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Tag: Suntai

  • So Suntai is back

    So Suntai is back

    Taraba state in north eastern Nigeria is one of those rural states that offer natural attraction as a peaceful place to live. Surrounded by Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau and Benue states and sharing Nigeria’s international border with Cameroon, Taraba is hardly in the (national) news, not for lack of nothing to report about the state but simply because there are too many much more important things happening in the region competing for national attention pushing events in the state down the pecking order in most newsrooms across the country.

    But that seems not to be the situation any longer following the surprise arrival on the scene penultimate Sunday of ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai after a 10-month medical holiday, first in a German hospital and later in another hospital in the United States.

    Governor Suntai, you may recall was involved in an aircraft crash last October as he was piloting a small jet towards the international airport in Yola, capital of neighbouring Adamawa state. He almost lost his life in the accident and is alive today simply due to the grace of God and the miracle called modern medical science.

    But while many Nigerians, especially his constituents are happy and grateful to God for sparing his life, Suntai, it does appear, is stretching his luck too far judging by the kind of activities he has engaged himself in since he was helped off the aircraft on arrival in Nigeria on August 25.

    The governor, evidently still very ill, is not content with looking after his ill-health and has been dabbling into the delicate and dirty politics of Taraba with the likely consequence of deepening the crises that have engulfed the state since that ill-fated flight to Yola. After a few months lull following the media frenzy that attended the aircraft crash, Taraba is back in the news and as it was then, for the wrong reasons.

    The man wants to take back the reign of government from his deputy, the acting governor, Garba Umar, who had been in charge since the accident. Nothing wrong with that you may say, but a lot is, considering the fact that Governor Danbaba Suntai, on the evidence of the pathetic picture of him being helped out of the aircraft on arrival and his hardly audible two-minute-plus video message to Tarabans last week, is not healthy enough to run the affairs of the state. Anybody saying anything to the contrary is definitely not being honest with the people. And until there is a verifiable and transparent medical assessment of his current situation any order or action purportedly taken by him stands the risk of being disregarded and thus plunge the state further into more political crises.

    Already the acting governor has called on the public to ignore Suntai’s dissolution of the executive council and appointment of a new Secretary to the State Government and Chief of Staff in the government house. The divided state House of Assembly had equally called on Garba Umar to continue as acting governor and urged Suntai to return to his hospital bed in the United States for proper treatment, promising him a return to his seat once he is medically fit to discharge his duties. The man or rather those around him whose political and economic survival depends on his seemingly remaining in charge, is not ready to give in and is digging deep to consolidate his hold on power even at the detriment of Taraba state. This is sad.

    Already the uncertainty this has created is beginning to get to the government’s bankers some of whom are reportedly rejecting transactions done by the acting governor. Though the government has denied this, the impression out there is that of a divided administration and this does not bode well for the state especially with the countdown to the 2015 general elections drawing closer. And that seems to be the cause of the impasse in Taraba state. With a dominant Christian population, Taraba has, not surprisingly, been producing a Christian as governor since the return of democracy in 1999 and the trend which has been designed to continue in 2015 now seems to be threatened except Suntai remains in charge. There is the fear that with Umar in charge in the run up to the 2015 polls, the role may be reversed and a Muslim in the saddle. This, to those fanning the embers of religious division in the state will be against their selfish interest. This is the crux of the matter and the main reason the cabal behind Suntai would rather have on the governor’s seat rather than his deputy, even when not fit.

    The question is where and how is the interest of the generality of the people of Taraba being served under this cold calculation of these grabbers of power? Does it really make any different whether a Muslim or Christian is in power in Taraba or any other state in Nigeria? What difference would it make if the Nigerian President were to be a Christian or Muslim? This was the religious card being played in Kaduna state before until we had late Governor Yakowa, a Christian and the heavens did not fall.

    It is about time we outgrow this kind of stupid sentiments and elect those who would serve the best interest of the people. Governor Suntai, if he loves himself and his constituents should not succumb to pressures from this cabal whose only interest is what they can profit from his governorship. He should without delay submit himself to a verifiable medical examination to determine the true state of his health. The Nigerian Medical Association has offered to do this for him. If he is not fit enough to rule, as it seems obvious, then he should not force himself on Taraba.

