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Ishaku: Mobilising Tarabans for hydro power revolution
After more than 50 years on the drawing table, the Mambilla Hydro Electricity Power project has finally resurrected, courtesy of a new vision and commitment being jointly promoted by the Federal Government and the administration of Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State. Taraba is the host state for the project while the Federal government is its main promoter and financier.

At the national level, the project has become a regular agenda at the Federal Executive Council meetings. Top officials of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing are also constantly working on various aspects of the implementation policy. On its part, Taraba State is pregnant with expectations. Ishaku has been on top of the campaign that is mobilizing people of the state to support the project while Chinese team of engineers is now regular visitors to Mambilla Plateau, the site of the project.

Recently, a stakeholders meeting was held in Abuja with Governor Ishaku and Mr. Babatunde Fashola, (SAN) minister of Power, Works and Housing. Each of the two leaders was accompanied by a strong delegation of experts in all the departments of engineering and in hydro-electricity technology. The meeting which has greatly invigorated interests on all sides of the divide, came on the heels of a new positive attitude displayed by the Federal Government through the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to China earlier in the year. The President had used the opportunity of that visit to tie up the loose ends of the Memorandum of Understanding signed several years ago between Nigeria and China for the execution of the project.

The Abuja meeting dwelt extensively on the need for all the critical stakeholders to play their roles and make desirable sacrifices where and when necessary, for the success of the project. Other critical issues such as environmental impact assessment, payment of compensation which the meeting decided will be made in the local currency were discussed. Governor Ishaku pledged his support and the support of the entire people of Taraba State for the project and noted that the state was fully mobilised to play its role as the chief host. A joint committee of the Ministry of Power, Transport and Housing and the Taraba State government was set up at the meeting to fine-tune plans for the smooth implementation of the project. It is to also help resolve all grey areas that may hinder progress. It is co-chaired by Governor Ishaku and Fashola.

The Mambilla Hydro Electricity Power project has a long history. The idea was conceived in the 60s by Nigeria’s first set of political leaders. In the Second Republic political dispensation, the administration of President Shehu Shagari also Aexpressed a commitment to the project. Besides that, nothing really happened again until the coming into office of President Olusegun Obasanjo who, in 2007, awarded contracts for the project. That was the first major step towards the actualisation of the project. Even after then, there were no practical steps taken to execute the project. In 2013, the project suffered a setback with the cancellation of the initial Memorandum of Understanding. Later the administration of Presdent Goodluck Jonathan reviewed the project and even expanded its scope to generate 3050 MW instead of 2,600 MW. The administration also appointed three Chinese companies highly reputed in dam construction and hydro-electricity technology generally for the project.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to China earlier this year came as a laudable endorsement of the vision of his predecessors that gave birth to the idea and nurtured it until he took over the country’s mantle of leadership. That visit has put a stamp of urgency on the project and even the Chinese partners in the project are convinced about the administration’s commitment to the project. The Mambilla project is one of the best, if not the best, things that will happen to Nigeria’s desire for increased power generation and stability of electricity power. Any leader with the political will to execute this project would be writing his name in gold. President Buhari seems to be that leader that the Mambilla Hydro project has been waiting for. Can he do it? And will he do it? Yes, he can and he should do it. If he does, Nigerians will forever be grateful to him for the courage and the determination that helped in curing an electricity power malady that had become a source of embarrassing national malaise.

The Mambilla Hydro project is Africa’s biggest dam project for generating electricity. It will boost employment opportunities and facilitate national economic growth. Even though the Mambilla project is a national venture, the people of Taraba State will profit immensely from it and its ancillary plants and industries. It will attract most of its technical and non-technical hands from the state and this means a jump in economic activities and living standards in the state. The coming of the project will increase demand for houses, hotels and restaurants. It will dramatically alter the profile of the state by making it a bigger investment hub. Indigenes of the state cannot afford to be left out in the race for space in the huge market that the project is soon to turn their state into.

