Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, locates the current power battle between Governor Danbaba Suntai and Acting Governor Garba Umar within the context of the explosive Taraba State politics, exploring possible options to douse the fire
The political fire that is currently raging in Taraba State may have been lighted formally on Wednesday, August 28, 2013, when Governor Danbaba Suntai, who just returned a few days earlier from his sick bed abroad, announced immediate dissolution of the state executive council, thus declaring his resolve to take back power from the Acting Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar, and other political godfathers that may come his way.
But it has become obvious, from the texture of the political conflagration, that the dry logs and the oil, fueling the raging inferno, have been prepared long ago, awaiting the final lighting.
So, aS soon as the yet- to-recover governor announced the dissolution of the executive council and the appointment of a new Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and two others, it was not surprising that the state political theatre caught fire.
The fire also gained immediate momentum as Umar openly rejected the governor’s directive, dismissing the announcement as the handiwork of a cabal, not that of the governor, desperate to hijack power for itself.
He, like the state House of Assembly, therefore, insisted that the governor, who suffered head injuries in October 2012, after a Cessna light aircraft he was piloting crashed near Yola Airport and was taken to a trauma and brain injury center near New York City for treatment, should go back to the US to continue his treatment.
Umar and majority of the lawmakers argued that Suntai has not recovered well enough to be entrusted with the task of governance. But Suntai and his confidants insist he has recovered well enough to regain his constitutional responsibility as the elected governor of the state.
At this point, the political stalemate has become obvious, even to the most naive political observer. The battle line was finally drawn as Taraba suddenly found itself in a deep political dilemma, not certain whose orders to obey or who should be regarded as the authentic Governor of the state: the elected governor, Suntai, whose health condition is still a matter of serious debate or his erstwhile deputy and ally, Umar, who became the Acting Governor since Suntai was away in far away United States of America, receiving treatment?
The confusion
Although the first signs came on Monday, 26, 2013, a day after Suntai’s return, when he wrote the Taraba State House of Assembly, informing the House of his return and readiness to resume work as the state governor, the dilemma became manifest as soon as the disagreement of two principal officers of the House, Hon. Haruna Tsokwa and Hon. Joseph Albaso, over the political development, blew open. Tsokwa, the Speaker of the House, after taking a critical look at the governor, had resisted the demand to return power to him. According to Tsokwa, Umar should continue to act as Governor until the house deliberate on the letter and become convinced that the governor had recovered.
But Albaso, the Majority Leader of the House, said the governor had fulfilled the constitutional requirement, which, according to him, was to notify the House of his return and readiness to resume work.
Since then, the nation has been burdened with the puzzle of who is right? The matter came to a controversial end on Friday, when National Assembly members from Taraba threw their weight behind the state Assembly, insisting that Suntai is not yet fit to govern the state and as such, he should go back to US to continue his treatment, while Umar should continue to serve as Acting Governor.
But it seems this firm position of the lawmakers has not settled the dust.
This is because some questions that have arisen from the political crisis remain unanswered.
For example, observers, taking into consideration similar scenerio that played out at the federal level, when the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua was critically ill, are worried that, as was the case then, the implications for the state and country’s political future may be threatened, except the matter is handled wisely. There is still disagreement if the Taraba case has so far been handled wisely by the major officers concerned.
For example, there is argument as to if the Governor has the right to go on vacation or sick leave for as long as it takes him to recover, or if there is a limited period of time he must not exceed? All that section 189 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) said is: (1) The Governor or Deputy Governor of a State shall cease to hold office if (a) by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all members of the executive council of the State, it is declared that the Governor or Deputy Governor is incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and
(b) the declaration in paragraph (a) of this subsection is verified, after such medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the Speaker of the House of Assembly.”
Today, legal luminaries are still airing defferent views on how the dilemma leaves Taraba in view of the constitutional provisions.
Observers are also wondering if the Assembly has power to declare Suntai medically unfit when they are not doctors or the panel of medical examiners required by the constitution?
