A dispute has erupted between the Taraba State Government and farmers over the whereabouts of 8,000 bags of fertiliser allocated to the state under the Federal Government’s Fertilizer Input Support Programme, with both federal and state officials giving conflicting accounts of the consignment.
The fertiliser formed part of the 20,000 bags allocated to Taraba under President Bola Tinubu’s intervention programme, which is part of a nationwide procurement of 449,000 metric tonnes aimed at boosting agricultural production.
The Director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Taraba State, Luka Dabut, said the ministry had officially handed over all 8,000 bags to the Taraba State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. According to him, the handover was witnessed by the state’s Permanent Secretary, directors, officials of the Department of State Services (DSS), and other security agencies.
Dabut maintained that the Federal Ministry retained none of the fertiliser, insisting that every bag was transferred to the state government for onward distribution to farmers through cooperatives.
However, the Taraba State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Prof. Nicholas Namessan, denied that the state ministry received the consignment. He instead maintained that the Federal Ministry handled the distribution independently, distancing the state government from responsibility for the fertiliser.
The conflicting claims have sparked frustration among farmers, many of whom said they had yet to receive the subsidised fertiliser. While members of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Taraba were seen distributing their separate allocation of 12,000 bags at the Veterinary Warehouse along FGGC Road in Jalingo, beneficiaries expecting to receive the state’s 8,000 bags said no such distribution had taken place.
The farmers have called on security agencies, the Presidency and Governor Agbu Kefas to investigate the matter and determine the whereabouts of the fertiliser. They also demanded that the authorities make public the distribution records and list of beneficiaries to ensure transparency and accountability.