It is for these reasons and more that Governor Ishaku is out mobilizing the people and campaigning for support for the project. A few days before his meeting with Fashola in Abuja, Ishaku had called a stakeholders meeting in the state. He used the meeting to educate the people on the benefits of the project and the need for them to support it. He advised the youths in the state, in particular, to tailor their choice of academic careers towards fields that are related to Hyro electricity because the project is coming with huge employment opportunities for such qualifications. He also cautioned the people against indiscriminate sale of lands on the Mambilla Plateau and its environs. Land in these areas will attract high demands and prices.

The Mambilla project is what Nigeria needs to break the jinx of power instability that has become a kind of affliction. President Buhari seems determined to break this jinx this time round with the amount of commitment he has demonstrated so far. On his part, Governor Ishaku has pledged and practically demonstrated his commitment to the implementation of the project. There is no reason therefore for the project to fail to take off. The onus is now on the Federal Government, the financing agency, to ensure the take off of the project by committing funds to it. This project must not suffer from the torpidity that had crippled its execution in the hands of previous federal administrations for more than two decades.
- Abulemo is an Abuja-based Public Affairs commentator
November 11, 2016
Ishaku’s peace and development agenda
They are like Siamese twins. Peace and development. They are inseparable. This twin concept has proved an enduring but regrettable fact of life in many countries and communities around the globe where hostilities in all their manifestations and ramifications have crippled human efforts at improving the quality of life and living. Many societies that had earned for themselves the reputation as great and enviable signposts of human creativity in development have crumbled and their progress retarded due to the absence of peace necessitated by wars and other forms of inter-communal hostilities.

It is for this reason that some leaders pay attention to the task of forestalling crises and promoting peace through deliberate policies. One good example of such modern day leaders is Architect Darius Dickson Ishaku, governor of Taraba State who came into office in May 2015 trumpeting the philosophy of peace and stability as a necessary and desirable ingredient of the enabling environment for sustainable development.

People who are familiar with the recent history of Taraba State will not find it difficult to appreciate the wisdom in Ishaku’s choice of the twin concept of peace and development as the underlying philosophy of his administration. Within the period of two years before he assumed the leadership of the state as governor, Taraba was a state in political and inter-ethnic turmoil. The situation had prevailed even uptill the elections that brought him in as governor. The crises left in their trail frightening memories that had destroyed the fabric and fibre of mutual trust among the various ethnic groups in the state. The ultimate loser was development which the state was in dire need of. For this ugly situation to change, Governor Ishaku had to take the message of peace to all corners of the state in order to help heal the social and emotional wounds inflicted and to psych up the people to believe in themselves and their state once more. It was also woo them in support of government’s development agenda to which the governor had unequivocally committed himself.

Today, just over a year after, the peace effort of the governor has proved a wise political and social investment. Through the machinery of security surveillance established by the governor, crime and criminality have been drastically reduced in the state. But the bigger frontier of achievement is inter-ethnic crises and herdsmen attacks on farmers. These were the major causes of bloody clashes with heavy casualties under the immediate past political dispensation in the state. It gladdens my heart and, I believe the hearts the hearts of numerous Tarabans and Nigerians also, that the gory spectre of socially and economically ruinous crises have ended, thanks to Governor Ishaku’s peace and reconciliatory efforts. Those bitter religious and inter-ethnic ill-feelings that often fuelled crises in the state have been subdued.

It is in the interest of all indigenes of the state this situation is sustained. Crises of the magnitude that were witnessed in the state in the past two or three years can, apart from the social and psychological trauma that they inflict on the people, also be an unfortunate source of distraction and financial waste for the government. Funds that could have been otherwise channelled into the execution of projects with direct benefits on the social condition of the people will be wasted in the promotion of government’s peace efforts. Government may also lose concentration in the process and its development plans and projections greatly jeopardised.

Today the people of Taraba State can thumb their chests and say that their state is at peace. That was not the case before the coming of Governor Ishaku. They can also now say with pride that they have a government that is not only deliberately promoting peace but determined to develop the state through the execution of people-centred projects. For example, the scarcity of portable water in Jalingo and other major towns and cities in the state is now being aggressively tackled by the governor. I’m also aware that government is working on a partnership with the African Development Bank for a more dramatic, all-encompassing approach in addressing the problem. This is highly commendable.

