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Tag: Suntai

  • Group urge elders to intervene in Taraba crisis

    A pressure group, Coalition of Taraba Youth Movement, on Thursday in Jalingo, called on elder statesmen in the state to intervene in the political crisis over Gov. Danbaba Suntai’s health.
    The President of the coalition, Alhaji Abba Abubakar, made the call at a news conference.
    He said the intervention of the state assembly, PDP fact-finding committee and other stakeholders, were ignored by some “few individuals”, adding that it had left the state at the risk of violence.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Suntai returned to the state on Aug. 25 after 10 months of medical treatment abroad following injuries he sustained in a plane crash in October 2012.
    The state assembly and the PDP committee mandated Garba Umar to continue to act as governor but should consult the ailing governor on major political decisions.
    Abubakar urged prominent indigenes of the state, including Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, Amb. Idris Waziri, Rev. Jolly Nyame and Dr Mohammed Shata, to resolve the crisis.
    “We want the elders to take a stand on this issue in order to find lasting solution.
    “It is our hope that the cabal that is behind this unfortunate political crisis may listen to the words of the elders and refrain from this act.”

    He said that the coalition supported the decision of the state legislature and the PDP that Umar should continue until Suntai fully recovered.

  • Suntai’s health: Falana gets court’s nod for information from AGF

    A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday granted Lagos lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), the permission to apply for an order compelling the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Mohammed Adoke (SAN) to disclose information on the health status of ailing Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai.

    Justice Elvis Chukwu granted the permission when he ruled on an ex-parte motion Falana filed at the court.

    The Lagos lawyer sought an “order of mandamus” compelling the AGF to give information on the mental and physical health of the governor.

    The motion ex-parte was brought pursuant to Order 34, Rules 1 and 3 of the Federal High Court Rules 2009 and Section 20 of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2011.

    Justice Chukwu held that having gone through the processes that Falana filed, he was convinced that there was merit in them.

    He adjourned till September 16 the hearing of the substantive suit.

    In a supporting affidavit, Falana averred that his recourse to the court was informed by the AGF’s refusal to honour the request he made under the FoI Act, on August 27, for information on Suntai’s state of health.

    The frontline lawyer prayed the court to declare that the AGF’s refusal to accede to his request “is illegal and unconstitutional as it violates Section 3 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011”.

    He argued that by the provision of Section 1 of FoI Act, every Nigerian is entitled to access information in the custody or possession of any public official, agency or institution.

    Falana’s letter to the AGF reads: “Following the involvement of Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State in a plane crash in Yola on October 25, 2012, his Excellency arrived Nigeria on August 25, 2013, having undergone 10 months of treatment in Germany and the United States.

    “Barely a day after his return, a letter was delivered to the Taraba State House of Assembly, purportedly written by the governor, declaring his fitness and intention to resume office immediately.

    “In the letter written by the governor to the Assembly, he claimed to have fully recovered from the injuries he sustained in the October 25, 2012 plane crash without affording the public a copy of his medical report of mental and physical fitness.

    “Having confirmed that there is a medical report, we hereby request for information on the mental and physical fitness of the governor, as claimed in his letter to the House of Assembly.”

    Before adjourning the matter, Justice Chukwu, who is a vacation judge, expressed his intention to return the substantive suit to the court’s Chief Judge for a re-assignment to a regular court for hearing.

     

  • Suntai, Taraba and a party divided down the line

    The ‘return to work’ of Governor Danbaba Suntai which sparked crisis is only one out of the many challenges that have divided the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Taraba State. FANEN IHYONGO writes on the factions and the consequence that await the party in 2015 polls if the current political impasse is allowed to escalate.

     

     

    It was not his return to the country seeking to resume his duties as governor after undergoing treatment abroad for 10 months that divided the state neither was it the letter Governor Danbaba Suntai transmitted to the State House of Assembly informing the lawmakers of his purported resumption of duty that polarised the legislature. Even before his return on Sunday, August 25, from New York, United States of America from where he had his second leg of treatment, not only the House, but the entire state was already divided.

    Simmering crisis

    Before the October 25 air crash in which he was wounded while piloting the aircraft, Taraba was already in crisis. The PDP has been fractioned into two camps. The party has been living with the crisis and suffering from its self-inflicted wounds because of undemocratic tendencies under the umbrella.

    Suntai’s final return into the state only deepened the old cracks and reinvigorated the battle that has been going on in the state chapter. From the beginning there were two camps: Governor Suntai’s camp and Senator Aisha Alhassan’s faction. The governor and the senator representing Taraba north were the gladiators. The Alhassan faction was known for consistently opposing the policies of Suntai’s administration. When Suntai got involved in the air crash and was flown abroad, his camp gave birth to the Umar faction -what is now referred to as the UTC Camp.

    But now that Suntai and Umar are locked in the bitter battle of wit, the Alhassan faction has ensnared.

    Senator Alhassan has refused to back either Umar or Suntai because she also has the ambition to contest the governorship in 2015. The calculation is that if she takes sides with Umar, she will jeopardise her ambition since she and Umar hail from the same north senatorial district. Besides, the two are Muslims, and Umar been a man in the saddle of power may have an edge over her during the primaries. Alhassan will also not support Suntai because of the governor’s open secret to cede the 2015 governorship slot to south of the state.

    Alhassan has in her camp former PDP Chairman Alhaji Abdulmumini Vaki, she is also trying to reabsorb former Governor Jolly Nyame and Danladi Baido who defected to the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) during the April 2011 general elections back into the ruling party’s fold.

    For now, the battle on who steers the ship of Taraba is between the deputy governor and his boss. The House is divided into two; 16 lawmakers are for Umar while Suntai has eight.

    PDP has 22 of the 24 legislators while the remaining two were elected on the platform of the defunct CPC. Out of the 16 who are supporting Umar, 14 are PDP.

    The lawmakers backing Umar are Speaker Haruna Tsokwa (Takum I constituency), Deputy Speaker Tamko Adamu Maikarfi (Gassol I), Chief Whip Mohammed Gwampo (Yorro), Deputy Majority Leader Josiah Sabo Kente (Wukari I), Deputy Chief Whip Mohamed Umar (Gashaka), Minority Leader Ibrahim Imam (Jalingo I), Minority Whip Yahaya Abduraman (Gassol II) and Iratsi Daki (Ussa).

