Lawmaker Says Ibi Not Excluded from Road Projects, Lists Gov Kefas Achievement

The member representing Ibi State Constituency in the Taraba State House of Assembly, Hon. Zakari Sanusi Esq, has dismissed claims by an ADC chieftain, Barr. Gaddafi Ibrahim Tanko, that Ibi Local Government Area was excluded from the state government's ongoing road projects in Southern Taraba, describing the allegation as false, misleading and politically motivated.

 

Hon. Sanusi, in a statement responding to Barr. Tanko's comments, said the assertion that Governor Agbu Kefas marginalised Ibi in the road projects was untrue, stressing that the flagged-off projects marked only the beginning of a phased intervention across the state.

 

According to the lawmaker, Governor Kefas "did not exclude any local government nor give preference to any," insisting that it was too early to pass judgment on the administration's infrastructure agenda.

 

He further stated that Barr. Tanko had no mandate or authority to speak on behalf of the people of Ibi, adding that both he and the constituency categorically reject the allegation of exclusion.

 

Hon. Sanusi accused the ADC chieftain, whom he described as a "desperate young lawyer," of attempting to gain political relevance by courting public sympathy and attacking the governor without facts.

 

The lawmaker said the people of Ibi were firmly behind Governor Kefas and proud of his leadership, pointing to what he described as concrete interventions already made by the administration in the area.

 

He listed the revival of the Nwonyo Fishing Festival, abandoned for over a decade, as one of the governor's early legacies in Ibi, alongside efforts to restore the moribund water board, which he said had not functioned for more than ten years before the Kefas administration intervened.

 

On road infrastructure, Hon. Sanusi disclosed that the governor has already awarded a five-kilometre road project to Ibi, alongside similar allocations to other local government areas in the state.

 

He also took a swipe at Barr. Tanko's legal background, questioning what he described as reliance on "hearsay," which he noted would be inadmissible in a court of law.

 

The lawmaker warned that the people of Ibi disown the statement credited to the ADC chieftain and would not tolerate further claims made in their name without consent.

 

 

Hon. Sanusi, however, maintained that the allegations were baseless, urging residents to disregard what he described as attempts to score political points at the expense of facts.