Outcry as Taraba governor appoints 573 more aides

Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas has appointed 573 more people into his government.

The Secretary to the State Government, Timothy Kataps, announced the appointments in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Kefas, serving a first term, recently named 134 political appointees. The new list takes the number of his appointments this year to 707.

Serving a notice to critics of the governor on the bloated size of his government, Mr Kataps said batches three and four of the appointments are soon to come.

This is the first time in the history of the 33-year-old state that a governor has picked so many aides.

Like the 134 he appointed earlier this year, the governor has not assigned responsibilities to the new ones.

But they are expected to be fixed as heads and members of boards of parastatals, advisers, and special and community assistants, among other roles.

Some of the appointees are not indigenes of the state, and some of the 16 LGAs have more than the others.

Last year, the governor appointed 22 commissioners and five special advisers to his cabinet, along with two media aides.

He later appointed 11 members to the board of the state investment promotion agency and six as members of the board of internal revenue.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that not all the new appointees will get official vehicles.

“Vehicles will only be given to special advisers, senior special assistants and board chairmen,” a state official said.

In a few months in office, Governor Kefas last year procured hundreds of vehicles such as JAC, Mikano, Toyota Hilux, Toyota Highlander and Prado SUVs.

The vehicles were distributed to his commissioners, media aides, special advisers, lawmakers and traditional rulers in the state.

Former governors and their deputies were also given some of the vehicles.

Observers of political events in the state have criticised the large number of political appointments in a state with meagre resources.

Aliyu Abdullahi, a political analyst, said the governor has turned political appointments into a poverty alleviation programme for politicians to win their loyalty for the next election

“How can a reasonable government engage in appointment galore when people struggle to survive?

“The governor is going around making promises without fulfilling them, and now he is playing politics with appointments. He should wake up and face the reality of governance,” Mr Abdullahi said.