    Other pro-Umar lawmakers are: Rashia Abdullahi (Nguroje), Aminu Jalingo (Jalingo II), Emmanuel Dame (Ardo-Kola), John Bonzema (Zing), A. A. Jugulde (Gembu), Hamandama Abdullahi (Bali II), Abdulkarim Mohammed (Ibi) and Edward Baraya (Karim-Lamido II).

    The eight lawmakers -all PDP who are backing Suntai are: Majority Leader Joseph Albasu (Lau), Charles Maijankai (Karim-Lamido I), Istifanus Haruna Gbana (Donga), Abel Peter Diah (Mbamga), Daniel Ishaya Gani (Wukari II), Mark Useni (Takum II), Charles Ishaku Audu (Kurmi) and Gambo Maikudi (Bali I).

    Allegation of bribery

    Besides the allegation that the 16 lawmakers were bribed to the tune of N25million each, sources said the Speaker has been chosen to be Umar’s deputy if he becomes the substantive governor. The 16 rejected Suntai’s letter of return, saying he did not author it. They invited the governor to the House on the premise that he was voted into power for transparency, not to shroud his strength or frailty in the dark.

    The Majority Leader and his group have given Suntai the go-ahead to resume work, after he transmitted a letter to the House. The crisis became explosive.

    When the Senator Hope Uzodinnma’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fact-finding team ceded the running of the state to Umar, to act as governor while Suntai stays in the Government House, the Speaker and 15 other members hailed the deal. Playing the same script with Umar, the 16 lawmakers believe the governor is not yet fit to perform his constitutional duties and should, therefore, return to the United States of America to complete his rehabilitation.

    But the House Majority Leader and other seven lawmakers who are in support of Suntai rejected the resolution by the party, saying “the committee lacks the power to do so”.

    They want the matter to be settled as provided by the constitution. “We are miffed by Senator Hope Uzodinma’s dubious misadventure and a cocktail of contradictions which he clearly displayed at the end of the visit of the PDP fact finding committee to the state,” Albasu said.

    The majority of members of the dissolved state cabinet and other political appointees are rooting for Suntai to resume work. They, like the eight lawmakers, have proclaimed Suntai as physically and mentally sound to carry on as governor.

    Former Speaker Istifanus Haruna Gbana, with his deputy Abel Peter Diah and former Majority Leader Charles Maijankai were removed at the prompting of the deputy governor. So it is common knowledge that they will not back the deputy governor in the ensuing crisis.

    Five out of the seven commissioners: Iliya Wanapia (Finance), Emmanuel Bello (Information) Jonah Agyo (Works), Isa Musa (Poverty Alleviation), G. T. Kataps (Justice) and Augustine Katakata (Commerce and Industry) are pro-Suntai. For the records, Suntai appointed Katakata commissioner while the latter was on sick bed. He will not be against Suntai on health grounds.

    Alhaji Abdulhadi Haruna Lau (Social Welfare, Youth and Sports) Danfulani Kwetaka (Environment) are for Umar. Sources said Lau runs errand for the deputy governor.

    The former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Emmanuel Njiwah, five former commissioners and four advisers who were sacked by the deputy governor are supporting Suntai.

    The five commissioners and two advisers were sacked by Umar for allegedly mismanaging N400 million flood mitigating grant. The other two advisers: Tonyonga Binga (Education) and Joseph Magaji Tahwa (Rural Development) were sacked because, according Umar, their services were no longer required.

    The sacked commissioners: Mr. Anthony Jellason (Agriculture); Mr. Rabo Usman (Water Resources); Mr. Yakubu Agbaizo (Education); Jonah Agyo (Works) and Miss Christy Green (Women Affairs) as well as Joshua Augustine, Special Adviser on Revenue, and Manasseh Kaura, Special Adviser on Border Development are in support of Suntai. They have even sued the deputy governor and the leadership of the House headed by Speaker Tsokwa. Agbaizo is also with Suntai. He has proclaimed that the governor was grooming him quietly to grab the party’s governorship ticket.

    Former Commissioner for Health, Mustapha Hammangabdo, who was also indicted by the House report for allegedly feasting on the flood relief funds -although he resigned few hours before Umar’s axe- is behind the deputy governor. Source said he resigned on the advice of the deputy governor who promised to carry him along in the long run.

    The intrigues

    Among the other 18 Special Advisers, Adviser on Government Projects Orbee Uchir and the Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bashir Marafa who married a younger sister of Suntai’s wife are supporting the deputy governor. Marafa is contesting for the Senate in 2015 and stands a better chance if Suntai who also has ambition to run for senate in the Central zone is schemed out of power.

    Former SSG Garveh Yawe and Chief of Staff Ahmed Yusuf, appointed by Umar are in his support, while Mallam Aminu Jika, Suntai’s appointed Chief of Staff is pro-Suntai. The PDP State Chairman, Victor Bala and most of the ruling party’s officials are pro-Suntai. They were assisted by the governor to clinch their posts as party executives. Bala and most of his men are supporting Suntai to rotate power to the southern state.

    If a Christian governorship candidate emerges from the south, he will likely pick a Muslim deputy from the central zone. If the Majority Leader -Albasu – who is from the northern zone wins second term, he stands to benefit as Speaker in the 2015 political equation.

    In the National Assembly, Senator Abubakar Tutare is in support of Umar because he sees Suntai as a threat to his second term ambition. As an incumbent in the senate, he sees his chances brighter when he has only Marafa to contend with for the ticket.

    Senator Emmanuel Bwacha is behind Suntai. He hails from the southern zone and is considered as one of Suntai’s favourites in clinching the PDP governorship ticket for 2015 polls.

    For the six members of the House of Representatives (all PDP), Bawa Ishaka Mohammed (Ibi/Wukari), Jerry Manwe (Karim-Lamido/Lau/Ardo-Kola), Ibrahim Elsudi Tukur (Gashaka/Kurmi/Sardauna) and Sam Tsokwa (Donga/Ussa/Takum/Yangtu) are for Umar while Haruna Manu (Bali/Gassol) is for Suntai. Tsokwa believes that the success of Suntai would give Mark Useni (who is also running for Reps in 2015) the upper hand to grab the PDP ticket. Aminu Ibrahim Malle (Jalingo/Yorro/Zing) who is from the defunct CPC is also in support of Umar. The other House of Reps members have backed Umar based on religious sentiment.

