A Christmas gift to Gov. Darius Ishaku -By Jen Jibrin 

What is a Christmas tree without a “Rescue Mission” ornament being the foundation stone of Gov. Ishaku’s administration? For the people of Taraba, this Christmas season is particularly a gleeful time to remember that there is a 67-year old rescue captain in the Government House Jalingo.

As we face this holiday season, the best gift anyone could give the Rescue Captain is not buying and sending a Christmas card. Rather it is an opportunity to tell him that there is nothing left in Taraba. Nature’s gift to the nation is now stuccoed between empty treasury and plumping debts that spells a word “Sorry” to Taraba. 

Darius Ishaku

There are a plethora of Christmas-related gifts to splurge on. At least it is a perfect time to believe Gov. Darius Ishaku is a greatest gift to Taraba or that he is the worst ever. But then let’s dive into perspectives.

Very few Tarabans seem capable of getting a handle on the plumping debt that is a series of many loan facilities being accessible to the Executive Governor of Taraba State by the Taraba State House of Assembly. 

The Taraba State government debt profile has ballooned to N76 Billion from the commercial banks in Jalingo and the central bank of Nigeria. The financial debt weighs heavily on Nature’s gift to the nation, the institutions that owe it and the economy that is lagging in the development index.

A look into Taraba domestic debt profile shows the sum of N17.5 billion owed as budget support facilities by the Federal Government; the sum of N53.2billion owed to commercial bank; the sum of N10.645billion as restructured commercial loan from FG bond; Access Crude Account Loan of N9.029billion; salary bailout of N8.44billion; Taraba Agricultural Credit Scheme of N4.2billon; pensions and gratuity of N28.5billion among others.

In 2016, Governor Ishaku approved and obtained the sum of 2.65billion as loan facility to finance Taraba Green House Project which he completed and was commissioned by Vice President Yemi Osibanjo. But today, the greenhouse project has collapsed due to  mismanagement and non-payment of salaries to its workers

In November 2016, Darius Ishaku obtained the sum of N6.2 billion for the construction of Marraraba Baissa-Abong road. Unfortunately the deplorable state of the Abong road still remains a shadow of itself under Ishaku’s rescue mission. 

In July 2020, Gov. Darius through the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources approved the sum of N1.9 billion as loan for ranch development and livestock training center. 

The trends of loan facility in Taraba state also saw Governor Darius obtained the sum of N34billion as loan for the construction of flyover bridge at roadblock and the dualisation of City Gates. Many people lament the unsteady scope of work and lackadaisical attitude of Governor Darius Ishaku towards many road construction contracts in the state.

The most terrifying part of Ishaku’s administration has not been Ishaku himself. But the lavish support and loan approval that comes from the Taraba State House of Assembly. For money, there is nothing so grotesque that Gov. Darius can do that the Taraba lawmakers won’t fall behind him. 

The most striking example may not be forgotten, Gov. Darius at a point in time made the guarantor of the state for lawmakers to access a loan facility of between 50million to 70million each. 

Another strong pointer is the approval of N1.4 billion to Meadal Car Ventures in Kaduna for the supply of 33 units of Toyota Land Cruiser Jeeps 2020 to members of the state house assembly. Suffice it to say, Gov. Ishaku has succeeded in transforming the legislative chamber into a machine for an executive gain.

It is now obvious that no one can deny the fact that Gov. Ishaku has not been able to rival the achievement of his predecessors. Filtering him as a failure is to imagine how he frequently goes to the golf course in Jolly Nyame Stadium. 

No doubt, Taraba people are blessed with an unhesitating loan taker as a governor. The brazen his intentions for numerous bank loans become, the more the state is being caught up in a frying pan to fire, and the more he prosper in lip service. Those pedants still hung up on facts and evidence that all the projects he initiated since 2015 are left for dust, while the propaganda of Ishaku’s administration continues to spread into the public domain.

Definitely, Gov. Darius’s relationship to the economic development index is often something occasional and distant. This means that a mantra “Rescue Mission” may seem to have been wrapped inside the thick layers of deception and anything far from reality.

Until Gov. Darius can revert to the drawing board under the Rescue Mission and start preserving accountability and transparency in his administration. It is time to send him a Christmas gift for bamboozling Nature’s Gift to the Nation into unprecedented debts with attendant zero development benefits. Merry Christmas 

Jen Jibrin 

Public Affairs Analyst

Asokoro District, FCT, Abuja