In the past one year, Jalingo has turned a huge construction site. Road projects have received the attention of government. This trend is replicated in other major towns in the state. Electricity power generation and rural electrification projects are being vigorously pursued as part of government’s overall poverty alleviation and job creation package. There has also been a deliberate government emphasis on agriculture to achieve increase in food production, reduce hunger and poverty as well creating employment opportunities. These projects, some already completed and others on-going, are only possible because of the relative peace the state has enjoyed so far. The state would have fared worse if the security situation had been otherwise.

The lesson behind this development requires no emphasis. The people of the state must give peace a chance to reign. Some people have said in the past that most of the crises in the state are fuelled and even sponsored by the political elite in the state for their selfish political gains. This is not far from the truth. The ordinary people of the state usually nurse no ambitions and desires that bring their communities and ethnic groups into conflicts and crises with others. The elite do. That is the reason they are the target of this writer’s appeal for peace in the state.

Politicians and political leaders in the state should now realise that the elections are over and time to work for the people is now here. The state must now move forward. The luck of the state today lies in the fact that Darius Ishaku is governor. He is a man with a big dream of a greater Taraba State. Such a man deserves the support of all the people.
- Magaji is a current affairs analyst
October 11, 2016
Ishaku: we’ve made huge success

Taraba State Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku yesterday said his administration has been successful, in spite of the litigation against his election that lasted for several months.

He spoke to reporters at the State House, Jalingo, after his state broadcast.

He said he inherited debts in billions of naira but was able to embark on people-oriented projects, paying contractors little by little monthly.

He said his administration, within the year, has tarred many roads, fixed electricity, provided water and above all, provided peace and security which has paved the way for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return to their destroyed homes.

May 30, 2016
PDP chairman: Dankwambo, Ishaku back ex-governor

•Governors, others cancel mini-election
•Three nominees for NWC’s consideration

A few hours into the conduct of a mini-election for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national chairman from the Northeast, party leaders in the zone were yesterday split along religious lines.

Four candidates came forward as at Monday to compete for the slot to complete the tenure of the past National Chairman, Adamu Muazu.

They are the party’s National Vice Chairman (Northeast), Girigiri Lawal; ex-Governor of the defunct Gongola State, Wilberforce Juta; ex-Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Bala Mohammed and PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary Abdullahi Jalo.

But the race appeared to be keener between Juta and the ex-FCT minister, leading to tension among PDP leaders in the zone.

Governors Ibrahim Dankwambo and Darius Ishaku are supporting Juta, who is a minority Christian. Most supporters of the former FCT minister are also divided along religious lines last night.

The development forced the party to cancel its mini-election slated for Gombe today.

It was, however, gathered that the leaders opted to recommend three nominees for consideration by the National Working Committee (NWC) tomorrow.

A reliable source, who spoke in confidence, said: “PDP Northeast leaders have become divided and it has been difficult to organise a mini-election in Gombe on Tuesday as convened by the National Vice Chairman (Northeast) of the party, Girigiri Lawal.

“The two PDP governors in the zone prefer Juta than Bala Mohammed, who is popular among young elements and Hausa-Fulani leaders. Except for Dankwambo’s support for Juta, the mini-election has degenerated to religious politics.

“Those supporting the former FCT minister have been whipping up ethnic and religious sentiments against Juta, who is a Christian minority in the North.

“A few other leaders rejected the plot to replace the former National Chairman, Adamu Muazu from Bauchi State with another candidate from Bauchi. They said other states should be given the slot.

“The two governors spent a greater part of Monday to douse the tension, which the choice of a new PDP national chairman has created.”

Another source said: “To prevent chaos, the leaders recommended three candidates for consideration by the National Working Committee (NWC) tomorrow. They include Juta, ex-FCT minister and a candidate from Borno.

“All the leaders have ruled out the choice of Ahmed Gulak, a former special adviser on Political Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. But party leaders commended Gulak for leading the struggle for the Northeast to retain the slot.”

Findings confirmed that the PDP may still run into a hitch unless a mini-election is conducted at the zonal level.

A party leader said: “The constitution does not support the recommendation of a candidate; it says there should be election. We may be back to square one if any of the three recommended candidates is made the new national chairman of PDP.