    Salome Jankada and General Adamu Tubase Ibrahim (rtd) are for Umar. The two want the party’s ticket to contest the senate from Taraba south district.

    All the state’s 16 local council bosses including the coordinator of the Special Area -Yangtu are supporting Suntai. The ominous sign is that whichever group that wins the soul of the state will never trust the other. The consequence is that the cracks in the party will continue to widen until the party will finally disintegrate like a shell fallen from high grounds. Many members will leave en mass to the opposition.

    The Alhassan/Vaki state faction has pitched tent with Alhaji Kawu Baraje faction at the national level. They are protesting the exclusion of their faction from the recently-concluded national convention of the party in Abuja.

    The camp has been challenging the legitimacy of the election that brought Bala as Chairman of the party in Taraba. They want new congresses to be held and a new leadership to be formed in Taraba, even as they call for the removal of Bamanga Tukur as national chairman. Tukur is also accused by the Suntai camp of taking sides with Umar. Whichever way it goes the party is divided down the line.

     

  • Suntai: History repeating itself

    Many at times one may wonder why our so-called leaders take delight in clinging to power even to the point of death or when they are incapacitated. Once they get into power via questionable or unquestionable means, they would not want to cede it even when they are incapacitated as if it’s their business venture.

    The political charade in Taraba State is not a different one. The governor, Danfulani Suntai, who has brain damage owing to air mishap which occurred last year is yet to fully recover but sadly his stalwarts want to hijack the politics of the state by playing politics with his health. Little wonder his health status is yet to be divulged by his disciples. They want to establish politics by proxy.

    They now want to duplicate what happened during Yar’adua’s era. We are all familiar with how they played politics with the late president’s health challenge. When he was terribly ill, his health status was denied Nigerians even when he was flown abroad. To make it more dramatic, they tried to fool us by using somebody’s voice as his in a foreign media, feigning that he was recuperating. How funny! To fan more tension in the country, he was flown back into the country to avoid losing his seat in the dead of the night and his then vice president- Dr Goodluck Jonathan- was turned down when he made an attempt to see ailing boss on his return. The charade continued until life was snuffed out of him. Prior to his demise, it was believed that the then first lady navigated the ship of presidency; she decided who got what, when and how.

    As the political crisis in Taraba lingers, I am afraid to say that history is about to repeat itself except something urgently is done to salvage the situation. This is because following the decision of the house to elevate deputy governor, Garba Umar, since the ailing governor had been away since last year, the wife of the latter together with her disciples-Jonah Jang of Plateau State and others went and brought him back to stop the inauguration of the former, not minding his health status. To them it is obvious that his position is more important than his health.

    It is sad and sardonic that Suntai, whom they claim has fully recuperated and is fit to assume his duties as the Chief Executive Officer of the state could not alight from the aircraft himself without aid, let alone waving his hand to his anxious fans that came to welcome him or speak to the pressmen in the airport.

    I was amazed when I watched the clip of his alighting from the plane on arrival. His face looked as if he swallowed an office pin. One of his aides held him in the arm. To avoid further embarrassment, he was whisked away to the VIP lodge of the airport. They claimed that he was very tired and needed to rest.

    To convince the Assembly that he was fit to resume his duties, he fulfilled his constitutional obligation by writing to them. This was trailed with mixed reactions as regards the authenticity of the signature. To ascertain this, he was summoned by the ‘doubting Thomases’ of the house to come and address them after the delegates that were sent to pay him homage were turned down. This generated uproar as the cabal claimed that he had done what the constitution stipulated and there was no need to address the house. How crafty! Who is deceiving who?

    I give kudos to the recent response of the law makers to the ailing governor, that he is unfit and as such should go back to US to continue his treatment. That is how it ought to be-it should be premise on capability and not on compassionate ground else history might repeat itself.

    Emmanuel Onoja is a corps-member in Ibadan.

  • Suntai: Lawmakers reject Taraba deal

    Suntai: Lawmakers reject Taraba deal

    There is a twist to the Taraba State deal which ceded the running of the state to Deputy Governor Garba Umar, who is to act as governor as Governor Danbaba Suntai stays in the Government House.

    Monday’s announcement of the deal by the Senator Hope Uzodinnma Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fact-finding team was thought to have ended the political impasse sparked by SUntai’s arrival from a 10-month medical trip.

    .Uzodinma and his team, who were in Jalingo on Tuesday, also said Umar should be consulting Suntai before taking major decisions.

    Yesterday, some House of Assembly members rejected the decision. They accused the committee of taking sides and acting a script prepared by PDP National Chairman Bamanga Tukur.

    Majority Leader Joseph Albasu and seven others told reporters that they want “strict compliance with the provisions of the constitution.”

    The other lawmakers are: Charles Maijankai, Istifanus Haruna Gbana, Abel Peter Diah, Daniel Ishaya Gani, Mark Useni, Charles Ishaku Audu and Gambo Maikudi.

    The lawmakers asked Taraba people and the public to disregard the Uzodinma committee’s pronouncement. “The committee lacks the power to do so,” Albasu said.

    The eight lawmakers are also asking President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that the matter is settled as provided by the constitution.

    “We are miffed by Senator Hope Uzodinma’s dubious misadventure and a cocktail of contradictions which he clearly displayed yesterday (Tuesday) at the end of the visit of the PDP fact finding committee to the state,” Albasu said.

    He noted that Uzodinma’s “hurriedly contrived solutions” to the constitutional crisis in Taraba had plunged the state into more confusion than it had been.

    The lawmakers said a member of the PDP committee, Ahmed Gulak, had quoted President Jonathan as saying “the Taraba issue is a constitutional matter”.

    Albasu faulted the panel for even visiting Suntai in the hospital in the U.S. when an injunction granted by the court restrained them from doing so.

    He wondered why Uzodinma, who breached court orders and went to visit the governor in New York and said he was impressed with the governor’s recovery is now ordering Suntai to go back to the hospital.

    Albasu said Section 190(2) of the constitution only requires the governor to transmit a letter to the House. “Such a letter is not subject to debate by the House,” he said.

    The lawmakers said the deputy governor flew with the Uzodinma team from Abuja. “On arrival, they held a closed-door meeting at the Executive Lounge of the Jalingo Airport. Then, they went straight to the Executive Chambers and were about to commence their business before realising that they ought to have seen the governor.”

