VPN lead Citizen reporter, Dakwom M. Long’gul reports from Jos.
The Plateau State Government is facing renewed calls for public accountability following its official clarification regarding a controversial ₦10.11 billion expenditure on travel and transport within the first six months of 2026.
In response to public criticism over the figure, state authorities explained that the sum was not spent solely on executive travels for Governor Caleb Mutfwang. According to the administration, the expenditure spanned the broader public service, covering Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), tertiary institutions, the Judiciary, the State House of Assembly, pilgrimage boards, official training, leave passages, foreign scholarships, and overseas medical assistance.
However, legal practitioner and former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Barrister Solomon Dalung, has pushed for a deeper level of fiscal transparency, arguing that clarifying the scope of the spending is insufficient without disclosing a line-by-line accounting.
Dalung took to his Facebook page, joining issues on the matter, Dalung noted that since Governor Mutfwang took office in May 2023, Plateau State has received an estimated ₦650 billion in allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), excluding loans and donor interventions.
Dalung calls
”When we are told that ₦10.11 billion was spent on travel and transport in just six months, Plateau people are entitled to ask for the details,” Dalung stated. “Not because every travel expenditure is necessarily wasteful or that training public servants and sponsoring scholarships are wrong, but because ₦10.11 billion is public money.”
Dalung outlined several specific areas requiring immediate public disclosure, requesting precise figures on:
- Allocations for the Judiciary, House of Assembly, and executive travel, including the Governor’s three international trips.
2. Sponsorship costs for the 200 students reportedly sent to study in India.
3. Expenditure on state-sponsored pilgrimages, overseas medical assistance, leave passages, and foreign training.
Maintaining that the call for accountability does not constitute an allegation of financial mismanagement.
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