Taraba Facts

  The House of  Representatives has approved for the establishment of Orthopedic hospitals in Benin, Edo State, Jos, Plateau State and JALINGO in TARABA STATE. The establish Bills were read for the third time, and approved by the House, as presented by the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase(APC-Plateau), on Thursday. They are: “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Orthopedic Hospitals Management Board Act, Cap. O10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to provide for Establishment of Orthopedic Hospital, Jos, Plateau State; and for Related Matters (HB. 886). “A Bill for an Act to amend the Orthopedic Hospitals Management Board Act, to Provide for the Establishment of the Orthopedic Hospital, Benin, Edo State and JALINGO, Taraba State, and for related matters”. The sponsor of the Bills, Ahmed Idris Wase, in his lead debate, argued that “currently, Mr. Speaker, Hon. Colleagues, Nigeria with a ovulation of over200 million persons, has only three Orthopedic hospitals as provided for by the O...

My journey started from Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, to Garba Chede town, then Bali and into Jamtari Forest to Serti, the headquarters of Gashaka Local Government Areas. After spending a night in Serti, I moved to a small village called Bodel not far from Serti town where the main gate of the park is located. The chirping of birds welcomes one on entry through the gate on the Serti-Gembu Highway. From the gate one begins to notice the goodness of nature. As you continue going into the forest you come across spectacular biodiversity, including rivers, trees, waterfalls, flowers and mountains. The park is rated one of the largest in West Africa and one ofthe best in terms of beautiful scenery. Going further into the park is really an adventure as the forest is home to wild animals and birds, as well as different species of water animals, including hippopotamuses and crocodiles. The park stretches from the Gashaka axis to Gumti in Toungo LGA of Adamawa State and covers 6,730 square ...

  Darius Ishaku, Taraba governor, says the state is capable of meeting Nigeria’s demand for rice if the federal government can empower it with funds and inputs. Ishaku spoke while hosting Fatima Buhari, the market enterprise adviser of the Value Chain Development Program (VCDP) of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The governor said the statistics of rice production in Nigeria in the last six years had shown that Taraba state could meet the demand of the country. “Research has proved that the potential and capacity the state has in rice production is enormous and can supply the needs of the country to ensure food security,” he said. Advertisement Earlier, Buhari noted that Taraba had been the pride of Nigeria in rice production since the coming of the IFAD-VCDP program. She noted that Taraba had also paid its counterpart fund promptly and this gave farmers in the state advantage over others. “We are proud of Taraba State, you have distinguished yourself amo...

  The Taraba State Government has been dragged to the National Industrial Court over its failure to pay 77 months’ salary arrears of 18 staff of the defunct Taraba Publishing Company Limited, amounting to N73, 257,715.40k. In their statement of claim, the workers, who are non-indigenes, alleged that they were denied salaries since the company stopped operation in 2014 and that they were discriminated against on the basis of their states of origin. The suit is between the 18 staff who serve as claimants and the Executive Governor of Taraba State (1st defendant), Taraba State government (2nd defendant), The Attorney-General of Taraba State (3rd defendant), the Taraba State Commissioner of Information (4th defendant) and the Taraba Publishing Company Limited (5th defendant). According to a witness statement of the first claimant, Hosea O. Yunana: “that I am an employee of Taraba Publishing Company Limited, the 5th defendant employed via a letter dated 13/3/2012 as confirmed on the 31/...

  Police in Taraba State have taken the fight against insecurity to a bandits’ hideout, arresting four of them while a suspected ritualist was apprehended elsewhere. The arrested suspects are part of bandits who have been terrorising some parts of Taraba by kidnapping residents, said a senior police officer, Adenirun Kunle. Kunle, who is the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department in the state, paraded the suspects on Thursday in Jalingo. He explained that the suspects were arrested following a thorough and credible intelligence gathering by detectives attached to different Divisional Police Headquarters across the state. “We have spread our dragnets and we are not in any way relenting; it is quite notable that kidnapping and banditry in recent times have become a menace in the state and the country at large,” the DCP said. He added, “As a result of the security measures put in place by the state command, notable achievements have been...

