No fewer than 8,000 bags of fertiliser allocated to the Taraba State Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Fertiliser Input Support Programme are unaccounted for
President Tinubu announced in July 2026 the procurement of 449,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser to enhance food security nationwide.
Taraba State received 20,000 bags of NPK and Urea under the programme in the early days of the month.
Of the allocation, 12,000 bags were handed to the Taraba State chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) for distribution to its members, while 8,000 bags were released to the state Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for onward distribution to cooperatives and organised farmers.
The Director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Taraba State, Mr Luka Dabut, confirmed that the ministry received and handed over the 8,000 bags to the state government.
“The federal ministry received a total of 8,000 bags of NPK and Urea for the Taraba State Government. The commodity was brought in during my predecessor’s tenure. On my arrival, I found them in our store under safe custody,” Dabut told The Nation in Jalingo.
“Within a short time, the Federal Government engaged a consultant to process the distribution. I engaged the Taraba State Ministry of Agriculture. The Permanent Secretary, directors, DSS and other security agencies were present. We successfully handed over the 8,000 bags to the state ministry. Not a single bag was left in our store,” he added.
However, the Taraba State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Prof. Nicholas Namessan, denied that the ministry took custody of the fertiliser.
Responding to an enquiry on the whereabouts of the 8,000 bags, the commissioner said in a text message, “There’s a Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Taraba State. They handled the distribution by themselves.”
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