2027: NDP Guber Candidate Atta Says Taraba Needs New Leadership

The governorship candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Party (NDP), Professor Nuhu Abubakar Atta, has criticised the socioeconomic condition of Taraba State, saying the state requires a new approach to leadership ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

Atta made the declaration in a statement in which he presented what he described as key challenges confronting the state, including electricity, water supply, healthcare, education, infrastructure and debt.

He argued that Taraba could not afford to continue with what he described as decades of slow development and missed opportunities in an increasingly knowledge-driven global economy.

According to him, the state needs leadership with “a sense of urgency” and greater discipline in the management of public resources.

Atta said one of the major challenges was electricity, claiming that only six of the state’s 16 local government areas were connected to the full national grid.

He argued that inadequate electricity supply was affecting industrialisation, employment and economic activity across the state.

On water supply, the NDP candidate claimed that none of the 14 state-owned water schemes was currently functional, despite Taraba’s abundant water resources.

He also raised concerns over healthcare, citing figures he attributed to the Nigerian Medical Association, Taraba State Chapter, which he said put the number of doctors in the state at 201 for a population of more than three million.

Atta said this translated to approximately one doctor for every 17,900 residents, which he contrasted with the World Health Organisation benchmark of one doctor to 600 people.

He further alleged that several primary healthcare centres lacked basic facilities, including water, electricity, medical personnel and beds.

On the state’s debt profile, Atta cited figures he attributed to the Debt Management Office, saying that as of December 31, 2025, Taraba had domestic debt of N85.51 billion and external debt of $48.04 million, which he put at approximately N67.25 billion.

He therefore put the combined domestic and external debt at about N157.76 billion.

Atta compared the figure with what he described as Taraba’s N17.9 billion internally generated revenue, arguing that the state would continue to depend heavily on federal allocations to meet its debt obligations.

He also criticised the education sector, saying that despite the state’s free education policy, only 40.6 per cent of wards had access to secondary education after primary school.

He alleged that some schools across the state lacked adequate learning infrastructure, with students in some areas reportedly learning in poor conditions.

The NDP candidate also raised concerns about road infrastructure, particularly the condition of roads and bridges linking some local government areas and communities.

He alleged that some roads had deteriorated or been washed away by rainfall, attributing the situation partly to what he described as poor implementation of public contracts.

Atta further questioned the utilisation of federal allocations received by the state and local governments.

He claimed that Taraba received about N535 billion in Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenue between January 2023 and February 2026, comprising approximately N355 billion for the state and N180 billion for the local governments.

He questioned the projects executed with the funds, asking, “Where are the monies and where are the projects?”

Atta said the challenges confronting Taraba required urgent attention and called for a change in the approach to governance.

He declared his intention to present himself as what he described as a new leadership option for the state in the 2027 governorship election.

“Now is the time and I present myself as that SAVIOR in leadership come 2027 Governorship Elections,” he said.

The claims concerning infrastructure, revenue, debt, health and education were presented by Atta as part of what he called the “Taraba Verified Investigative Intelligence Report 2026.”