“Recommendation is an illegal process. If we go ahead, Gulak may technically become the chairman in the face of the law. We have to be careful.”

A member of NEC said by Article 14.5 of the PDP Constitution, both the NWC and the National Executive Committee (NEC) will be right in picking any of the recommended three nominees.

The Article says: “Where a vacancy occurs in any of the offices of the party, the committee shall appoint a substitute from the zone, where the officer originated pending the conduct of election to fill the vacancy.”

However, the NWC of PDP will tomorrow consider the three nominees forwarded to it by the Northeast caucus of the party.

Another source added: “The NWC will take a decision on Wednesday (tomorrow) for ratification by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party on Thursday.”

February 2, 2016
Ishaku’s New Year Gift

For Darius Dickson Ishaku, the incumbent governor of Taraba State, last Thursday, December 31, 2015 Appeal Court judgment in Abuja that affirmed him as the duly elected governor of Taraba State, was the best New Year’s gift anybody could have wished for. He couldn’t have settled for anything less. And when it came, it was in the nick of time, a last minute affair that closed the year 2015 on a beautiful and reassuring note. That piece of good news finally ended months of uncertainty and trepidation in the political battle that had been raging in the state in the last six months.

The Appeal Court sitting in Abuja had last Thursday affirmed Ishaku of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, winner of the April 11 governorship election in Taraba State. By this judgment, the Abuja appellate court set aside the decision of the state Election Petitions Tribunal, which earlier sacked the governor from office based on pre-election matters. Justice Abdul Aboki, who read the unanimous judgment, held that it was a gross misdirection for the tribunal to have declared Aisha Jumai Alhassan, affectionately known as “Mama Taraba”, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner of the gubernatorial poll on the basis that she scored the second highest number of votes in the election. The Appeal Court justices described the decision of the Taraba state election tribunal as untenable.

The Appeal Court also held that from the evidence of witnesses to the petitioners before the tribunal, Ishaku was validly elected and sponsored by his party, the PDP, to vie for the governorship seat of the state in accordance with the constitution, the Electoral Act and in accordance with the electoral guidelines as laid down by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The court then pronounced that: “Therefore, the judgment of the Taraba State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal is hereby declared null, void and set aside in its entirety. The appellant’s appeal is meritorious and is hereby allowed”.

In the opinion of the court, APC and its governorship candidate, who were the first and second respondents in the appeal, had no locus standi to challenge the primary election of the PDP, which produced Ishaku as its candidate for the election as none of the respondents is a member of the PDP. It also held that INEC superintends the activities of political parties and if there was any breach or failure of the PDP to give the electoral body 21 days notice of its primary as alleged, it should not have been the headache of the APC and its governorship candidate, adding that, the only person that could have complained of the conduct of a party’s primary election was INEC and the person who participated in the said primary election. The court went further to say that the Electoral Act specifies the procedures for the election and sponsorship of a candidate by a political party and that the right to complain is limited to participants in the primary election.

Earlier on Saturday, November 7, 2015, the Justice Musa Danladi Abubakar-led Election Petitions Tribunal had, in a petition filed by the APC and Alhassan, held that the purported nomination of Ishaku as the governorship candidate of the PDP breached Section 85 of the Electoral Act and ordered him (Ishaku) to vacate his office. In that judgment, the tribunal ordered that Alhassan be sworn in as governor because the PDP did not conduct a valid primary that produced Ishaku as its standard-bearer. However, the tribunal held that the APC governorship candidate could not adequately prove her allegation of “over-voting, irregularities, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2010”. Ishaku, who was obviously dissatisfied with the tribunal judgment, immediately filed an appeal, asking the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the tribunal. His prayer was granted by the appellate court last Thursday.

The ruling by the appellate court ignited wide-scale jubilation in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, as residents marched through major streets of the town in celebration of the judgment. Recall that when the Electoral Tribunal earlier unseated Ishaku, the state, particularly Jalingo, the capital, was thrown into political upheaval because many people were dissatisfied with that judgment. Therefore, the relative calm and convivial atmosphere which pervaded the state after the Appeal Court’s judgment, was a sign that the judgment seems to have vindicated the majority of the people of the state who overwhelmingly voted for Ishaku as their governor in the last election and even at the re-run election that took place later. Besides, the judgment may have proved that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man. Perhaps, if the judgment had gone the other way, the state could have been thrown into turmoil.

