion, but Gov Kefas holds that such people were a little bit impatient.
According to Kefas, The challenges of the State was greater than he imagined after assuming office as Governor. He needed time and planning to confront the challenges head on, he said.
One of the biggest challenges, according to Governor Kefas was that Taraba State since creation had no “development plan”. Infact he said even the state capital, Jalingo, had no master plan for future development. This has made it difficult for any serious minded Governor to embark on developmental projects.
He said in oder to do things differently from his predecessors, he had to assemble some technocrats from across the three Senatorial Zones of the state to draw a thirty year development plan for the State.
This singular fact, the Governor said, required enough time, resources and energy which, according to him, accounted to the delay of his administration to swing into action and creat the necessary impact.
Few days ago, the Governor during an interactive session with Journalists at the EXCO Chambers of government House Jalingo announced that the long awaited Taraba State development plan has been delivered to him. He reiterated the commitment of his administration to embark on a holistic infrastructural development of the State from the month of October 2025.
In order to feel the pules of the citizens and set the ball rolling, Governor Kefas embarked on a tour of the three Geopolitical Zonal headquarters of Wukari, Bali and Jalingo for town Hall meetings with the stakeholders. Governor Kefas such an approach was to provide him with first hand knowledge of the problems confronting the areas and the priority needs of the people.
The Governor, after the meeting in Wukari Local Government Area, headquarters of the Southern Zone, acknowledged the problems confronting the area and assured the people of his commitment to their well-being.
He emphasized the importance of security, ensuring citizens can live safely, access their farms, and conduct their usual businesses without fear of intimidation or any hindrances.
According to him, aside from other sectors, education was one of the priorities of his administration; thus, every Taraba child must have access to free and quality education. While acknowledging the daunting challenge of school infrastructure and teacher deficit, the Governor reassured the people of the administration’s commitment to turn around the fortunes of the sector within the shortest possible time.
This he said accounted to why he declared free and compulsory education in primary and secondary schools, and a 50% reduction in tertiary education tuition.
“My administration has prioritised the timely payment of salaries, pensions, and all workers’ entitlements because every laborer deserves their wages.
“This administration has laid the foundation by developing a master plan for Taraba, 34 years after its creation, and projects, especially road construction, will commence immediately after the rainy season.
The governor’s town hall meeting approach has been seen as a step towards inclusive governance, allowing citizens to contribute to the decision-making process.
He said that he has been working tirelessly to address security concerns, promote inter-communal dialogue, and attract investments for the state’s growth.
Governor Kefas emphasized his dedication to Taraba’s development, peace, and unity, while also acknowledging the challenges ahead.
The Governor said that he has worked to ensure Taraba’s unity and prioritise the citizens’ safety and security in the past two years of his administration.
While in Bali Local Government Area, headquarters of the Central Zone, people presented their needs, and Governor Kefas listened attentively, taking note of every concern with a firm assurance that implementation will soon follow.
The meeting which took place at the Federal Polytechnic Bali, brought together key people from the area and showing the Governor’s commitment to talk directly with the people.
Kefas listened to their concerns and admitted that Central Taraba faces many challenges including the glaring absence of the National Grid in all the five local government areas of the Senatorial District.
He revealed that after the rainy season, construction and other projects will begin to improve lives.
“I appeal for your patience, the problems are many but resources are limited. Some of the major needs presented during the meeting are better roads, electricity, health facilities, and other basic socialservices.
Similarly, during a town hall Meeting in Jalingo Local Government Area, headquarters of Taraba’s Northern Zone, the stakeholders called on Governor Kefas to complete Mararaba – Pantisawa Road in Yorro local government which construction was abandoned by the previous administration.
The people equally appealed for construction of Jalingo township roads, and provision of electricity, adding that out of the three electricity substations in Jalingo, only the TADP station was working.
The Governor in his response, said; “I’ve forgotten about my comfort. Up till now, I’ve not moved into my official residence. The state has no master plan. Thank God the former governor (Jolly Nyame) is here. He can attest to the fact. I don’t know the magic he did to rule this state without a master plan. It’s not easy. All of us need to put our heads together.
He announced that the remodelling of the Taraba State Airport Runway was executed at a cost of ₦24 billion.
He reassured that his government will embark on massive construction of roads in Jalingo town and other parts of the state after the rainy seasons.
“I’ve this believe that I can only change myself, I can’t change others. People may decide to be positive to my administration, while some may choose to be negative.
“I’m a very patient person, I don’t know how to defend myself or prove myself. But I’ve the determination, whatever I want to do, I’ll do it.
“People don’t see our struggle, even the funds fo the flyover bridge and dual carriage road built by my predecessor have not been paid completely. Crannburg, the contractor that handled the project has been coming to collect their money. I have been paying them and hope the federal government will refund us. People are complaining about road construction, but this October, you will see earth moving equipment. Things will happen in terms of infrastructure this October.
Observers believe that the governor can do better and from all indications the administration seems to begin to have a change of attitude towards providing tangible development projects.
Meanwhile, with the Taraba State Government receiving a total sum of $268.63 million (over ₦400 billion) investment from the ECOWAS Bank to boost agriculture, energy and industrial development, expectation is high from the citizens for meaningful utilization of the investment funds.
The funding, which is secured through the State’s Ministry of Energy and Economic Development, will be channeled into four major projects, a 10,000-hectare rice farm equipped with an integrated irrigation system, a state-of-the-art 16 tonne capacity rice mill, a new industrial park with agro-processing and logistics clusters, and a 50 megawatt solar power plant to enhance the state’s renewable energy capacity.
Some stakeholders described the investment opportunity as the culmination of months of strategic planning and stakeholder engagement.
They noted that the projects are aligned with Agbu Kefas’ development agenda, which prioritises security, infrastructure, industrial growth and investment attraction.
With this huge amount at the disposal of the state government, and the appropriate application of the resources to the relevant projects identified for the funding, the Governor will definitely leave an indelible mark in the sand of history. The agriculture and energy sub-sectors as well industrialization dream of the state in this realm will certainly not be the same again.
However, this dream like any other, will only come to fruition if the government functionaries and all stakeholders involved in the implementation of the ECOWAS funds choose to be transparent and sincere in resource application.
Referring to the promise of Governor Kefas during a recent interface with Journalists in Jalingo, it is now time to work for the people of Taraba State
“I have been blessed by God and its now time to work for the people” he said. From this month of October, Taraba people should start experiencing and touching development projects.
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