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Opinion: What Commissioners’ List Exposed About Taraba Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas
By Oluwatosin Alex
Taraba was agog yesterday when news had it that the executive governor of the state, Dr. Agbu Kefas has submitted the long-awaited commissioners list to the state house of assembly for screening. Some quarters have begun to raise eyebrows due to the Governor’s inability to release the list within his first month in office as promised but the selection of nominees unveiled yesterday wowed everyone including the opposition. It was indeed a reflection of the statement ‘It is not how far or how long but how well’’.
Of course, Dr. Agbu Kefas promised to constitute his executive cabinet within his first 30 days in office but considering the fact that He expressed his wish to upgrade the ‘ancient’ system of governance in the letters sent to stakeholders, advising them to focus on the youth and women population, it was expected to take a lot of time to adequately compile the list of nominees. At the end of the day, did the duration matter? Certainly No, but was the time worth it? A Big Yes!
Without mincing words, Dr. Agbu Kefas is the most talked about Governor in Nigeria at the moment on account of the many giant strides he has pulled since he was inaugurated. In barely 40 days in office, He has been able to revamp the education sector at all levels; He recently slashed the tuition fee in Taraba State University by 50% and declared primary and secondary school education free in the state. His work rate especially in the education sector has made even opposition parties to attest to the excellence he portrays in his style of governance. The health, economy, aviation, agriculture, and other sectors have experienced significant turn-around since Kefas’ emergence and these are some of the reasons the people can’t skip talking about him. The commissioners’ list was an icing on the cake and a confirmation of the premonition that Dr. Agbu Kefas will move Taraba forward.
During his campaign, Dr. Agbu Kefas unveiled Youths and Women Empowerment as part of his 5-point agenda for the people of Taraba state. Sincerely, ‘Youth and women empowerment’ can be best seen as a redundant point in the manifestoes of Nigerian politicians. Every intending political officer in Nigeria have included it in their agenda but after their election, they follow the same route of appointing the ‘old cargos’ into juicy positions. For decades, that has been the culture for politicians in Nigeria but for Dr. Agbu Kefas, the aura is different.
The list of commissioners which comprises of twenty-one indigenes of Taraba state from almost all the local governments have placed Dr. Agbu Kefas far above his counterparts in other states. As promised, the list contained only Youths and for the first time in the history of Taraba state, five women made the list of nominated candidates. If screened and confirmed by the house of assembly, Taraba state will be the only state to have efficient and capable youths as commissioners. Other states have condemned the youth population to SA and SSA positions but under Dr. Agbu Kefas administration in Taraba state, the youths are being given hefty platforms to contribute their quota to the development of the state.
Dr. Agbu Kefas’ intention for the youths was first demonstrated with the there-day economic, youth and security submit which held two weeks after inauguration. The summit which is the first of its kind in the northeast zone was organized mainly for the youth population. At the summit, the governor revealed that the youths will have at least 80% of appointments in his administration and surely, the promise has been kept!
Since his emergence as Governor of Taraba state, Dr. Agbu Kefas has not for once hidden his love for the youth population. Most of his actions have been channeled towards enhancing the growth of the youth population and giving them platforms to unleash their hidden potentials.
Apart from the fact that the choice of commissioners further proves that this administration is focused on the youths, it also exposes the character of Dr. Agbu Kefas as a man who stands by his words even in the face of strong oppositions.
Even though he has promised to include youths in his administration, there were predictions that the list of commissioners will be hijacked by party stakeholders since the governor left them the responsibility to nominate candidates. It was widely believed that party stakeholders will influence the governor to compromise his decision to give the youth a larger share but alas, it came out well as planned.
By standing his ground to ensure the youths make the list, the toughness in the face of adversity, sagacity, fierceness, fearlessness, strength, and commitment of Dr. Agbu Kefas has been exposed.
May Taraba Succeed.
More than ₦3 billion was targeted, but about ₦677 million reached the culprits, with recovery and prosecutions underway, reflecting how banks are responding to more sophisticated fraud risks.
Nigeria’s expanding digital banking sector is facing increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts, as financial institutions adapt to faster transactions and broader online services.
A recent case involving First City Monument Bank (FCMB), linked to fraudulent activity detected in December 2025, has drawn attention to how banks are responding to such incidents, with a focus on limiting exposure, recovering funds and working with law enforcement.