The conflicting judgments in Taraba pose a big legal challenge. Now that the case is heading to the Supreme Court, the final arbiter, for final adjudication, I am quite sure that all the grey areas would be effectively tackled in order to sanitise our electoral laws. The scenario in Taraba, is not an isolated case. In the last few months, it has been replicated in some other states. Unlike what was obtainable in 2011 when election results were more credible and devoid of legal tangos across the country, the results of the 2015 elections seem to have opened a floodgate of legal battles. The consequence is the confusion all over the place. What we are now witnessing is one tribunal after another upturning one electoral result after the other. In the process, many results either at the House of Representatives, the Senate, the gubernatorial elections and all that, have been overturned in recent times, leading to many re-run elections. This development is at great cost to taxpayers because of the colossal resources involved in the conduct of these elections.

What this all boils down to is the fact that our electoral system is fraught with irregularities and fraudulent practices of unimaginable proportion. There is desperation everywhere and this is not healthy for the nation. The picture that is being painted is that of an unbridled, unhealthy political rivalry between the two dominant political parties – the APC and the PDP. The APC, an amalgamation of some political parties and groups, succeeded in sending the hitherto octopus political party in Nigeria, the PDP, into political Siberia in the last general elections. That effectively ended the latter’s 16 years of domination of the Nigerian political landscape. This feat was not easy to achieve though. While the PDP has found it difficult to come to terms with the reality that they have suddenly been swept off their feet, the victorious APC seems to have caught the Oliver Twist’s bug. Therefore, there is this uncontrollable quest for territorial control going on all over the country.

This insatiable quest for political dominance is now a sort of irritation and concern to political observers. This is perhaps one of the reasons observers consider Ishaku’s victory at the Appeal Court as instructive at a time there are fears that there is a growing tendency to achieve a one-party state in Nigeria – something that could be dangerous to the peace and tranquillity of the entire country. It is common nowadays to hear people saying: “When the PDP was the dominant party, it was the same thing because they wanted to put the whole country under their umbrella”. There is no doubt about that. But should we continue to perpetuate the same arbitrariness, the same impunity, the same callousness and recklessness for which the PDP stood condemned? The fact remains that if we, as a people, are to make meaningful progress, there is the need to eschew bitterness, acrimony and strong arm tactics from our body politics. That is part of the change Nigerians earnestly crave.

January 6, 2016
Court to hear Ishaku’s appeal tomorrow

The Court of Appeal will tomorrow hear the appeal filed by Governor Darius Ishaku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asking the appellate court to set aside the Taraba Tribunal ruling which sacked him and handed the governorship to the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Aisha Alhassan.

The tribunal sacked Ishaku on the ground that the PDP did not hold a proper primary that threw him up as the candidate.

The Court of Appeal in Yola, Adamawa State, usually entertains appeals from Taraba. But like the tribunal which sat throughout in Abuja on security concerns, the Court of Appeal is treating Ishaku’s appeal in Abuja.

In Jalingo –Taraba’s capital, there was a calm anxiety over the case yesterday. No discussions were without a mention of the case.

The legal counsel to Ishaku and Alhassan will tomorrow adopt their written addresses or briefs of arguments, from where the court will fix a date for ruling.

The Court of Appeal has received four notices of appeal; three filed by the governor’s legal team, headed by Joseph Dauda, and a cross-appeal filed by Alhassan’s counsel Mahmud Magaji, (SAN).

The tribunal headed by Justice Musa Danladi Abubakar on November 7, proclaimed Alhassan, now Minister for Women Affairs, who scored the second highest votes, as the rightful winner of the election.

The tribunal upheld Alhassan’s argument that Ishaku was not qualified to contest the April 11, 2015 governorship election because the primary held by his party fell short of the conditions stipulated by Sections 85 and 87 of the Electoral Act (2A) 2010.