    Albasu said Uzodinma even said the governor was hale and hearty and needed not to go to the market square for people to know that he was fine. “But in what is now the most dubious thing to happen to democracy in Nigeria, Uzodinma announced a power sharing arrangement that Suntai should be a ceremonial head while his deputy should effectively be in charge.

    “This is totally unconstitutional and a design to benefit Umar in his relentless quest to unseat his boss who was democratically elected by overwhelming Tarabans.”

    The lawmakers said the Uzodinma panel brought lawmakers that are not from PDP to the parley. They also accused the acting governor of mobilising a crowd that was opposed to Suntai to the meeting.

    “The court order which restrains the committee has not been set aside; as such the committee has no legal basis to act on the Taraba crisis.

    “We want to state that the solution to the leadership crisis of Taraba lies in the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

    “It portends great danger, if sensitive constitutional matters of this nature are handled with political manipulation or whims and caprices of certain individuals or groups.”

    The lawmakers are praying the court to decide on the letter Suntai transmitted to the House that enmeshed in “orchestrated controversies”.

    Speaker Haruna Tsokwa told The Nation that the eight lawmakers were expressing the view of the minority in the House. To him, “legislative function is a game of numbers; 16 of us signed that it should be so.

    “When the PDP Fact-Finding Committee came, they met with the leadership of the House and the Majority Leader was there; when they reached the agreement, they didn’t say anything;, when the PDP panel was issuing a statement, they didn’t say anything, today, they are coming out with a different view.”

    Tsokwa said the interest of Taraba supersedes individual interest.

    “We have Taraba at heart, and what we want is peace. That is why the PDP committee came to resolve the matter,” he said.

  • Suntai’s deputy to run Taraba

    Suntai’s deputy to run Taraba

    Taraba State Deputy Governor Garba Umar will continue to act as governor, it was resolved yesterday.

    Governor Danbaba will remain in the Government House.

    The state lapsed into a crisis following Suntai’s arrival from the United States where he was undergoing therapy.

    The governor, a pilot, was injured on October 25, last year when a plane he flew crashed in Yola, Adamawa State.

    Suntai transmitted a letter to the House of Assembly and assumed office, but the acting governor and majority of the House of Assembly members rejected the letter, which they claimed was not written by Suntai, who they alleged was unfit to take charge.

    But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Fact-Finding Committee on Suntai’s health condition facilitated the peace yesterday.

    Members of the committee, headed by Senator Hope Uzodima, were in Jalingo, the state capital.

    Other members of the committee are: Political Adviser to the President Ahmed Gulak, new PDP National Treasurer Alhaji Buhari Bala; Special Adviser to PDP Chairman on INEC and Interparty Affairs, Kabir Mohammed; SSA to Tukur on Political Affairs Abubakar Dada; SSA on NDDC Richard King; and a member of the Advisory Committee of PDP and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) board member, Mrs. Bolajoko Doherty.

    The committee visited the recuperating governor.

    The team then held talks with key stakeholders at the Government House Executive Chambers.

    At the meeting were: Umar, the governor’s wife Hajiya Hauwa Suntai, Speaker Haruna Tsokwa, Senators Emmanuel Bwacha and Abubakar Tutare, members of House of Representatives – Ishaka Bawa, Aminu Male, Jerry Manwe, Ibrahim Elsudi Tukur and a former Minister of Youth Development, Mrs. Salome Jankada, among others.

    At the end of the meeting, the deputy governor was affirmed as the Acting Governor of the state.

    Uzodima said: “The political impasse has been resolved by all the stakeholders”.

    He said the acting governor will from time-to-time consult Governor Suntai on major political issues “while he (Suntai) recuperates”.

    The acting governor thanked President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, for sending the committee to settle the crisis.

    “Taraba is one”, he said adding: “All of us were witnesses to the fact that a week ago there were insinuations here and there about Taraba. In fact, Taraba became a household name in the country.

    “But today, we thank God that all our differences have been solved and we are one.

    “It was agreed that I will handle the affairs of the state until my principal (Suntai) is able to come back and resume duty as our governor.

    “And in doing this, I will be consulting my boss while performing the functions of the acting governor.”

    He promised to consult with him on the choice of members of the new state executive council to be constituted.

    The other terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

     

  • Nine lawmakers pass motion against Suntai

    Nine lawmakers pass motion against Suntai

    TARABA State’s race to anarchy gathered more speed yesterday.

    The House of Assembly passed a resolution empowering Deputy Governor Garba Umar to continue as acting governor.

    It said its decision was an adoption of its executive session of August 29, which mandated the acting governor to continue running the state.

    Only nine of the 24 members of the House attended the “special plenary”.

    Sixteen members of the House last week rejected the letter transmitted by Governor Danbaba Suntai, saying the acting governor should remain in charge.

    Deputy Speaker Tanko Maikarfi, who presided over the session, said it was convened to adopt the last executive session.

    But he did not explain the absence of the other members of the G16. Speaker Haruna Tsogwa was away in Abuja.

    After reading a copy of the resolution, Aminu Umar (PDP-Jalingo II) moved a motion for its adoption. It was seconded by Mr Mohammed Gayam (PDP-Gashaka).

    The deputy speaker called for a voice vote and the members unanimously voted in favour of the resolution.

    Maikarfi then directed the Clerk of the House to communicate the resolution to the acting governor.

    Deputy Clerk Mr Mellah Ongu said nine of the 24 member-legislature had formed a quorum.

    But the eight members who backed Suntai last week stood their ground – that Suntai transmitted a letter and had resumed work.

    Mark Useni (Takum II) said what the nine members did was not a plenary but a “town hall meeting”.

    He said the legislative calendar closed last Wednesday. The calendar was adopted by a two-thirds majority of the members.

    Said Usein: “We were supposed to have closed last Wednesday and be in recess; only that the Speaker ran away.

    “As far as legislative business is concerned, what was done in the House today (yesterday) is a useless business.

    “We don’t adopt announcements in the House. The business of the legislature is done through resolutions and law making –by motions and debates and not as they did today (yesterday) when the members read from a press statement.

    “In the House, we move motions, adopt them and deliberate on the instruments before us.

    “What the nine members did yesterday was not plenary but more of a town hall meeting”.

    Useni noted that it would still be illegal and unconstitutional even if all the House members hold plenary to stop Suntai from resuming work.