Former Minister of Justice and Attorney- General of the Federation, Chief Richard Akinjide is one of the legal luminaries that commented on this aspect of the confusion during the week. According to him, “The constitution is clear on cases like this. – there should be expert report. They can’t resolve the crisis without it. The onus falls on medical report.”
This implies that political considerations, which have so far guided most of the decisions so far taken by the actors may not suffice. It also suggests that the matter is yet to be over and may soon move to medical theatres.
That political reasons have dominated the debates so far shows also that what is playing out in the north-east state of Taraba cannot be fully appreciated without a grasp of the political realities that informed the actions of the major actors
The politics of Taraba
One of the major questions that has been asked since the political crisis in Taraba peaked is whether it was proper for Suntai to dissolve the executive at the time he did? There are issues also on the actions of the Acting Governor so far?
Our investigation shows that these major actors are acting out scripts informed by the political history of the state and the camp they currently belong to.
Taraba is a strictly polarised state, politically. When Suntai emerged as a Governor, it was with the full support and sponsorship of former Governor Jolly Nyame, a fellow Christian. But there was an allegation that the agreement between Nyame and Suntai was that Suntai would not seek re-election. When he eventually did, he, in collaboration with some powerful political forces, including Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan, had to edge out Nyame. Today, both Nyame and Alhassan, are no longer in the same camp with Suntai as Alhassan has reportedly become one of the major opponents of Suntai within Taraba PDP.
Other powerful senators, like Abubakar Umar Tutare, are also alleged to have been looking for a way of paying back Suntai, whom he once accused of trying to stop his senatorial ambition.
So, politically, Suntai operated under a well divided political party. This was well demonstrated when Umar was to be sworn in as Acting Governor. Then, he was still seen as Suntai’s ally and opponents allegedly hatched a plot to prevent his swearing in as Acting Governor when the governor got involved in the plane crash. Today, Umar is the major political opponent of Suntai.
Besides this, the politics of Taraba State has been polluted by religious divide. With Christians forming the majority in the state, and the two civilian elected Governors, Nyame and Suntai, all Christians, Muslims are highly agitated and there have been claims of marginalisation. “When Suntai had the plane crash, some elements in the state, who obviously wanted to perpetuate hatred claimed it was Muslim fundamentalists that planned the accident. This will show you the extent people can go here to mix up religion and politics,” said Jamui Hassan, a resident in Yola. Hassan told The Nation yesterday that Muslims see Umar as the opportunity of the Muslims to also produce governor of the state. Such circumstances had also led to the emergence a Christian governor in a northern state that has Muslim majority and have always had Muslim governors. According to Hassan, it is this sentiment that has garnered support for Umar.
Besides religion and PDP intrigues, ethnicity seems to be also contributing to increasing sentiment against Suntai. In the state, which has nine big ethnic groups, only two, Mumuye and Chamba have produced elected governors, in the persons of Nyame, a Mumuye and Suntai, a Chamba. Allegations against Suntai, according to sources, is that he is planning to instal another Mumuye as his successor.
Options available for settlement
To resolve the political dilemma in the state, experts and observers have suggested several options. They include impeachment, state of emergency, doctrine of necessity, among others.
Although there are allegations of each camp planning to initiate impeachment proceedings for either Suntai or Umar, it seems most experts say Suntai can only be stopped if a medical report confirms him unfit and he is subsequently impeached.
If this option proved difficult because of the complications arising from the political intrigues, some observers are already suggesting a repeat of the implementation of the Doctrine of Necessity, which the National Assembly used to save the nation at the peak of the late Yar’Adua’s sick saga.
Aside these, peace lovers are already urging President Goodluck Jonathan and PDP to intervene and resolve the matter.
At the weekend, Jonathan and the party reportedly agreed to step in. If their peace efforts fail, security experts, who spoke to The Nation yesterday, said state of emergency would be needed to save the state and the country, taking into consideration the current security crisis in the north-east zone.
