By Golok Nanmwa
Plateau State Government has said the ₦10.11 billion reportedly spent on travel and transportation between January and June 2026 was not expenditure incurred by Governor Caleb Mutfwang or the Government House.
The government explained that the figure represented aggregate spending on travel, transport and related activities across the state’s public service, including Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), tertiary institutions, the Judiciary and the Plateau State House of Assembly.
The clarification was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Rt. Hon. Joyce Lohya Ramnap, in reaction to a recent analytical report on the state’s expenditure.
Ramnap said the expenditure covered several statutory and official obligations, including personnel-related entitlements, training and retraining of public servants and activities of the state’s pilgrim welfare boards.
According to her, the largest components of the expenditure were the Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, leave passage entitlements across the public service and training-related travels by various MDAs.
She said other expenditures included the overseas training of lecturers of Plateau State University, activities of the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, judiciary-related travels and approved official travel expenses of the state House of Assembly.
The commissioner also disclosed that the expenditure included the government’s sponsorship of 200 students on scholarship to India, medical assistance to citizens abroad and other official engagements undertaken in the interest of the state.
She stressed that the administration of Governor Mutfwang places a high premium on training and retraining of public servants to bridge manpower gaps, strengthen institutional capacity and improve service delivery.
On the governor’s foreign travels during the period, Ramnap said Mutfwang made only three international trips between January and June 2026.
She explained that the governor travelled to the United States in January at the invitation of the organisers of the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, while in March, he travelled to the United Kingdom as part of President Bola Tinubu’s delegation.
According to her, Mutfwang undertook another official trip to the United Kingdom in June to participate in an international dialogue on multi-faith coexistence.
Ramnap said the governor used the engagements to pursue partnerships and explore investment opportunities in tourism and other critical sectors capable of expanding economic opportunities and strengthening development partnerships for Plateau.
She said the government remained committed to transparency, accountability, prudence and responsible management of public resources.
The commissioner assured citizens that the administration would continue to provide accurate and verifiable information on its expenditures and financial activities.
She added that the government would ensure that public resources were deployed judiciously to achieve measurable development outcomes for the benefit of the people of Plateau State.