It faulted the shifting of the party’s primary to Abuja and ruled that the governor was not validly nominated and sponsored by his party.

But Ishaku cried foul, that the tribunal left the crux of the litigation and delved into a pre-election matter that was not within its purview.

He challenged that the ruling APC was using the federal might and manipulating the judiciary to atrociously execute a coup to take over Taraba State through the back door.

Governor Ishaku told The Nation that he saw “contradictions and great conflict of irony” in the ruling when the tribunal challenged the validity of holding the PDP primary in Abuja but also sat in the same Abuja to pass judgment.

“A sad aspect of the tribunal ruling, which is like an accidental discharge, is that the APC supporters rejoiced the victory a day before judgment was passed the following day, and it went viral on the social media several hours before the ruling was concluded.”

December 20, 2015
Ishaku’s wife leads anti-HIV fight

Life of the Taraba State governor Mrs Ann Darius Ishaku has led government officials and health NGOs on a walk and jog seeking to focus attention on the dangers of HIV/AIDS in the state.

The governor’s wife is concerned that the state posts a 10.5 per cent HIV prevalence, second only to Rivers with a 15.2 per cent endemic profile.

Mrs. Ishaku and the team trekked and jogged in parts of Jalingo, the state capital, to mark this year’s World’s AIDS Day.

At the Trade Fair Complex, Jalingo, she made a speech, further calling for concerted efforts to scale back the disease.

Billboards, banners and placards were displayed and dramas highlighted the dangers of the scourge. The activities sent a loud message to the public that the disease is deadly, but preventable.

“HIV is not a disease for a particular tribe, religion, community or certain group of people. It is not a bias virus as it does not discriminate against anybody; rich or poor, old or young,” Ann Ishaku, a lawyer, said.

She added that the fight against HIV is a war that must be sustained to succeed, and the youth must be careful in their social and sex lives.

“Every society has its social regulations; we were very careful when we were growing up,” she said.

Commissioner of Health Innocent Vakkai gave the theme for this year’s World AIDS Day as: “Getting to Zero, ending HIV/AIDS in Nigeria by 2030.”

Vakkai disclosed that the documented national prevalence of HIV in Taraba was 1.8 per cent in 1991, rose to 5.8 percent in 2001 and down to 4.1 percent and peaked to 10.8 percent from 2010. He sourced his figures from the National Sentinel Survey report on pregnant women attending antennal clinics in the country.

“NASRHS 2012 report, which is the current rate, has placed Taraba state at a prevalence of 10.5 percent, second only to Rivers state.

“This is not only above the national average, but also the highest in the Northeast sub-region.”

He said an estimated 150,000 persons are positive in Taraba, out of which over 55,860 should be on treatment.

He gave the main modes of transmission as through sex inter coarse and mother-to-child transmission.

“There is a higher infection rate among the Most At Risk Population (MARPS) such as commercial sex workers, injecting drug users and men who have sex with men.”

He said the state government is complementing provision of ART free to people living with HIV and more HCT Centre’s have been established across the state.

“With the establishment of the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU), the state government has fully taken over the treatment of HIV/AIDS from the FHI360 in the state, with support from the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA).

“The SPIU is providing free services such as HCT, PMTCT and referrals to all PLHIVs in the state.

“17 CSOs were also engaged to provide HIV/AIDS services in all the local government areas of Taraba, through the HIV/AIDS Programme Development Project II Fund, a grant from the World Bank.”

He called on the people to avail themselves with the free services provided by the government and to test to know their status as well as to show love for people living with HIV/AIDS and to commemorate with the families of those who have passed on as a result of AIDS.

Director General of TACA, Abba Sale Ibrahim, disclosed that Nigera has the second highest burden of HIV in Africa, with about 3.2 million people living with the virus.

Ibrahim appealed to the people to see those living with the disease as brothers and sisters, and that with proper care and treatment, they can live a long and normal life like any other person.

December 8, 2015
Ishaku: The devil cannot steal my mandate

* Swears in commissioners

Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku yesterday swore in 20 commissioners without announcing their portfolios.