    “We (the eight members) insist on constitutional compliance. Governor Danbaba Suntai returned and transmitted a letter. He has resumed work,” he said.

    Also yesterday, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) said it was prepared to inaugurate a board to investigate Suntai’s fitness.

    NMA President Dr. Osahon Enabulele, said the association was willing to offer its support. He advised concerned parties to adhere to the provisions of the constitution.

    “The NMA is very prepared to make available its expert members who are professionals in various fields of medicine to constitute a medical board to resolve the lingering question of the medical fitness of the governor and any other public or political office holder,” the communiqué of the NMA conference, signed by Secretary General, Dr. Akpufuoma Pemu, said.

     

  • Suntai and the gilt cage

    Suntai and the gilt cage

    Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, embattled governor of Taraba State, is happily locked in a gilt cage. But those trying to prise him from that golden prison don’t necessarily boast a better moral hue.

    Both sides are power warriors, who subscribe to the same rotten values. If you doubt, relive the odyssey of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Vice President Jonathan was high victim of the Yar’ Adua cabal. That earned him high national sympathy. Yet, the victim as president has not exactly balked at erecting his own cabal.

    Indeed, the difference between the Yar’Adua Katsina cabal and the Jonathan Ijaw cabal, vis-a-vis Jonathan’s presidential emergence and his plot for an encore in 2015, is just a stark exchange of roles. In pole positions, both sides would dagger justice with absolutely no qualms.

    So, will it be with the Taraba power tussle, whichever side of the divide, between Governor Suntai and Deputy Governor Garba Umar, gains ascendancy.

    That stark reality puts the moral purists in the media and seething purists in the legal high streets, the likes of the irrepressible Femi Falana, SAN, who always literally flies off the handle at the whiff of any constitutional infraction, in a no-win situation.

    Yesterday, they were banging their heads against the wall for Jonathan, the arch-victim. But how is Jonathan himself turning out? Today, they are fighting for the latest crusader-saints on the block, the tag team of Deputy Governor Umar and Taraba Speaker Haruna Tsokwa. But is there any guarantee the pair would tomorrow not turn the latest constitutional daemons?

    So, then: good people should fold their arms? Hell, no! It is just that they are condemned to fighting the same battles, and crowning yesterday’s victims as tomorrow’s devils. So, maybe it is time to quit getting excited over symptoms and digging deep for the root cause. No sane law works on insane sociology.

    Indeed, the Nigerian power code is stark – stark to the point of hopelessness: where there is power, there is no honour; where there is honour, there is no power. It doesn’t get any grimmer for a country that needs all its talents to break free; yet boasts a power vicious cycle that throws up hustlers and racketeers!

    All the cacophony of protest from the media and from purist lawyers is helpless voices from the fringe. In the vortex of state, the power lunatics are not only in government, they are also in power!

    That brings the discourse to a suggestion that President Jonathan intervene in the Taraba show. To be sure, that is no bad counsel. But legally, what can he do that the 1999 Constitution, as amended, has not done, if the ground rule of political engagement is good faith?

    Good faith! That challenges the president’s own track record, after his odyssey, which the current Taraba box office monster hit seems uncannily cut after.

    True, the Yar’ Adua cabal, with the presidential widow, Turai Yar’Adua, reportedly playing a lead role in its high tension power game, was a constitutional affront. Yet, in retrospect, it knew what it was up against: a power ethos with absolutely no honour.

    If you lost power, you lost everything – even power rotary agreements signed in black-and-white! The cabal’s method? Prevention is better than cure – and if the Constitution got slaughtered along the way, too bad!

    Still, its illegal “prevention” collapsed under the weight of national outrage. And the cabal is living its worst fears: no “cure” for its loss. Yar’ Adua is dead and buried. Interred with his bones is the worthless rotation agreement the North still clutches in moral rage!

    Meanwhile, the arch-victim of yesterday, the president, canters ahead on the same unconscionable power horse. The same people that balked at the Yar’ Adua cabal, and are now balking at the putative Taraba cabal, lost their moral outrage when Jonathan, after finishing Yar’ Adua’s term, insisted on having a full term of his own – which he is having – and is busy plotting a second term, even if his party explodes in the process! And all these without giving a damn about the deep hurt of the cheated!

    So, what advice might the president give the Taraba gladiators? That they should stick by principles, as he himself has done? Or give assurance that the Suntai bloc’s interest would be protected even if Deputy Governor Umar became accidental governor, as he himself protected the interest of the Yar’ Adua bloc, after becoming accidental president?

    O, the recourse to crass legalism in defence – constitutional right to run, Nigeria needs “national”, not ethnic leaders, and allied cant! But while politically correct legalism, with its empty fullness, could truncate politically incorrect argument, it has proved no Deus-ex-machina to living problems like lack of political fairness, ethnic domination, religious chauvinism, minority rights and allied fears.

    True, in a normal constitutional republic, Sections 189 and 190 of the 1999 Constitution ought to have led to seamless transition of power in Taraba. By Section 190, the letter by Governor Suntai that he is back and ready for work should have sufficed. That is what the law prescribes. But even the most doting of his friends know he is not.

    To make matters worse, he sacked his cabinet to pre-empt the trigger of Section 189 (1) (a), which empowers the executive council to declare the governor, on account of ill health, incapable of performing his duty. A medical board would now confirm or demur (Section 189 (1) (b); Section 189 (4)). That was power cynicism at its worst – and from a governor mortally struggling with his health!

    But in a festival of bad faith, the Taraba Assembly also over-reached itself in its purported “rejection” of the governor’s letter; and re-crowning Deputy Governor Umar as Acting Governor. It has no such powers under the law. Even more grotesque is the Deputy Governor’s counter-instruction that the governor’s dissolution of his cabinet is void. At the end of the day, except his side wins, Umar would lose more than his office as deputy-governor.

    Suntai could well be the face of a Christian lobby, scared stiff at a possible loss of power, in a state hinged on delicate Christian-Muslim divide: majority Christians with a sizeable Muslim population. It is the very opposite of Kaduna: Muslim majority, with a sizeable Christian population.

    Umar, perhaps, is the face of a Muslim lobby, salivating at the rare chance of producing the top dog. Should Umar become accidental governor and, like Jonathan after completing Suntai’s term, insist on his “constitutional right” to run on his own, that would be a fait accompli – unless, of course, his party loses at the polls.