According to findings referenced in proceedings before the Lagos State Special Offences Court, the incident involved unauthorised transactions tied to a digital product. Early reports erroneously suggested more than ₦3 billion was lost. Subsequent clarification shows that over ₦3 billion was targeted, ₦2.4 billion was blocked and recovered, while ₦677 million got into the possession of the culprits. This outcome reflects the bank’s cyber security and monitoring capabilities, as well as improved collaboration among regulated financial institutions and with law enforcement agencies. Several suspects and beneficiaries have been apprehended, while recovery and prosecution efforts are ongoing, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Proceedings at the Lagos State Special Offences Court have resulted in convictions, including that of a repeat offender, with restitution orders issued. Related matters are also being handled at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where additional suspects are being tried in connection with the scheme. This process is aimed at ensuring that bad actors are identified and permanently blacklisted from the financial system.
Authorities say recovery efforts are continuing as additional funds are traced.
Analysts note that the pace of legal action reflects closer coordination between financial institutions and enforcement agencies in addressing cyber-related financial crime.
The case comes as banks contend with more complex fraud methods, including social engineering and automated exploitation of system processes.
As digital products and platforms expand, so too does the risk associated with cyber-crime and related fraud.
“The scale of digital banking means risks are evolving alongside the systems,” said a Lagos-based financial analyst. “Institutions are now judged by how they manage these events.”
Observers say the sector is moving toward a stronger focus on response and recovery, rather than prevention alone.
This includes improving monitoring capabilities, strengthening transaction controls and enhancing collaboration with regulators and law enforcement. The FCMB case, with limited exposure relative to the amount targeted and ongoing recovery, reflects that shift.
For customers, the primary concern is the safety of their funds. In this case, there has been no indication of losses affecting customer deposits. Maintaining that level of protection remains central to sustaining trust in the financial system.
Nigeria’s financial sector continues to grow, supported by digital innovation and expanding access to banking services.
However, analysts say fraud attempts are likely to persist as systems become more complex and interconnected.
They say institutions will increasingly be judged not only on their ability to prevent incidents, but on how effectively they respond and recover when they occur.
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Ex-APC Deputy Guber flag bearer, Joshua MacIver backs Tinubu, express fears over implosion in Bayelsa APC
….congratulates new State Party Chairman, Warman Ogoriba
APC Deputy Governorship Candidate in the 2023 general elections in Bayelsa State, Great Joshua MacIver has declared his total commitment to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu come 2027, declaring that the Tinubu re-election project is non-negotiable.
Great Joshua MacIver, in his statement titled ” BAYELSA APC CONGRESSES: GOING FORWARD, A CALL TO LOOK INWARDS” and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, warned APC leaders in the state to look Inward and take note of certain factors which may hinder or cut short our victory.
According to Great Joshua MacIver, such noticeable pitfalls include the imbalance in the united front being put up by the State Governor,Senator Douye Diri among various political blocs in the state.
In the statement issued at the weekend. Great Joshua MacIver stated that “First, before His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, joined the APC in the state, there were clearly two political blocs that made up the party, with the approximate population ratios of the blocs standing at 95% to 5%.”
“After the entrance of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, ONLY THE SMALLER BLOC IS BEING CARRIED ALONG IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARTY, leaving the greater percentage to their fate, and this situation has the potential to build anger and dissatisfaction in our dear party.”
” The consequence of this has been the high level defection we have witnessed in the party recently and we believe more may likely follow, if we do not put our house in order.”
” If we do not pull together as a party, we may witness a situation where we will lose key stakeholders, especially after the State and National Assembly Primaries as well the Gubernatorial Primaries.”
“Finally, while it is very clear that we are the party to beat in the 2027 elections and that our loyalty to Mr. President IS NON-NEGOTIABLE, we must make haste to say that we cannot afford to create situations or loopholes in our unity which will be exploited by other political interests in the state. We cannot afford to under-rate anyone.”
“Our core interest remains the re-election of Mr. President, a project to which we have committed our all. We also pledge our total loyalty to the party as we have no alternative to the APC. However, our concern is that we must, as a party, look inwards and ensure that we do not create loopholes that can impede our common goal.”
Great Joshua MacIver, however congratulated the newly elected State Executives of the APC in Bayelsà State led by Hon. Warman Ogoriba, saying their emergence is welcomed at this critical time in our national history.
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
https://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/nigeriabank/personal/products-and-services/all-loans/stanbic-ibtc-mreif-home-loans
More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
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