     

  • Settle in the interest of Taraba – APC

    Settle in the interest of Taraba – APC

    Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba State, Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya, on Monday advised Governor Danbaba Suntai and his deputy Alhaji Garba Umar to settle their political differences in the interest of Taraba people, for the state to move forward.

    Ikenya was governorship candidate on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the April 2011 general election.

    He spoke to The Nation on Monday, while reacting to the political impasse in the state.

    Suntai returned into the state penultimate Sunday, after spending 10 months in Germany and the United States treating the injuries he sustained when a plane he flew crashed near Yola, Adamawa State on October 25 last year.

    His return to work polarised the state when he dissolved cabinet and his deputy countered it.

    Ikenya said the state is in crisis because those behind Suntai and Umar do not consider themselves as functionaries of one government.

    “If they consider themselves as one government, they would have settled their problem in the state quietly instead of dancing naked in the market square”, he said.

    He said Umar wants to take over so that he would secure an automatic ticket in the Peoples Democratic Party to contest the 2015 governorship election. While Suntai’s people particularly from the southern zone want him to continue so that he will relinquish power to them in 2015.

    He described players in the ensuing crisis as “desperate politicians who forget that power comes from God.”

     

  • The Suntai dance of shame

    SIR: The Suntai dance of shame has since thrown up a host of commentaries, a congregation of views, and a line-up of various legal and political combatants, all arrayed on either side of the conversational divide. The people of Taraba, who ordinarily should be the main issue, are shut out of the conversation, condemned to the sideline, where they have always been.

    It is needless excavating how Governor Danbaba Suntai came to find himself in this mess. Our concern therefore would be restricted to the events since Sunday, August 25, when Gov. Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State arrived aboard a chartered aircraft, after 10 months of medical treatment abroad following his October 25, 2012 plane crash.

    Then the governor appeared from the aircraft and the whole story was told. A certain hand appeared to have been raised by the ailing governor, who from close observation looked like a man staring absentmindedly, and then the said hand came down. That was all, and the man was whisked away, perhaps to rescue whatever was left of the whole arrangement from collapsing totally into tiny irretrievable pieces. Since then, its been one shenanigan after the other. A strange letter was later followed by a strange video, while Taraba State remained in the vice-like grip of desperate power merchants, who would do anything to survive.

    Having noted the solidarity of the Governor’s supporters, and the energy with which they have pursued their cause, the constitutionality or otherwise of Gov. Danbaba Suntai’s purported return to office via a letter, has been the biggest issue in the entire drama. Again the Constitutional Jurisprudence of our democracy is being invoked, as the Daniel that must necessarily and with alacrity come to judge, if we are to make some sense of out of something that should be a matter of simple commonsense.

    Section 190 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) As Amended, provides that, “Whenever the Governor transmits to the Speaker of the House of Assembly a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to the Speaker of the House of Assembly a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Deputy Governor as Acting Governor.”

    Suntai fulfilled the first part of this provision, when he was about to leave for medical treatment abroad about 10 months ago. To this extent, the reasonable expectation would have been for the other part to follow, the moment the encumbrance which occasioned his sending-in the first letter to the House of Assembly is discharged. The big question is, has that encumbrance being discharged?

    Proponents of the ailing Governor and legal minds alike have argued that since the Governor has fulfilled the second part of Section 190, which simply requests him to transmit a letter to the Speaker, that is all that is required of him, and the Constitution simply asks for no more.

    It is my submission that Section 190 of the Constitution, is not created to simply be an avenue of exchange of letters, or differently put, as a sort of letter-writing exercise. Every provision of the Constitution, by way of interpretation, has both the connotative import and the denotative intention. Under Section 190, it is the phrase, “Unable to discharge the functions of his office”, that necessarily precedes the transmitting of a letter, without which; there would have been no need to transmit a letter in the first place. Flowing from this, the necessary wisdom that cascades to the end of this provision is that another letter cannot be transmitted to the Speaker by the Governor, stating his intention to return to office, if the encumbrance that made him unable to discharge the functions of his office at the time he transmitted the first letter still subsists.