The commissioners are: Rebecca Manasseh (Takum local government area); AbubakarSuleNdeme (Sardauna); YhonnasNgemi (Sardauna); Atosuma James Gani (Wukari); Lois Emmanuel (Wukari); Jesse AdiAshumate (Wukari); GamboUdeEndafo (Donga);TafarkiAgbadu (Kurmi); IliyasuAjibu (Ibi) and Gowon Emmanuel (Karim-Lamido).

Others are: Abba AkawuZagga (Karim-Lamido); Musa Karanty (Gashaka); AlhassanHamman (Gassol); AminuJika (Jalingo); Innocent Vakkai (Ardo-Kola); David Ishaya (Yorro); Musa Dakka (Bali); Anthony Danburam (Lau); Yusuf NyaAkirikwen (Ussa) and Alexander Senlo (Zing).

The occasion took place at the JollyNyame Sports Complex, Jalingo, the state capital.

Ishaku was penultimate Saturday sacked by the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on the ground that he was not validly nominated and sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

But Ishaku, who said the tribunal, erred and fired an appeal, asked his commissioners to join hands with him to restore the lost glory of the state.

He stressed that expectations were high from sons and daughters of Taraba for his cabinet members to collectively live up to the challenge of meeting the demands of the state.

“Last Saturday’s judgement by the governorship election petition tribunal was not what the people of the state expected.

“Tarabans unanimously agreed and gave me their free mandate to work for them and there is no way we will allow the devil to steal the mandate given to me.

“Our God is not a partial God; we have faith that the Court of Appeal will reverse the tribunal’s bizarre ruling.

“The tribunal that sacked me from office has no jurisdiction to a pre-election matter. This kind of judgement by the tribunal can lead to anarchy,” Ishaku said.

November 15, 2015
Ishaku appoints 50 SAs, 62 SSAs

Taraba State Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku yesterday approved the appointment of 50 Special Advisers (SAs) and 62 Senior Special Assistants (SSAs).

The governor had appointed seven special advisers and a few senior special assistants, following his assumption of office in May.

He also appointed a former House of Assembly member, Daniel Ishaya Gani, as Chairman of the Taraba United Football Club.

But the governor did not announce the list of his commissioners.

The special advisers, who are from the 16 local government area and a Special Development Area include Wukari Local Government Area: Iliya Ibrahim Agabi, Joseph Magaji, Zakari Adimbo and Timothy Gani; Sardauna: Elija Nyaro, Suleiman Abdullaziz and Fati Usman; Takum: Fred Audu Jakanda, Polycarp Ikpi, Joseph Manga, Aliyu Dankaro and Mary Bot.

Others are: Donga: Nvoani Ali and Charity Green; Karim-Lamido: Idi Marley Danfulani, Kabiru Aliyu Pitiko, Sadiq Nuhu Nbuloh and Danjuma Ayuba; Bali: Adamu Danbako Ibrahim, Veronica Alhassan, Gambo Maikudi and Soja Datanimu; Lau: Alfred Yahya Kobiba, Tahir Nyawo and Danjuma Barde; Yorro, Henry Shawulu and Almashy Alhassan Algadas.

Others are: Ardo-Kola: Happy Shonruba and Innocent Bala; Gashaka: Danlami Maikudi, Audu Abdukadir Bolly and Nicodemus Bulus; Jalingo: Aminu Umar Jalingo and Hillary Kaigama; Gassol: Danasali Biru, Abbas Umar Kaura and Luka Ubadiah; Kurmi: James Ebondi, Edinga Galumje and Simon Danga.

Others include: Zing: Mary Manzo, John Simon Jatutu and Justin Kwanti; Ibi: Kichener Beatrice Yaduma and Zainab Idris Waziri; Ussa: Onesimus Shiaki, Yohanna Addi and Elisha Rikwentishe; Yangtu: Kwena Andeyangtso and Emmanuel Madaki.

The SSAs include: Wukari: Rilwanu Daudu Julde, Amfani Abdullaziz, Philip Ikyabo Adda and Gogo Mamman Bayero; Sardauna: Esther Yenda and Julde Garba; Takum: Yakubu Yakubu, Ibrahim Tanko Yusuf, John Ali, Yushau Babanana, Garleya Audu Tunwari and Ezekiel Polycarp; Donga: Kurason Kura, Joel Sungba’a, Jonathan Tanko and Mairo Usman Bibinu.

