By Terna Chikpa
The Taraba State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, on Saturday challenged Governor Agbu Kefas to account for the alleged missing $268m loan obtained from the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development in June 2026.
Bwacha spoke while declaring the PDP’s 2027 governorship campaign open in Zing, Taraba State.
The former Deputy Senate Minority Leader said public borrowing must be accompanied by transparency, accountability, value for money and measurable public benefits.
He alleged that the $268m loan had effectively disappeared without a clear account of how the funds had been utilised.
“The $268m ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development loan obtained by Governor Agbu Kefas is missing in the air. We demand to know the whereabouts of the money and what it has been spent on,” Bwacha said.
He noted that Taraba State and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development signed three financing agreements in June 2026, reportedly worth approximately $268m, covering an integrated industrial park, 10,000 hectares of irrigated rice production and modern processing facilities, as well as a 50-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant in Jalingo.
“The appropriate questions are straightforward: What has been drawn? What has been spent? What value has been created? What jobs have been generated? What assets will remain for future generations? And what repayment obligations will ultimately fall on the people of Taraba?
“When public resources are committed through borrowing, citizens are entitled to ask what lasting value is being created,” he said.
Bwacha also expressed concern over infrastructure, public expenditure, borrowing, social services and the relationship between the government and communities in the state.
He argued that governance should be measured by its impact on the lives of ordinary citizens rather than the mere possession of political power.
“There are serious concerns about infrastructure, public expenditure, borrowing, social services and the relationship between government and communities. These concerns deserve to be examined through facts, evidence and the lived experiences of our people,” he said.
“Government is not simply the possession of power. Government is the responsibility that comes with power. It is about remembering the farmer in the village, the civil servant waiting for a better life, the pensioner who has given productive years to the state, the young graduate searching for opportunities, the mother who needs a functioning health facility and the child whose future depends on the quality of education available to him.”
The PDP candidate said Taraba needed a government that remained connected to communities, strengthened public institutions, created opportunities and translated the state’s resources into tangible improvements in people’s lives.
He identified agriculture, infrastructure, security, education, healthcare, employment, enterprise and human capital development as priority areas requiring attention.
Bwacha also pledged that, if elected, his administration would strengthen rural security, improve roads serving agricultural communities and facilitate the transportation of perishable goods from areas such as Lau, Karim Lamido and Sardauna.
He said his government would also invest in storage, processing, packaging, transportation and export facilities to improve agricultural productivity and expand market access for farmers.
“We would develop agro-processing zones and value chains that will enable local farmers to participate more fully in the modern agricultural economy.
“We will prioritise youth and women’s development, boost the health and education sectors, and transform infrastructure and the state economy for the benefit of the people,” he said.
Bwacha urged his supporters to conduct themselves peacefully, stressing that politics should be a contest of ideas rather than a war.
“We must at all times demonstrate proper conduct in our campaigns, public engagements and interactions, even when disagreements become intense. We must reject violence, intimidation, disorder and personal attacks,” he said.
Earlier, the PDP National Chairman, Abdulrahman Mohammed, urged Taraba residents to support Bwacha’s governorship ambition and work towards building the state of their aspirations.