    Simply put, the letters of the provision of Section 190 is that which deals with the procedure for transmitting of the letter signifying the Governor’s request to return to office, however, the spirit of that provision, which is more potent than its letters, and which captures the whole essence of the provision, is one that runs with a deeper expectation that such a letter is ONLY transmitted when the Governor is not only seen, but is manifestly seen to be able to discharge the functions of his office.

    • Olusola Adegbite, Esq. Faculty of Law,

    Obafemi Awolowo University,

    Ile-Ife.

  • The comic tragedy in Taraba

    The comic tragedy in Taraba

    Suntai has passed all the tests given to him, yet, the legislators say he must go!

    Nigerians who have been wondering that something must be wrong with us as a people simply because Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State returned to the country, seeking to resume his duties as governor after undergoing treatment abroad for 10 months apparently do not know what they are saying. They say the man is too frail to govern, given the impression they caught of him in the newspapers on Monday. Whatever gave them that impression? Are they doctors? Have they not heard that appearance could be deceptive? How did they expect a man that returned to the country only the day before, after about 12 hours air travel, to look? Those of us who have been to the airports at all know that it is no mean task undergoing such a long journey. Unfortunately, most of those analysing the situation have never been to the airports before; not to talk of travel by air.

    Our teenage stowaway, Daniel Ihekhina, even knows better, having travelled in the wheel compartment of Arik Air flight on August 24 for about 35 minutes without paying a dime! At least he now has an idea of how it is to fly. If he wasn’t as exasperated as His Excellency after his trip from Benin to Lagos, couldn’t that have been a function of his age and the short duration of his trip, compared to His Excellency’s. At any rate, has it ever dawned on those saying Suntai is unfit to govern that His Excellency could have been playing a stunt at the airport? How can anyone in his right senses ever suggest that the man needed ‘human crutches’ to alight from the aircraft as if he was some load carelessly placed on a bench that could easily fall off?

    Such people must have forgotten that there is nothing new under the sun; and that there is nowhere people don’t pack fowls at night. What has Suntai done that is new? He has only taken after the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. What is wrong in a man leaving a place to go treat himself and returning after he feels he is well, or when he feels his position is threatened? Those who think Suntai cannot return to his desk must have forgotten too that when Yar’Adua was confronted with the same situation, his aides told Nigerians that he could rule from Saudi Arabia; indeed from anywhere under or over the sun.

    Madam Suntai and his (Suntai’s) handlers have not taken things to such a ridiculous extent. Rather, the man is here body and soul. They say he has not talked since he returned. The constitution does not say a governor must talk after returning from such a journey; it only requests that he transmits a message to that effect to the state house of assembly. At any rate, it is not even true that the governor has not talked since he returned; newspapers reported on Tuesday that he answered ‘Amen, Amen’ even if in low tones, when Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako visited him last Monday. When they see that the excuse that the governor is not talking is not flying, they say they have not seen him since his return. Again, is that important? Should they not be satisfied that Madam Suntai who is licensed to see the governor inside out is giving them a blow-by-blow account of how ‘oga at the top’ in the state is faring in the bedroom of power? Anyway, which of all these is a constitutional requirement?

    Now, imagine the man they say is unfit to govern; the same man has just dissolved his cabinet! If it is true that the governor could not respond to stimuli after 10 months’ treatment abroad, how come he was able to know that the entire pack was unproductive? Even if you insist that he was briefed only after his return, it still takes some soundness of mind to comprehend such briefing. Can an infirm governor do such a thing in our kind of country? This is a thing that even governors and presidents that are thought to be fit shy away from because of the political backlash. I won’t be surprised that Suntai’s enemies will also latch on to this and say that he could only have done this less than 72 hours after returning from his medical trip because he is not of a sound mind. Now, what use is a sound mind that cannot fire an entire cabinet if that cabinet is suffering diminishing returns?

    And, in case you are still in doubt that the governor is as fit as a fiddle, it was reported that he spoke briefly on video on Wednesday, four days after returning from his medical sojourn He also reportedly met with the legislators that had insisted he must address them if truly he is still capable to govern. As a matter of fact, we were told he called their names without mixing them up! If you are one of those saying Suntai did not perform even when he had no medical challenge, what you may not understand is that there are people like that: who spring a surprise when people have written them off. Suppose Governor Suntai is one of such persons?