    These would appear the fears driving the Taraba stand-off. In such a titanic primordial tussle, there are neither constitutional saints nor sinners; only smart alec pawns deploying the Constitution to angle for group supremacy.

    That is why Suntai would fight to the finish, even at the risk of his life; and Umar no less, at the risk of political death.

  • Address the Assembly or go back for medication, lawyers tell Suntai

    Address the Assembly or go back for medication, lawyers tell Suntai

    It is 10 days since the return of Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai. Contrary to expecta tions, the situation in the state is getting worrisome by the day. The House of Assembly has asked Suntai to go back to the United States to continue with his treatment until he is fit to take over his office as governor.  The Speaker, Haruna Tsokwa, said the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar, should continue to act until the governor is fit.

    Suntai arrived in Nigeria two Sundays ago from Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Centre and Home, New York, where he had been recuperating, having been moved there from the German hospital he was flown to after the multiple injuries he received in the October 25, 2012 plane crash at Yola Airport. He spent four months in the New York hospital. He had earlier spent about six months in the German Hospital, bringing his stay outside the country for medical treatment to 10 months.

    The governor, a pilot, flew the ill-fated Cessna 208. With him in the aircraft were his Aide de Camp (ADC), Iliya Dasat, Chief Detail, Joel Danladi and Chief Security Officer (CSO), Tino Dangana, all of whom have recovered from the injuries sustained in the crash and returned to the country.  While in Germany, it was reported that the governor had brain-damage from the severe injuries he sustained in the head in the crash. It was reported then that Suntai may not be able to function effectively again as governor because it would take some time for him to fully recover and return to the country.  The report generated a lot of controversy but the state government refuted it and insisted that Suntai was not brain-damaged. He was actually responding positively and very fast to treatment, it said.

    The governor arrived in the country by a chartered aircraft, a Gulf Stream Jet belonging to Shell Air. He was assisted to disembark from the plane by three men and later driven straight from the tarmac to the VIP lounge of the Yola International Airport. None of the  reporters who thronged the airport, anxious for a good interview with him, was allowed access to him. Suntai, from his picture taken at the airport on the day of arrival and published in the dailies, looked frail and was expressionless contrary to the mood and excitement that greeted his arrival. The pictures in the dailies showed him with a raised hand as if waving but reports said he was not really doing that.

    Two days after his arrival, Suntai was reported to have transmitted a letter to the Taraba State House of Assembly intimating them of his desire to resume duty. In reply, the assembly members asked him to appear before it to enable them decide on his request. Instead of accepting the invitation of the state assembly, the governor in a broadcast to the state, announced the dissolution of the state executive council and appointed a former Commissioner for Justice, Timothy Katap as new Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and Alhaji Aminu Jika as Chief of Staff, Government  House.

    From the day he was involved in the plane crash on October 25 last year, up till the time he arrived the country and to date, Governor Suntai has been enmeshed in one controversy or the other, which continues to put the state in a political logjam.

    Barely 24 hours after Suntai addressed the people of the state through a recorded video that lasted less than three minutes, the state assembly advised the governor to return to US hospital for further treatment until he is fit and proper to govern the state.

    The speaker, Haruna Tsokwa and 15 other legislators, asked the Deputy Governor to continue in office as governor in acting capacity. The Majority leader, Joseph Albasu, however opposed the decision saying the governor was fit to take over his office. Albasu said that they saw the governor in New york and had conversation with him upon his return and that he is sound enough to resume work. Albasu said the governor has fulfilled the provision of the constitution, having written the house to express his desire to resume work. To him, the governor does not have to address the house to determine his fitness as this isunconstitutional.  But the speaker, Haruna Tsokwa insisted that Suntai must appear on the floor of the house and speak to the law makers. In the alternative, some principal officers must go to talk to him. The Coalition of Taraba Youth Movement in Jalingo also want the governor to address the house. “The state is in a  state of confusion because the people do not know what to believe”, they said.   The speaker alleged that Suntai’s wife, Hauwa, blocked some officials that made an initial attempt to see him. He told journalists that from the manner the governor spoke, when they were finally allowed to see him by his aides who initially rebuffed them, they doubted if he actually wrote the letter in which the governor purportedly wrote and indicated his desire to resume work. They doubted if the signature on the letter was actually that of Suntai. In a statement, the 15 lawmakers who have taken a position on the matter, said that the governor is not fit and should go back for recuperation in New York. The statement read in part, “ We the undersigned members of the state assembly have unanimously resolved in our meeting that the deputy governnor, upon whom power was earlier transmitted by the state house of assembly still remains the acting governor of Taraba state and he will continue until such a time the governor is capable of administering the state”, they stated.

    The legislators include Deputy speaker, Tanko Maikafi; Chief Whip, Mohammed Gwampo, Deputy Minorty leader, Josiah    Kente. Others are Deputy Chief Whip, Mohammed Umar, Minorty whip, Yahya Abdulrahman, Iratsi Daki, Rashida Abdullahi, Aminu Umar, Emmanuel Dame, Jonathan Bonzema, Dr. Abubakar Jugulde, Hamman Abdullahi,   Abdulkarim Mohammed and Edward Baraya. But Emmanue Bello, a former Commissioner for Information and an aide to Suntai, said the action of the lawmakers was null and void and a figment of their imagination stressing that the lawmakers do not have the constitutional power to do what they did.  “So what they have done is unconstitutional”. To him, “only medical experts can determine the state of health of a person. He  said Suntai read, writes and sign documents.

    Bello questioned the criteria used by the lawmakers in arriving at their decision on whether or not the governor is fit for office as they are not medical experts.

    He said that as long as the law makers do not subject Suntai to medical checks, they are not in position to say he was not fit to govern the state.

    But based on  the decision of the state assembly, the deputy governor, Garba Umar has  continued in office by announcing to the people of the state to disregard the dissolution of the executive             by Suntai.

    The return of the governor of Taraba after 10 months that he has been away for medical treatment and his desire to assume office and govern the state has raised a lot of fundamental and constitutional issues.

    Some believe the provision of the constitution should guide the development in the state, they likened the situation to what Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State did when he came back from overseas where he had gone to receive treatment. He wrote the house of his readiness to resume work in line with the constitution. But some pundits differ, they asked whether it would be appropriate to rigidly apply the constitution given the present state of the governor. To this latter group, the situation in Taraba was likened to what Nigeria went through when the late President Yar’ Adua was brought back to the country and the governance of the country was being done by proxy. This group believed that the people of Taraba state should not be subjected to that kind of experience.

