The Slogan

Nature’s Gift to the Nation

Date Of Creation

27 August 1991

Geography

Taraba State is bounded in the west by Nasarawa State and Benue State, northwest by Plateau State, north by Bauchi State and Gombe State, northeast by Adamawa State, and south by Nord-Ouest Province in Cameroon.

Taraba State lies largely within the middle of Nigeria and consists of undulating landscape dotted with a few mountainous features. These include the scenic and prominent Mambilla Plateau. The state lies largely within the tropical zone and has a vegetation of low forest in the southern part and grassland in the northern part. The Mambilla Plateau with an altitude of 1,800 meters (6000 ft) above sea level has a temperate climate all year round

Brief History

The state was created out of the former Gongola State on 27 August 1991, by the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida

The Local Government area

Taraba State consists of sixteen (16) Local Government Areas (or LGAs). They are governed by elected chairmen. They are as follows:

Ardo Kola
Bali
Donga
Gashaka
Gassol
Ibi
Jalingo
Karim Lamido
Kurmi
Lau
Sardauna
Takum
Ussa
Wukari
Yorro
Zing

The Governor

Darius Ishaku (PDP)

The Deputy governor

Haruna Manu (PDP)

The Senators

C: Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (APC)
N: Shuaibu Isa Lau (PDP)
S: Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP)

Representatives

Representative	Party	Constituency
Rimamde Shawulu Kwewum	PDP	Donga/Ussa/Takum/Special Area
David Abel Fuoh	APC	Gashaka/Kurmi/Sardauna
Kasimu Bello Maigari	APC	Jalingo/Yorro/Zing
Usman Danjuma Shiddi	APC	Ibi/Wukari
Danladi Baidu Tijos	PDP	Lau/K/Lamido/Ardo-Kola
Abdulsalam Gambo Mubarak	APC	Bali/Gassol

The Website

tarabastate.gov.ng

Major Cities

Jalingo

Prominent Places

Donga River, Taraba state
Loop traditional dancers from Taraba State
Cijin Lake in Gembu, Taraba state
Ngel Nyaki Forest Reserve,
Gashaka Gumti National Park Taraba State

Mineral Resources

Barytes

Bauxites

Graphites

Galena (Leadore)

Limestone

Gypsum

Kaolin

Feldspar

The population

Population (2006 census)
• Total 2,294,800

Postal Code

660001

Culture and tourism

The government has made concerted efforts to improve areas of tourist attractions like Mambilla Tourist Center, Gumpti Park and game reserve in Gashaka; and the Nwunyu fishing festival in Ibi, which is usually held in April of each year where activities such as canoe racing, swimming competition and cultural dances are held. Other festivals are Purma of the Chamba in Donga, Takum and Jibu culture dance in Bali, the Tagba of Acha People in Takum, Kuchecheb of Kutebs in Takum and Ussa, Kati of the Mambilla and host of others. Taraba is called “Nature’s gift to the nation” as the state is rich and have many ethnic groups, including Fulanis, Kuteb Chamba, Yandang, Mumuyes, Mambila, Wurkums, Janjo, Jukun, Ichen, Tiv, Kaka, Pena, Kambu, kodei, Wawa, Vute, Hausa and Ndola.

Mambilla Tribe of Taraba State
A striking historical fact about the State is that it encompasses part of the Mambilla Region which is famed as the Bantu cradle, having been occupied for some five millennia to date (Schwartz, 1972; Zeitlyn & Connell, 2003)

Notable People

Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan (Mama Taraba) – Former Nigerian Minister of Women Affairs, Former Senator of Northern Zone of Taraba
Emmanuel Bwacha – Senator Representing Southern Taraba, Deputy Senate Minority Leader at National Assembly
Theophilus Danjuma – Nigerian soldier, Politician, Businessman, Nigerian Chief of Army Staff (1975-1979), Minister of Defense (1999-2003)
Darius Ishaku – Current Governor of Taraba state
Saleh Mamman, Nigerian minister of power
Mahmud Mohammed – Nigerian Jurist and former Chief Justice of Nigeria
Jolly Nyame – Former Governor of Taraba state
Danbaba Suntai – Nigerian pharmacist, Politician, Former Governor of Taraba state.

Languages

The government has made concerted efforts to improve areas of tourist attractions like Mambilla Tourist Center, Gumpti Park and game reserve in Gashaka; and the Nwunyu fishing festival in Ibi, which is usually held in April of each year where activities such as canoe racing, swimming competition and cultural dances are held. Other festivals are Purma of the Chamba in Donga, Takum and Jibu culture dance in Bali, the Tagba of Acha People in Takum, Kuchecheb of Kutebs in Takum and Ussa, Kati of the Mambilla and host of others. Taraba is called “Nature’s gift to the nation” as the state is rich and have many ethnic groups, including Fulanis, Kuteb Chamba, Yandang, Mumuyes, Mambila, Wurkums, Janjo, Jukun, Ichen, Tiv, Kaka, Pena, Kambu, kodei, Wawa, Vute, Hausa and Ndola.

Institutions