Taraba Facts

It was all calm in Jalingo, the Taraba state capital Thursday following the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja which upheld the election of Governor Darius Ishaku in April. There was no celebration of sort, no hooting, no street dancing. In the city, where the APC candidate, Senator Aisha Alhassan is very popular, people simply went about their business, as if nothing had happened. The opposite was the reaction in Takum, in Governor Ishaku’s hometown. There and in other towns such as Chanchanji, Wukari and Zing, supporters took to the streets in celebration. Reacting to the judgment, the state Commissioner for Environment, Mrs. Rebecca Manasseh, described it as victory for democracy and a new dawn for the people of Taraba. Manasseh commended President Muhammadu Buhari for not interfering in the judgment and called on the people of the state not to over celebrate, but remain calm and law abiding. Also a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in the state, Mr...

The Taraba State Governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku, has said that he welcomes any criticism from the media since such was constructive and based on facts, and in line with the ethics of journalism profession. Ishaku disclosed this on Monday at Takum during a luncheon with members of the state’s Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ). According to the governor, journalism could only thrive if the practitioners were bold enough to criticise bad programmes and policies of the government. He said: “Be fearless to criticise my administration’s policies and programmes, provided you have your facts. I am not afraid of constructive criticism. I urge you to see yourselves as positive contributors, co-workers and partners in progress in the Rescue Taraba Mission, and not antagonists. “If, I make a decision that you deem not alright, you can share with me your opinion, so that together, we can work as brothers and sisters for the development of the s...

The former governor of Taraba State, Rev. Jolly Nyame, has expressed deep concern over the religious intolerance amongst some residents of the state. Nyame who stated this yesterday in Zing during the occasion of his 60th birthday said the state will never progress if the people continue to show hatred towards one another in the name of religion. He said, “The issue of superiority of Christianity over Islam or superiority of Islam over Christianity shall not arrive at all”. “If we want Taraba State to progress, I think we have to grow beyond this sentiment of Islam, Christianity”. He further called on all Tarabans to be united and keep all their differences aside, and urged them to live in harmonious coexistence for the development of the state. -Today NG‎

Minister of Women Affairs, Sen.  Aisha Alhassan, has felicitated with Christians in the state on the Christmas celebration. In a statement, she congratulated Christians in Taraba on witnessing this year’s celebration. Aisha said the fact that the Eid-el-Maulud and Christmas were celebrated a day apart should cause adherents of the two major religions; Christianity and Islam to embrace one another and live in peace at all times. She prayed that the teachings and significance of the season will not be lost on the people, but will remain with them now and always. She also urged all well-to-do people to remember the less privileged, especially displaced persons during this festive season. Hajia Aisha also called on mothers of the kidnapped Chibok girls to be strong and remain hopeful, while urging security operatives to do their best and ensure that the girls are recovered alive. Aisha, who was recently returned as governor of th...

Ishaku presents N68.8bn for Taraba 2016 budget Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku yesterday presented N68,810,133,885 as budget estimate for the 2016 fiscal year to Taraba State House of Assembly. A breakdown of the budget showed that the recurrent expenditure took N42.7 billion representing 62.10 per cent, while capital expenditure got N26.08 billion representing 37.90 per cent. The sectoral breakdown of the budget indicated that housing got the highest share of the budget proposal with N4.8 billion. Education and reform of government and governance got over N3 billion each, while roads construction and health came third on the priority list with over N2 billion each. Tagged “Budget of Rescue”, Governor Ishaku said the 2016 budget was prepared bearing in mind the economic realities of the time and with certain financial projections the state was expecting in the 2016 fiscal year. Ishaku informed the house that he had directed that by end of February 2016, a strategic framework...

We ‘ll Probe Interim Governor Ishaku If We Take Over Government – APC The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that they will probe spendings of Taraba State Governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if Senator Aisha is finally declared winner by either the appellate or Supreme Court. Briefing journalists yesterday in Jalingo, the Taraba State chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Hassan Jika Ardo accused the present government of siphoning the N9.4 billion bailout money granted to Taraba State by the Federal Government as well as widespread misappropriation of the state resources. He stressed that if APC takes power from Ishaku, he must be investigated inorder to know how all the resources allocated to Taraba State was spent. “The sum of N9.4bn has been released to Taraba State to bail the outstanding salaries, they have not paid the outstanding salaries, yet you can see people protesting now. We will probe them and find out where is ...

  The ongoing crisis in the FC Taraba camp yesterday took a different dimension when the state government pointed accusing fingers at some of the officials of the club, accusing them of instigating the players against the state. The players, who have been protesting their 12 months unpaid salaries and match bonuses, The Guardian observed, have in the past one week been sleeping at the entrance gate of the Government House, Jalingo. But not comfortable with the action of the players, the state’s Commissioner of Information, Anthony Damburam, noted that the governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku, has been working round the clock to address their grievances. Wondering why some of the club officials deliberately refused to appear before the committee assigned with the responsibility of looking into the plight of the players, the government, according to him, “hoped that this action of the players is not being fuelled by some of the government officials. H...

Group Urges Taraba Govt To Establish ICT Centres For Youths ‎ A political youth group known as PDP Royal Group has called on Taraba State government to set up Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centres across the state to engage the youths positively. Coordinator of the group, Mr. Dennis Shima, made the call yesterday in Jalingo, during a press conference. Shima noted that the establishment of the centres in secondary and tertiary institutions across the state would prepare the youths to brace up to the challenges of the Information Age and reduce the rate of unemployment in the state. He commended Governor Darius Ishaku for keeping his campaign promises of providing infrastructure to the people of the state, adding that the ongoing construction of Jalingo-Kona road and the 6.5km Takum-Katsina-Ala road in the face of dwindling allocation to the state is an indication that the governor means well for the state. He said, “We want to appeal to the governor to consider the ind...

At least 1,088 nurses and 33 medical doctors are required to address the dearth of medical personnel in Taraba State. The executive secretary of the state Health Services Management Board, Dr Micah Madaki who disclosed this when the Commissioner of Health, Dr Innocent Vakki visited the board, said more hands were needed to fully man the 15 general hospitals in the state. The executive secretary stated that all the existing general hospitals were in deplorable condition while medical equipment and other facilities were obsolete. Dr Madaki also expressed regret that the state government had stopped providing for the day-to-day running of the hospitals. Responding, the commissioner assured that the state government will soon provide basic facilities in all the hospitals in the state. - Daily Trust  At least 1,088 nurses and 33 medical doctors are required to address the dearth of medical personnel in Taraba State.   The exe...

Taraba State, created 1991 is perhaps one among its contemporaries that still craves transformation that will equate its age with corresponding development in all aspects. The basic developmental needs of an average State will revolve round provision of potable water, stable electricity, good road network, accessible, affordable health facilities and educational institutions across primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Another key expectation is the creative utilization of available potentials for tourism, internally generated revenue to compliment allocation from the Federal Government and so on. Most importantly, creation of a peaceful atmosphere for business to thrive is considered an obligation for any government that wishes to attract and keep investors. It is also a common belief that States that have been in existence for a while should have grounded themselves to appreciable standards. Whatever the expectations are, the real situations that make history for such Sta...