    In all of this, what is the position of the constitution on the manner of how an ailing governor should come back to duty? Who determines the fitness of a governor to resume duty? What is the way forward in Taraba? These are the questions begging for answers.

     

    Lawyers’ reaction:

    Constitutional lawyers who are versed in the the law are united on the controversy surrounding the state of health of the governor and his desire to return to office and other issues.

    The umbrella body of Lawyers in the country, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) posited that  the best thing is for Governor Suntai to address the House of Assembly if he is indeed healthy enough to resume duties.

    The NBA, through its President, Okey Wali (SAN), said the controversy over the governor’s health status was capable of creating constitutional and political crisis in the state. He  said reports that there are “pseudo-governors” in Taraba should be cleared once and for all to restore the people’s faith in governance.

    Activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) said a “political cabal” may have hijacked governance in Taraba State. He alleged that ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai could not have written the letter sent to the House of Assembly on his readiness to resume official duties and consequently has petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation,Mohammed Adoke (SAN), the Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar and the Speaker, Taraba House, Haruna Tsokwa, urging them to investigate and make public the true state of Suntai’s health.

    Falana said his petition to Adoke was based on the Freedom of Information Act.

    On why he wrote the petitions, Falana said: “Unfortunately, another political cabal has emerged in Taraba State to cause confusion and to deny the ailing governor the opportunity to have himself fully treated.

    “He’s been brought back to the country to achieve certain selfish political interests that have further endangered the health of the governor.

    “He’s not in a position, from the information at my disposal, to write a letter, to compose a letter, to sign a letter and to send the letter to the House of Assembly of Taraba State.

    “Hence, I’ve sent a petition to the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the circumstances surrounding the writing of that letter.

    “I have also sent another one to the Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly to set up a committee to investigate     the health     situation of the governor.

    “Based on information that the Presidency or the Federal Government has information on the true state of health of the governor, I have sent a petition to the Attorney-General of the Federation under the Freedom of Information Act to make available to me and to the Nigerian people the state of health of the governor so that the citizens of Taraba State can be properly governed in line with the Constitution.”

    Falana said if Suntai was healthy enough to resume his duties, he should have met with his deputy and the Speaker for a full briefing on how the state fared in his absence.

    “It is very dangerous for us that this culture of impunity has continued unchecked.

    “If the governor has recovered, and is prepared to resume his duties since Sunday, he should have appeared in his office, attending to his files; he should have allowed the deputy governor to brief him on how he has run the state since he has been away.

    “He should have met with the speaker to find out what the House has done, but to keep him away from all the relevant officials and agencies of state is not acceptable.

    “And for some people to be running the show, and signing a letter purportedly signed by the governor should not be tolerated in any decent society, having regard to what this country went through when the late President Umar Yar’Adua was similarly brought back to the country.

    “It was the same way the then Vice-President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan was shielded away. The Senate President, the Speaker of the House – all of them were not allowed to even visit President Yar’Adua. And it’s been done now in Taraba State.

    “The relevant officials that should invoke the Constitutional provisions are not allowed access to the governor. It should not be tolerated”, he added.

    Lagos lawyer activist, Ikechukwu Ikeji noted that there are genuine concerns about the ailing governor’s real state of health. There were also doubts that the said letter of resumption from Suntai did not emanate from him in his truly conscious self, with members of the House insinuating that the governor does not have the presence of mind and body to have written the letter and that it is a proxy who wrote it.

    “The fear is that the governor may be governing through proxies and this in itself is unknown to the Constitution. A tidier line of action would have been that Governor Suntai’s aides make public the doctor’s report declaring him fit to do his work. “Permanent incapacity does not mean permanency of the condition but inability to work. In my view, the Suntai I have seen on television is unable to function as governor both mentally and physically. He is frail, unstable and has difficulty of speech. It is most unfair for people around him to force governance on him when he should be resting and recuperating. This is my quarrel with the situation. The point has to be made that the ‘’state of health’’ of our elected officials should be public information,” he said.

    Ikeji said if the intention of asking Governor Suntai to address them is to approve his resuming to his position, the Assembly does not have such power under the Constitution. But in terms of appropriateness, I submit that the Assembly is right in asking him to address them because there is genuine concern that he is not fit to resume.

    “What we see happening is governing by proxy and this is not envisaged by the Constitution. Governor Suntai should continue with his recuperation and allow the Deputy Governor to continue acting until he is fully fit to face the exertions of daily governance and meetings required of the office. Whenever he is fully fit, he can simply take over his position without fuss from any quarter. The Acting Governor, at least from the surface, has shown that he is not unduly desperate to become substantive Governor. If he had such ambition in an inordinate manner, he had the power all this while to have dissolved the executive council, rightly or wrongly, and appointed his own people who would then easily come under Section 189 of the Constitution as amended to declare Suntai permanently incapacitated to function as Governor and thereby kickstart the process of medical examination by a panel of five experienced medical practitioners to determine the true state of health of Suntai,” he added.

    Constitutional lawyer, Mr Fred Agbaje supported  the position of the law makers that the governor should go back to New York to continue with his treatment.

    He said: ”The lawmakers are correct in insisting that Suntai go back to hospital to continue with his treatment. They are the ones on ground, and they know the truth that the governor is not medically fit , that he is not the same Suntai they used to know.”

    The situation in Taraba, Agbaje noted, is a “recap of the Turai-Yar’Adua case of a few years ago. I think Nigerians and Tarabans have learnt their lessons and don’t want a repeat of that episode. If he goes on TV with his picture by proxy to address the people of the state whereas he is not fit, he would have succeeded in doing what I called civilian treachery and is invariably causing damage to the fabric of the constitution,” Agbaje said .

     

    The way forward for Taraba

    Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN) said a medical report is critical to resolving the political logjam in Taraba. He said the authorities in Taraba need to get the appropriate medical report to determine if the governor is fit or not.

    Akinjide also cited the role the constitution has to play in the matter. “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,” he said.

    Another lawyer Kayode Ajulo counselled the speaker to institute a five-man medical team to determine the fitness of the governor. Citing Section 189(4a) and (4b), he said the speaker has the power to set up such panel in a case where the governor is showing unfitness of sorts.