  The Federal government through the Ministry of Environment says it will henceforth not tolerate any act of deforestation and mining in National parks across the country. The move according to the government is to revamp National parks via public-private partnership as well as partner with the military for the protection of natural resources. This was disclosed by the conservator General National Park Services, Ibrahim Musa – Goni at the passing out parade of rangers after six weeks of intensive training and replacement of their weapons with a sophisticated one for better productivity at the Gashaka Gumti National park, Taraba state. The Park which is the largest in the country is fast becoming of international standard, following the memorandum of understanding signed in 2017 between the National Park Service and Africa Nature Investors Foundation. Gazetted in 1991, the Gashaka Gumti National Park is one of the largest in Africa, covering a landmass of about six thousand four hun...

  The Africa Nature Investors (ANI), an international NGO, has upgraded facilities and services at the Gashaka-Gumti National Park in Taraba State. The Gashaka Gumti National Park The organisation also deployed modern technology to boost security in and around the park as well as trained 43 rangers to tackle challenges of climate change and insecurity at the park. The Conservator General of the National Park Service, Dr Musa Goni, disclosed this at the passing out parade of the 43 rangers trained as part of the partnership between ANI and the National Park Service on Monday at Gashaka. The Gashaka-Gumti National Park (GGNP) is located in Gashaka Local Government Area of Taraba. While commending ANI for its intervention, Goni however expressed sadness that inspite of the plethora of resources, unique features and the enormous potential that abound in the park, activities of poachers and illegal activities were hindering the harnessing of such po...

The Academic Staff Union of U n i v e r s i t i e s , ASUU, Taraba State University chapter, has given reasons for embarking on an indefinite strike, stressing that they lack job security working as lecturers in the university.  Addressing newsmen shortly after the meeting, the Institution’s ASUU Chairman, Dr. Samuel Shikaa, said the association resolved to embark on the industrial  action to demand compliance to an agreement the state government and the university management signed with the association. He listed some of their demand to include, the commencement of their Contributory pension scheme, prompt payment of their Earned Academic Allowance, EAA, among others. According to him, “Taraba state university has no pension arrangement and you can quote me anywhere. “Families of some of our colleagues that have died only received paltry sum for burial rites which to us is not a terminal benefit. “And to some others who left this institution to other universities, they have n...

Three aircrafts owned by the Taraba State government are left unused in Abuja and Kaduna  Airports. Taraba Truth and Facts investigation reveals that the Aircrafts acquired by the late former Governor  Danbaba Danfulani Suntai was abandoned after his ill-fated plane crash which left him bedridden till the end of his tenure. The aircrafts which include, a Bell helicopter and two small aircrafts; a Cessna 208, 5N-BMJ and two Embraer ERJ-145 jet cost the state government about $21  million, about N4.13bn which was the exchange rate at the time of purchase. The late Governor Suntai later crashed in the Cessna 208, leaving the state with 5N-BMJ and two Embraer ERJ-145 jets which are currently abandoned in Abuja and Kaduna. While the Bell helicopter is parked at the Government House, Jalingo. Taraba Truth and Facts investigations revealed that the state government is owing the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN millions of Naira for parking the aircrafts in its hangers ...

The North East Governors Forum (NEGF) on Thursday said it would establish a North East Airline and Bank to alleviate suffering and boost economy of the region. Newsmen report that the NEGF consists of governors of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe States, respectively. Prof. Babagana Zulum, the Chairman of the forum and Gov. of Borno, disclosed this at the ground breaking ceremony for the reconstruction and upgrade of Bauchi Government House in Bauchi. Zulum said the region had suffered decay of infrastructures as a result of insurgency. He also lamented that the country in the past, suffered poor governance and corruption among other challenges. “This is the right time to ensure the right things are done with the view of moving the nation forward. “The forum formed some months back, has done a lot in repositioning the region,” he said. Zulum said the forum considered establishment of an Airline and a Bank for the region to ameliorate the suffering of the citizens in the N...