    Honestly, we should be fair to His Excellency. In spite of all he has done to convince especially the state legislators that the plane crash has not reduced him to a vegetable; they are not in any mood to listen. Such is life; no matter what you do to such people whose minds are made up, they don’t listen. If you like buy mansions for them, they won’t budge; if you buy exotic cars for them, they still would not yield. The only thing that can satisfy them is to yield ground to them. But Governor Suntai should forgive all those who have been wishing him evil. He is even lucky his case is not like that of the First Lady whose property some of her aides had sold off when she had a medical challenge a few months ago. Quite magnanimously, she has forgiven those who thought she would not return alive. If the First Lady could do that, why not Governor Suntai? Such detractors may know not what they are doing.

    Certainly, there are certain things the constitution never envisaged. One of them is that a governor/pilot would crash an aircraft, and thus did not make provision for how to handle such situation. But how many women in Madam Suntai’s shoes would want to let go that easily? Baba ta ni ise wu? (Who loves poverty?)If in spite of all I have said you still feel I have confused, rather than convince you about the indispensability of Gov Suntai, or you still see what is unfolding in Taraba State as shenanigans, or you are still asking the foolish question as to why we are like this, that, according to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, na your toro (that’s your business).

    What many of us do not know is that people who had been governor since they were in the womb cannot be denied that right simply on account of an ailment that has held them down for only 10 months. What is 10 months in the life of a state where the life of the state chief executive is the issue? And, who says a state cannot be grounded on account of such an insignificant occurrence?

    But Nigeria is probably the only place where a governor has to subject himself to this kind of ridicule just to remain in power. We are all living witnesses to ‘Yar’Adua Part 1’. Now, ‘Yar’Adua Part Two’ (as someone said on the internet) is unfolding before our eyes. What I know however is that when you have not seen ‘The END’ after watching a movie, then, that movie has not ended. Certainly, we have not seen the end of the show of shame in Taraba. What I dub ‘The Suntai show’.

  • Suntai to Tukur: respect the constitution

    Suntai to Tukur: respect the constitution

    Taraba State governor, Danbaba Suntai, yesterday asked the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to adhere strictly to the provisions of the constitution in his intervention into the crisis between him and his deputy, Alhaji Garba Umar.

    In a statement by the former Commissioner of Information, Emmanuel Bello, Suntai asked Tukur to avoid personal sentiments in the reconciliatory effort.

    According to him: “The National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, should respect the Nigerian constitution.

    “As he moves to wade into the Taraba crisis, he must make the nation’s constitution his guide”.

    He added: “The speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, Haruna Tsokwa, has said he is not interested in what the constitution provides.

    “In his rejection of suntai’s letter transmitted, he keeps saying as far as he is concerned, he is entrenching a strange thing in our national life.

    “I believe he hasn’t read the constitution. If he has, he doesn’t understand its provision”.

    Suntai warned against any attempts to take sides in the crisis, saying: “if Tukur takes side in the ongoing imbroglio, we shall vehemently resist him.

    “We also deny in the harshest terms Tukur’s assertions that Suntai is running a government by proxy”.

    Suntai accused Umar of attempting to run a parallel government, saying he is wrong to reverse the dissolution of the cabinet.

     

  • Taraba crisis: Lawmaker urges Taraba Assembly to impeach Suntai

    THE deputy whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rotimi Abiru, has urged the Taraba State House of Assembly to immediately commence the impeachment process of the indisposed governor of the state, Danbaba Suntai.

    Speaking in a telephone chat with The Nation, Abiru declared that since the governor from all indications is incapacitated and unfit to continue to run the affairs of the state, he must be removed by the House of Assembly.

    The lawmaker while expressed surprising at the dissolution of the Taraba State cabinet by Suntai said, “This is a man that just returned after being hospitalised for about ten months and while people are still having doubts about his ability and fitness to continue as the governor of the state, the next thing he could think of is to dissolve a cabinet that has been running the affairs of the state since he became incapacitated.

    “These people in his absence were praying for his quick recovery, but now that he has returned, he could not even address the state to say ‘thank you’. I call on the state House of Assembly should immediately commence his impeachment process if he fails to address the state before the end of the week. If they fail to do what is right, they should have it at the back of their minds that posterity will judge them.”

