Absentee governor

Hardball

Is the continued absence of Governor Darius Ishaku from Taraba State good for governance? Ishaku has been away from the state for more than two months, “up to 77 days today,” according to a March 8 report.  Ishaku, 65, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was reelected for a second term last year.

The report said: “The governor’s media aide, Bala Dan Abu, said his absence from the state is because of a “domestic accident” the governor had, which has compelled him to seek medical attention in Abuja FCT. Abu, however, did not disclose details of the governor’s domestic accident.

“Ishaku’s last official outing in Taraba State was on December 19, 2019, when he presented the 2020 appropriation bill to the State House of Assembly. He reportedly left Jalingo – the state capital on December 22, 2019 and has since not returned.”

It is unsurprising that the opposition criticised the governor’s absence.   The All Progressives Congress (APC) lamented that the governor’s absence had paralysed governance in the state.

It is puzzling that the governor’s media aide said in a defensive statement: “They (APC) know and even acknowledge that the machinery of governance in Taraba State has not suffered any setback with Ishaku in Abuja but will not admit the truth in public.

“His meeting with World Bank officials, the inaugural meeting of the sensitisation committee on the all-important Mambilla Hydropower project which he hosted and the consultative meeting of governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) among many other activities were carried out by the governor while in Abuja. The overall outcome of these events will tell positively on the social and economic wellbeing of Taraba State. At home in Taraba State, all programmes and projects of the administration are going on smoothly. Nothing has suffered any form of setback just because Ishaku is out of town.”

In other words, the governor is governing the state from Abuja. Does it mean the governor can govern from anywhere outside the state for as long as he wants?   Why doesn’t Ishaku transfer power to his deputy, Haruna Manu, so that he can concentrate on receiving medical treatment?

“A photograph of Ishaku undergoing medical checkup has gone viral on the social space, with the posters seeking prayers for the governor,” the report said.  “In the photo, Ishaku and his medical handlers are seen wearing masks.”

If the purpose of the photo is to show that the governor is receiving medical attention outside the state, it fails to justify the fact that the governor is governing from outside the state. Ishaku shouldn’t be an absentee governor.