  The Nigerian Army has trained 606 personnel to help nip in the bud, the insecurity bedevilling the country including the activities of insurgents in the North East. The military personnel were trained at the 20 Model Battalion, Serti in Gashaka Local Government Area of Taraba State where they were made to undergo intensive leadership and regimentation courses for a period of three months. At the end of the programme, a graduation ceremony was held in honour of the Regular Course 67 and Short Service 46 of Course 9 on Friday in Serti. The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, was represented at the event by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division, Brigadier General Musa Danmadami. He explained that the training became necessary in view of the lapses observed in the theatre of operation. The GOC noted that the security challenges in the country called for new approaches, hence the training of the personnel to prepare them for the task ahead. “Before now,...

The Taraba State University chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared an indefinite strike action to press home their demands. Naija News reports that the strike was declared just a few days after Governor Darius Ishaku’s administration paid off the four months’ salary arrears owed academic staff of the institution. Speaking on the strike, the ASUU Chairman, Samuel Shitaa, said the union is striking over the non-availability of the pension scheme, earned academic allowances, perimeter fencing among several others in the institution. “The outstanding salaries are not the issues in contention, because we are agitating for our rights. One of our issues on the ground is that of the pension scheme, which the institution has no arrangement to that effect,” he said. “On the issue of earned academic allowances, it has not been attended to since 2013. We mentioned the issue of perimeter fence and they said they have started, but from what we have since no significa...

FOR over one year, the Wukari Yam Market has been left desolate. The ever-bubbling market became a shadow of itself on account of the feud which pitched the Tiv against the Jukun in Taraba South spreading to its domain. Wukari Town, in the Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State where the Yam Market is situated, was one of the flashpoints of the ethnic feud that lasted over a year. Lives and properties were lost to the bloody conflict, sending jitters to both buyers and sellers who used to flood the multi-million-naira Yam market that was once the pride of not only Taraba but the entire country. Though there are several yam markets around this axis, the Wukari Yam Market stands out because it is central and brought together traders from the Southern and Northern parts of the country. However, with the return of peace and suspension of hostilities among the warring tribes, the once desolate market has started picking up, and economic activities have resumed in earnest. Arewa Voi...

  Operatives of the Nigeria Police attached to  Operation Puff Adder II  have arrested 48 suspects over their involvement in cases of armed robbery, kidnapping, unlawful possession of firearms, cybercrime/financial fraud, among others. Parading the suspects, Thursday at the office of Special Tactical Squad, Abuja, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CP Frank Mba, said: “Operatives of the FIB Intelligence Response Team and Special Tactical Squad of the Force attached to the  Operation Puff Adder II  have arrested 48 criminal suspects, including one female, for their involvement and indictment in cases of armed robbery, kidnapping, unlawful possession of firearms, cybercrime/financial fraud and other heinous crimes in some parts of the country. “The suspects were apprehended at their various hideouts in Taraba and Plateau states following an intense search by the Police team for the perpetrators of the crime and follow-up on recent spike in Kidnapping/armed...

  The people of Gashaka/Kurmi/Sardauna Federal Constituency said a faceless group under the umbrella of The Concerned Citizens Forum (TCCF) believe to be a group of charlatans posed as messengers of Ishaku Darius, Taraba State Governor has been on a mission for the past weeks attacking their Representative Lawmaker in the National Assembly, Hon David Abel Fuoh accusing him of misappropriating State Polytechnic funds while a Bursar. Mr. Amos Kiam and Hassan Mai’idanu sent a rejoinder to this medium and said their reply became necessary to clearly and to put some foul records straight as claimed by the sponsored group. ALSO READ Group Accuses Federal Lawmaker Of Embezzling Taraba Varsity's Development Fund According to them, the group’s claimed in a report published by an online medium as thus: “Taraba State Polytechnic: Group Accuses Federal Lawmaker Of misappropriating Funds”, accusing the lawmaker of “attempting to sweep allegations of corruption against him under the carpet.” TC...