The Taraba State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Sarah Adi, has reacted to allegations that the State currently has a debt burden of about ₦1.2tn.
She asserted that the figure does not reflect the state’s debt stock contained in the latest publicly available records of the Debt Management Office.
NEWSNGR reports that Adi made the clarification during a fiscal briefing in Jalingo on Saturday evening, saying public discussions about the state’s finances must distinguish between existing debt, approved credit facilities, outstanding balances and financing arrangements that had not been drawn down.
She said the latest DMO data showed that Taraba’s domestic debt stood at approximately ₦85.51bn as of December 31, 2025, compared with about ₦87.96bn reported in the data preceding the present administration.
According to her, the DMO had clarified that the Taraba figure contained in its March 2023 publication represented the state’s debt position as of September 30, 2022.
“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.
On the state’s external debt, Adi said the DMO reported Taraba’s obligation at approximately $46.47m as of December 31, 2022, rising to about $48.04m as of December 31, 2025.
She, however, acknowledged the exchange-rate risks associated with foreign-currency obligations.
“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.
Addressing the ₦206.78bn commercial bank facilities approved by the Taraba State House of Assembly in 2023, the commissioner said the amount should not be interpreted as the state’s current outstanding liability.
The facilities, according to her, involved Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and Keystone Bank and were structured against designated revenue streams.
Adi explained that the original approved value of a facility was different from the amount eventually drawn or the balance outstanding after repayments and restructuring.
“Approval or original facility value is not the same thing as the outstanding liability at a later date,” she added.
She also clarified reports concerning the proposed ₦350bn capital-market financing programme, saying Taraba had not received the amount.
According to her, the programme is subject to regulatory, statutory, market and disclosure requirements, while the immediate transaction under consideration is an initial tranche of approximately ₦35bn.
“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.
The commissioner also spoke on the $268m financing agreements signed between the Taraba State Government and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development on June 26, 2026.
She said the financing was intended for the first phase of an integrated industrial park, irrigated rice production and processing, and a 50-megawatt solar power project.
Adi stressed that signing financing agreements did not automatically translate into disbursement of funds.
“The signing of a financing agreement must, however, be distinguished from actual disbursement,” she said, adding that the facilities remained subject to applicable conditions precedent, regulatory processes and statutory approvals before drawdown.
The commissioner urged the public to distinguish between existing debt stock, approved facilities, outstanding balances and proposed or undisbursed financing.
She said combining the headline figures from all four categories and presenting the sum as the state’s current debt would give a misleading picture of Taraba’s fiscal position.
