Kefas Seeks N148.26bn Supplementary Budget Over N7bn Monthly Financing Window

Taraba State governor, Agbu Kefas, has asked the State House of Assembly to approve a N148.26 billion supplementary budget following the emergence of a N7 billion monthly infrastructure financing window under the States Discounting Programme.

The proposed supplementary appropriation, which was not captured in the state’s original 2026 budget, is expected to realign government spending with emerging security and development priorities.

Governor Kefas, in a letter forwarded to the Taraba State House of Assembly, said the state became eligible for the monthly financing arrangement after the passage of the 2026 budget.

He said the development necessitated adjustments to the approved budget to provide funding for strategic interventions, including the proposed creation of 10 Nigerian Army divisions in the state and the implementation of the Taraba State Security Advancement and Sustainability Project (SAS-P).

The governor put the proposed supplementary appropriation at N148,262,489,531, with N56 billion expected from the States Discounting Programme for the 2026 fiscal year, alongside internal borrowing.

Taraba had earlier approved a N653.63 billion budget for 2026, comprising N460.39 billion for capital expenditure and N193.24 billion for recurrent expenditure.

Beyond the supplementary budget, Kefas said the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning had proposed internal adjustments amounting to N176.33 billion to accommodate changing expenditure requirements.

According to him, N44.8 billion of the proposed adjustments would be drawn from the approved 2026 contingency fund and reallocated to ministries, departments and agencies that had overspent their recurrent expenditure provisions.

He said the remaining N131.53 billion would be addressed through virement and budget revision to align existing appropriations with emerging fiscal demands.

Kefas urged the House to approve the supplementary budget and proposed revisions, saying the measures would enable his administration to strengthen capital development and respond to the state’s emerging priorities and fiscal realities.

The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. John Kizito Bonzena, who read the governor’s letter for consideration, described the proposal as an attempt to overhaul the state’s 2026 spending plan.