Farmers in Taraba State have raised concerns over the alleged disappearance of 8,000 bags of fertiliser allocated to the state under President Bola Tinubu’s Fertiliser Input Support Programme.
The Federal Government had announced the procurement of 449,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser in July 2026 as part of efforts to boost food security across the country. Under the programme, Taraba State received 20,000 bags of NPK and urea fertiliser.
According to the allocation, 12,000 bags were released to the Taraba State chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) for distribution to its members, while the remaining 8,000 bags were designated for the Taraba 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, Luka Dabut, said the federal ministry received and subsequently 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 said.
He added that the handover was carried out in the presence of officials of the Taraba State Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies.
“We successfully handed over the 8,000 bags to the state ministry. Not a single bag was left in our store,” he stated.
However, the Taraba State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Prof. Nicholas Namessan, denied that the ministry ever took possession of the fertiliser.
Responding to enquiries, Namessan said the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security handled the distribution independently.
“There’s a Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Taraba State. They handled the distribution by themselves,” he said in a text message.
Meanwhile, the Taraba chapter of AFAN has commenced the distribution of the 12,000 bags allocated to the association at the Veterinary Warehouse opposite the Christian Centre along FGGC Road in Jalingo.
Farmers who were expected to benefit from the 8,000 bags allocated to the state government said they had not received any fertiliser and called on security agencies, the Presidency and Governor Agbu Kefas to investigate the matter and determine the whereabouts of the allocation.