The Taraba State government has strongly refuted a publication in the media claiming that Governor Agbu Kefas had spent ₦5.22 billion on overseas travels within six months, deeming the claim “entirely false” and “deliberately misleading.”
In the publication, written by journalist John Mkom and published in LEADERSHIP Newspaper, the governor was accused of spending enormous amounts of money on foreign travels, according to the state government’s portal and data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In the Monday release by the Commissioner of Information and Reorientation, Barr. Zainab Jalingo, the government referred to the claims as untrue and not based on any valid information.
“This claim is entirely false. It is not based on any official report and is gross misstatement of facts, made in good conscious to deceive the public,” Jalingo stated.
She said that no such amount was indicated on the official government site, in budget documents, or in any NBS data, and she urged people to fact-check things for themselves.
The commissioner challenged Mkom to present verifiable facts in official reports to support his report, citing that hearsay and unnamed sources are not good journalism practices.
“Until then, the ₦5.22 billion figure is fiction,” she went on.
Highlighting the Kefas government’s performance, the statement cited the education, health, and economic reforms as proof of the governor’s dedication to reconstructing Taraba after years of neglect.
“Transformation is a long-term process that requires meticulous planning, difficult decisions, and diligent work. The fruits are beginning to manifest,” Jalingo noted.
The government called on individuals to disregard the report and seek information from official sources for accurate information, restating that it is committed to transparency, accountability, and truth.