Other Assistants are: Karim-Lamido: Tanko Bobbo Andamin, Virginia Baba Bambur, Obidah Bitrus, Sunday Yusuf, Amy Bila, Badina Garba and Nicolas Bala Sarkin Yara; Bali: Julde Bose Gazabu and Maigandi Kaigama; Lau: Daniel Zading, Ojo Joseph Kanawa, Yunana Kinkang and Yusuf Kunini.

Others are: Yorro: Fatima Zogimba, Joseph Sanwuri Mika and Asicus Kovoroba; Ardo-Kola: Jallo Buba, Tanimu Bala, Haruna Musa, Veronica Noku and Sunday Bodejo; Gashaka: Abba Lawan and Abu Dalla; Jalingo: Mohammed Suleiman Dandauda, Sule Labaran, Raphael Mallum, Iliya Kefas Alhaji, Hamza Jaji, Akilu Dalhatu Mafindi and Zakari Kamai; Gassol: Musa Abdullahi Chull, Jerry Terseer Tyolanga and Samaliya Sule.

The others include: Kurmi: Adamu Idi Tukura, Idi Ismaila, Alice Ade, Manasseh Kaura and Tanko Tabena; Zing: Christopher Kashomba, Abubakar Dayi and Yusuf Iliya; Ussa: Tina Musa, Bawa Pyiki, Batshebaq Riki and Habila David Angyu.

Their portfolios are expected be announced during their inauguration.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary, Hassan Mijinyawa, said: “The date for the inauguration of the new appointees will be announced soon.”

October 8, 2015
I’ll not abandon Suntai, says Ishaku

Taraba State Governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku Monday, said he will not abandon his predecessor, Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, who has been recuperating from the multiple injuries he suffered in a plane crash in 2012.

Ishaku spoke in a release signed by former Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Emmanuel Bello, while reacting to social media reports that he (Ishaku) has “forsaken Suntai, leaving him to rot away in a desolate place.”

According to the said reports, which have gone viral on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Suntai is said to have even suffered a stroke recently, with no one around to help him out. And that Governor Bindow of neighbouring Adamawa State had to pick Suntai’s bill by flying him out of the country”

Ishaku said the story is not true but a mischief.

“That is a flat lie, because Suntai is in Jalingo and has not skipped town for months now. And he doesn’t have to, because his health is not bad. In fact, Suntai is stronger now.”

The picture painted by the contentious story is that of an ex-governor left by all and allowed to suffer the crisis of loneliness and neglect.

Many who read the report have continued to heap insults on Ishaku and an amorphous group called “cabal” who reportedly featured Ishaku in the election.

The report further accused Ishaku and the cabal of using Suntai and now deserting him.

The statement reads: “First, Governor Ishaku has not deserted Suntai. He has continued to pledge his loyalty to the ideals and legacy of the Suntai years.

“Even in his inaugural speech, Ishaku recommitted himself to all the five points agenda of the Suntai era which basically were good governance, democracy and propriety in public life. He went on to pay a glowing tribute to the Suntai years as the foundation of the making of a modern Taraba.

“Again, the funny news had said Suntai was not at the inauguration which they say is an evidence of their comic accusation. But we make haste to say that it is really a non-issue because the inauguration was a symbolic affair. But even then, Governor Ishaku ensured that the essence of Suntai was felt at the well-attended event. In any case, the Acting Governor of the state, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi, who is one and the same thing with Suntai did the handing over ceremony. Where is the abandonment there?

“We want to inform all and sundry that governor Ishaku is footing the medical bills of Suntai. The former governor’s condition has improved tremendously and he is surrounded by many friends and family members.

“Therefore, Suntai is too big to be deserted by anyone. A man who has left sterling accomplishments in the Taraba firmament is not your day to day politician who can be forgotten so soon.

“Suntai continues to be the darling of all and sundry both in Taraba and elsewhere. His dreams, struggles and exemplary lifestyle have remained the template for which many would continue to take their bearings from.”

July 6, 2015