“We are not unaware of the fact that a lot of Taraba movable and immovable assets are either in the hands of people or abandoned across the country and that is why I set up a committee to do an independent assessment of the assets and report back to government,” these were the exact words of Governor Agbu Kefas, at a media parley, attended by Arewa PUNCH in Jalingo recently.
Continuing, Kefas stressed, “We are determined to improve the economy of the state, and we will not hesitate to look into the books if the need arises.”
In a circular announcing the composition of the recovery committee released by Barr. Gibeon Timothy Kataps, the Secretary to the Government of Taraba State, Governor Kefas directed the committee to ascertain the location of the moveable and immovable assets of the Government of Taraba State in any other part of Nigeria or the world.
The committee was also mandated to “make an overall assessment of the economic/monetary value of each asset.
“Determine the suitability of usage of each asset by the State Government, and generally make appropriate recommendations to the State Government.”
This outcry of the governor sparked off an investigation by Arewa PUNCH to unravel the whereabout of the moveable and immovable assets of the state that the governor spoke about.
Our findings reveal that the key movable assets of the state government include some aircraft and helicopter acquired by the government for the failed Taraba Air and some logistic trucks belonging to the state government.
Arewa PUNCH recalls that when former Governor Jolly Nyame initiated the now Danbaba Suntai Airport project in Jalingo and acquired a plane in the name of the Taraba State Government in 2006/2007, his intention was not only to open Taraba to the world but to boost the revenue profile of the state which largely depended on the monthly Federal Allocation to survive.
Five years after in 2012, the late Pharmacist, Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, who succeeded Jolly Nyame as Governor, formally established the Taraba Air as a state-funded carrier, deploying one Embraer 145 aircraft and Cessna 208B Caravan plane into the fleet.
Unfortunately, Taraba Air was yet to start full operations before Suntai crashed the Cessna 208B Caravan plane he piloted personally near Yola, Adamawa State in 2012 and eventually died in June 2017 in a US hospital.
More investigations reveal that the late Governor Danbaba acquired two planes and a helicopter in a bid to kickstart the Taraba Air company in 2012.
Hon. Kallamu Ahmandu, the immediate past Commissioner for Rural Development in the state who was then ALGON Chairman in the state told our correspondent that he was among the team of government officials who went to the United States of America to procure the planes in 2012.
Though he did not provide details of the transaction, citing a lack of official figures and processes involved in the procurement of the planes, another government official at the time who pleaded anonymity said the two planes procured by the Danababa administration were bought using local government funds.
According to the source, Senator Bala Ibn Na-Allah who was the consultant to the state government that handled the procurement process with the late Governor Suntai and the then Permanent Secretary of Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affair, Senator Bashir Marafa shrouded the figures of the procurement in secrecy.
“The Embraer 145 and the Cessna 208B Caravan plane were bought using local government funds while the helicopter was bought with the state funds.
“The late Suntai later crashed with the Cessna 208B Caravan plane, which he piloted in October 2012, but the Embraer 145 is parked at the Kaduna International Airport while the plane acquired by former Governor Jolly Nyame is parked at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
“There are unconfirmed stories that Nyame bought another plane, but I can not tell the whereabouts of the said plane acquired by Nyame,” the source further told Arewa PUNCH.
A quick calculation by Arewa PUNCH estimates that an Embraer plane sells for about N2.299bn as of this year. In 2007, the same plane sold at an estimated price of N306,560,000, while as of 2012, the Cessna 208B cost $1.42m, which is equivalent to
N224,360,000.
Today, the same plane costs N3.364bn.
Capt. Roland Iyayi an expert in the aviation industry in a telephone interview with our correspondent said even though it will be difficult to project the actual figure the state has lost over the years by not putting the planes to commercial use, it is obvious the state has lost billions of naira in revenue for the past 16 years.
“Look, the Embraer 145 you said the state acquired is the same type of plane Rano Air, United Airlines, Bristol Airline, and Air Peace are using for commercial flights and they can tell you how much they earn per year as net profit after taking off maintenance fee and staff payment.
“An average flight ticket goes for N50,000 and some go for as high as N100,000, so if you do the math per year, you will get a near figure an Embraer 145 -50 seater plane will generate per year.
“Even though the yield of 2007 to 2012 and from 2013 to 2023 may differ significantly, parking the planes for that long does not make economic sense. Remember, the state is paying or will have to pay for the hangers of the planes where they are parked.
“Look at Ibom Air. It is a perfect example of how states can generate revenue through the aviation sector. Ibom Air is doing very well in the sector and other states can learn from the Ibom Air example, and it should not be a loan entity, but tied to the vision of the state to grow the economy,” Capt. Iyayi pointed out.
A resident of Jalingo, who is a public affairs analyst, Mr. McDonald Dogoson lamented that the state government had been short-changed over the years through the mismanagement of the air planes.
“The government has lost a lot of revenue over the years, and I want to urge Governor Agbu Kefas to do everything possible to ensure that Taraba Air is a reality. This will bring a lot of revenue to the state,” he urged.
As the state, nay, the nation await the report of the committee on the assessment of the movable and immovable assets, Taraba residents expect that the sitting Governor will take bold steps to put an end to this colossal economic waste and reposition the state on the path of economic prosperity.
Governor Kefas may be aware of this high expectation from the people of the state when he said; “We will stop at nothing to ensure that we succeed. Maintenance work on the Danbaba Suntai Airport has been completed with a certification from the NCAA and the Nigerian Air Force. We are going to open up the sector for the good of the state,” he assured recently while fielding questions from journalists.
Repeated efforts to speak with the Special Adviser Media to the governor were unsuccessful as voice calls and SMS initiated to his phone were not responded to.
