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Opinion: Dear Abdullahi Usman, You Can’t Thwart The Progress Of Taraba State By Oluwatosin Alex
Opinion: Dear Abdullahi Usman, You Can’t Thwart The Progress Of Taraba State By Oluwatosin Alex
The good governance the people of Taraba state desperately wanted for several years finally arrived with the emergence of Governor Agbu Kefas. Since he became governor, He has been able to successfully position Taraba state among the best-performing states in terms of economy, education, job creation, standard of living, and several others.
Within just three months in office, Dr. Agbu Kefas’ achievements have not only directly benefited the people of Taraba state, but they have also made even ‘outsiders’ become envious of the miraculous turn-around that has happened in Taraba state. In Nigeria and across party lines, Dr. Agbu Kefas is one of the best-performing governors at the moment.
Within a short period, Dr. Agbu Kefas’ style of governance has become a template for other states and will continue to be for a long time. Many didn’t believe a Nigerian governor can make his cabinet consist of 80% of the youth population but for Kefas, it happened quickly without any hassle. He is the only governor who has only youthful commissioners, one of them is just 27 years old.
Arguably, Dr. Agbu Kefas’ government is one with a human face, every decision and action he has taken since he emerged has been for the benefit of the common people of Taraba state. His first point of call was to engage women and youths for sweeping jobs in the state, he recently announced that 10,000 youths will be engaged for another batch of sanitation jobs and will be paid N15,000 monthly.
We shouldn’t also forget that he announced free secondary and primary education, acquired 750 tractors from the Czech Republic, ordered the renovation of government secondary schools, recently approved palliative measures to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal, and many other things all for the sake of the good people of Taraba state.
Dr. Agbu Kefas have promised to ensure that Taraba state moves forward under his administration, He has been vocal about his promise since the days of the campaign and sincerely, Taraba state has tremendously moved forward within a short period.
All of these necessary moves by Dr. Agbu Kefas come with a price. He won’t use his funds to run the government and we all know that the immediate past administration left a huge debt behind. The former governor took loans that didn’t affect the people in any way. He didn’t pay salaries, pensions, or benefits of civil servants in the state despite the loans. He left an empty treasury for Dr. Agbu Kefas. How then is the new governor expected to perform excellently well without any tangible funds in the state’s treasury?
On realization of this, The Taraba House of Assembly approved the N206,778 billion loan request by Agbu Kefas, governor of the state to fund the 2023 supplementary budget. Truth be told, there has never been any politician that has shown transparency like Kefas did after getting approval for the loan request. He publicly announced the banks where the loans will be gotten from, how the loans will be disbursed, and the repayment plans.
The loan will be taken from four commercial banks — Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa, Keystone Bank, and Fidelity Bank — to execute various projects in the state.
A breakdown of the budget showed that the sum of N50 billion was earmarked for the Ministry of Education, N40 billion for infrastructure, while agriculture, security, and health got N30 billion each. Micro-finance bank, judiciary, and house of assembly got N5 billion each.
The women’s affairs ministry, digital economy, and waste management received N2 billion, respectively.
Other sectors got N5.476 billion, while N5 billion was reserved to settle gratuity and enroll more local government retirees into the state’s pension payroll.
However, one Mr. Abdullahi Usman has written a petition to the central bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop the banks from approving the loan request because ‘it will move Taraba to a state of abject poverty’.
The petitioner also claimed that Taraba State was already indebted and could not pay back $206 billion within four years, as assured by the governor.
Although, certainly, the CBN will not honour such a worthless petition but Usman needs to understand that this is an attempt to thwart the progress of Taraba state. For years, the state has been on a standstill and finally, we have someone willing to push the state forward yet one Usman is going all out to stop the progress. It will not stand!
While Usman has the right to criticize the government, it is expected to be done with a high level of intelligence and not in a way to advertise ignorance. The governor has set out plans to repay the loan before the expiration of his tenure, how come Usman who isn’t part of the government knows that Taraba can’t repay the loan within four years?
Of course, politicians have failed the people of Taraba state in the previous years but Dr. Agbu Kefas is different. Others may have not fulfilled their promises to repay loans but for Kefas, It will be a different ball game.
Abdullahi Usman should try to read the room, the masses are in support of the loan because they understand that Taraba needs it. They know that Dr. Agbu Kefas will use it judiciously for its purpose. Taraba state is a moving train, no amount of Abdullahi Usman can stop it!
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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