Former senator Emmanuel Bwacha has officially declared his intention to contest the 2027 Taraba State governorship election, warning that the state’s debt profile has risen sharply from about ₦237 billion in 2023 to over ₦1 trillion.

In his declaration, Bwacha said his decision followed wide consultations and growing calls from across the state, stressing that worsening hardship, poverty, and declining public trust in governance made it necessary for him to step forward again after contesting in 2023. He lamented what he described as lack of transparency, disregard for the rule of law, fiscal irresponsibility, and waste of public resources, adding that governance in the state has drifted away from the people.

He further highlighted challenges including failing infrastructure, an underfunded education system, rising insecurity, weakened agricultural productivity, and what he termed excessive borrowing without accountability. According to him, these trends have eroded confidence in leadership and deepened social and economic hardship across Taraba.

Bwacha pledged to usher in a new era of transparency, unity, and structural development, with a focus on education reform, agricultural value chains, responsible resource management, improved healthcare access, digital innovation, youth development, and comprehensive civil service reforms. He emphasized that his vision is to restore dignity in governance, rebuild trust, and create inclusive growth.

Calling for unity beyond ethnic and religious lines, Bwacha urged Tarabans to support a collective effort to reposition the state, describing his ambition as a moral responsibility to rescue and rebuild Taraba ahead of 2027.