    Constitutional lawyer, Mr Fred Agbaje also suggested the need for a medical approach to the matter on hand. “My advice is that a medical panel consisting of five medical personnel, one of which must be the personal physician of governor Suntai, be constituted to examine him to determine if he is fit to govern the state. When the panel decides whether he is fit or not, the matter will be resolved,” he said.

    Agbaje further said there is adequate provision in the constitution in Section 189 of the amended constitution to solve the situation.

    To the NBA, the only option is for the governor to speak directly to the assembly members and not by proxy. “The governor should address the House of Assembly. If he does not address the House, then it means he is not there”, said Okey Wali.

    For Falana, the way out is for Suntai to meet with his deputy and the Speaker for a full briefing on how the state fared in his absence if he was healthy enough to resume his duties.

    Ikeji  remarked that the health of Governor Suntai is pivotal and that any resolution, short term or long term, should address his true state of health. He said that a blind and rigid interpretation of the Constitution can only lead to chaos in Taraba State.

    He challenged Suntai’s handlers to make public his certified true state of health provided by qualified medical personnel.

    He said governor Suntai and the people around him should douse the tension by proving him fit and capable, health-wise, to be governor.”

    He can do this by presenting himself to the State House of Assembly as was requested of him by the House in addition to subjecting himself to an independent transparent medical examination by an esteemed team of medical practitioners to ascertain his true state of health.

    Indeed, this is an appropriate time to test the Freedom of Information Act since Suntai’s state of health ought to be public.

     

  • Suntai: Not always about the law

    Suntai: Not always about the law

    Nearly 10 days after, I have sought in vain to locate the lacuna in the 1999 Constitution as amended on which those behind the contrived crisis in Jalingo can sufficiently stake their case. Not only does the issue seem so cut and dried that required no invocation of the doctrine of necessity; that we are at this point is partly explained by our boundless tolerance of political delinquency and the ingrained culture of impunity that has metastasised beyond measure.

    Now, I have heard some people describe the arrival of Governor Danbaba Suntai first in Abuja and later in Jalingo last week as a public relations disaster. I consider that an understatement. Clearly, those who though very little of dragging the man through the motions of that ‘feigned consciousness’ have helped in no small measure to confirm our fears of how serious the incapacitation of Taraba’s chief of state is. Vegetative state may appear too strong to describe the man as we saw him on TV being brought down from the aircraft; nothing of his appearance – including his laboured address on TV (which could have been staged anyway) – presented him as anything near the fit-as-the fiddle individual that his hordes of supporters claim he is.

    So, the man is back? No one argues that the individual brought down from the aircraft on August 25 is Danbaba Suntai. However, it must be disappointing for the throng gathered to welcome their governor, both at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, and at Jalingo Airport, that the man who alighted from the aircraft looked pathetic, worn and lost after 10 months of medical sojourn in German and United States hospitals. Contrary to the high drama of his return, he certainly didn’t cut the picture of someone eager to return to his desks in months!

    It is therefore understandable that those who scripted his return would seek a dramatic way to prove that their man is alive and well. Never mind that their principal could only take a fraction of three minutes of broadcast time to thank the people of the state for their prayers, support and understanding; he apparently had just enough reservoir of energy left subsequent to transmit a letter to the state legislature intimating them of his return to his duty post after 10 months of absence! And all of these barely 24 hours after his return!

    But that is not anything near the Thursday’s overdrive – the order purportedly issued under the name of the governor dissolving the state executive council, an exercise that also swept away the Secretary to the State Government and the Chief of Staff both of whom were summarily replaced with new hands.

    Was the apparently shell-shocked lawmakers right to have insisted on having the governor address them at plenary as pre-condition for returning to his desk? Or even the more dramatic step of countermanding all the steps taken by the governor, and reaffirming Alhaji Garba Umar as the acting Governor only on the strength of their doubts which from all appearance looks well founded?

    The answer to the first question is that the constitution is unambiguous about its provision on a returnee governor: a letter transmitted to the legislature is what is provided for. Much as the House would seek public understanding for what it considers a well-intentioned move, their doubts about the fitness of the governor to continue in office would certainly not be resolved by any steps taken outside of the law. The exception is if the House can prove that the letter was a forgery – an impossible task.

    The other step of reversing the steps taken by the governor is not only ridiculous but an invitation to anarchy. While the governor remains in town, how does the House back up its resolve to keep the acting governor in charge? And what happens in case of contradictory orders from the executive branch?

    What the Taraba farce does, just like the Umaru Yar’Adua tragedy, is present the nation with a Hobson choice, neither of which is desirable. No matter how one looks at it, the idea of a cabal –acting in proxy and purporting to be at the behest of the legitimate authority whose decision-making power appears impaired – is obviously beyond the contemplation of the constitution. But then, there is also the danger of indecent haste by constitutional do-gooders to assume the powers they clearly lack under an assumed exigency particularly when such steps end up subverting the same institutions they are supposed to make work.

    I did not think that we had a grave constitutional problem in 2010 anymore than the actors in the Taraba drama can today claim difficulties in interpreting the relevant provisions. What we had was human problem – what I often describe as the delinquent antics of the operators of our laws. In 2010, it took the invocation of a superfluous doctrine of necessity to transfer executive powers from the terminally-ill President Yar’Adua to President Goodluck Jonathan when the Federal Executive Council could have acted promptly to stave off the looming constitutional crisis. The same failures are playing out in Taraba today.

    The summary of course is that the option available to the Taraba House is rather limited in the circumstance. To be sure, that option does not include power to reject the letter from the governor informing the house of his return to office. The power to determine the governor’s state of health resides with the executive council of the state. That power is exercised under Section 190 of the Constitution as amended. Surely, the House could have done better by working with the executive council, or, if it so chooses, proceed with impeachment.

    That leads me to the final point – the decline in the standards of public conduct and morality. I think that we have invested too much energy in the laws without commensurate attention to values in public conduct. It seems to me that the only enduring lesson from the Yar’Adua and Suntai saga is how those serving in executive positions are unrepentantly beholden to their principals as against their sworn public duty. A good way to start with their re-orientation is to remind them of the oaths they swore at inception of office. At the moment, it does not seem that many appreciate the weight of those sworn declarations. Time to bring them to their attention.