     

  • How Suntai can bounce back, by medical expert

    How Suntai can bounce back, by medical expert

    This man is so severely, mentally incapacitated that he may just have become a child all over again. Learnt he was taciturn even before his accident. He is just lucky to be alive. He needs to have serious Nigerian Medical staff to manage his occupational therapy; Reason being that the brain is such a wonderful organ that can be manipulated to do what we want.

    The essence of having Nigerian staff is that they will re-orientate him to the environment he is familiar with. I bet if I was the one working with him, I would have been showing him all the pictures of those assembly members, such that he would have fooled them when he came home.

    I will talk to him and make him learn or rather practise being a governor again. It is a lot of hard work, but it’s worth it. Watching those useless movies from Nollywood will not be a bad idea either. It will trigger his memory since we are manipulating nature to do what has been lost to the dead brain cells from the accident.

    It takes only 3-6 minutes for brain cells to die without adequate perfusion. He was at the accident scene for a while, more than two hours before he was evacuated to Yola and then Abuja. He must have lost a lot of neural cells.

    Did you see the front of his head, cranium? You will see that laterally, he had a half moon incision. I am sure that was where they opened up his head for craniotomy to manage his swelling brain. Otherwise, since the cranium is some bony cage, if there is no outlet for a swelling brain, it will get to a point that the cranium will be too small for it and the patient will just expire. That is the essence of craniotomy. Craniotomy plus Mannitol will do the trick.

    His recovery will drag out if he continues to use Oyibo occupational therapists. The reason is that they do not know his environment, his culture and traditions. Therefore, they will manage him based on their own environment. I wish medical experts can talk to the wife, but they are going to be her enemy in her warped mind for telling the truth.

     

  • From Yar’Adua to Suntai

    From Yar’Adua to Suntai

    Deputy Editor, Olayinka Oyegbile, writes on the link between the Taraba crisis and the late Yar’Adua’s sick drama, wondering why we must allow a repeat.

    Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac – Henry Kissinger

     

    History, that veritable subject, which those who draw our school curriculum have decided to chuck out of our school system, is about to repeat itself, this time around in Taraba State.

    Why is it that Nigeria is a country in which those in power decide to cling to it no matter what assails them? The drama going on in Taraba is too soon for anyone not to have learnt any lesson. Was it not in this country a few years back that we had a president who was so sick that it would have been better for him to abdicate power and attend to his health than cling on to it to his own peril?

    It was clear that the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was no longer able to have any control over his health. However, those close to him and who profit from his ill health were determined not to allow their “pot of soup”, if you excuse that term, to go. They knew that if he was not there they would never be able to feather their nests because a new person would come with his new friends, hangers on and favourites.

    At the end of the day, they ferried the man back home under the cover of darkness and were determined to hole him up there until God said it was all over. Now, because we failed to learn from history the same thing is playing itself out in Taraba State.

    Why are those surrounding Governor Danbaba Suntai bent on making him go through the stress of administering a state when it is crystal clear that he has no state of mind to do so? Is it not a case of them not wanting their “pot of soup” taken away from them because power is like a revolving door, you are either in or out. You can never be in-between.

    The power behind

    Women are known to be powers behind the throne and in this ugly and macabre dance in Taraba, what role is Hauwa, the wife of the governor playing? Is it not good for her to have sought guidance and knowledge from Mrs Turai Yar’Adua? Would the former First Lady not have been of good assistance to her to let her know that there is abundant life after power? I am sure she would have given her the benefit of her own hindsight to let her know that those who are trying to wail more than her do not love her husband more than her. They are only interested in their own selfish gains.

    I am still trying to fathom what Mrs Suntai thinks she is going to gain by allowing herself to join the band of those fair weather friends who corralled her to agree to bring her frail husband home when in actual fact it is clear that he cannot, at least under his present state of health, withstand the rigours his office demands. Or is there anything the court jesters are trying to let us know? Is it that occupying an office in Nigeria does not in any way demand any stress or effort?

    Why are people always afraid to leave the corridors of power? Years ago in Cameroun, former President Ahmadu Ahidjo gave up power when he was advised by a team of doctors that he could no longer cope with the strain. The same thing happened a few years back when the fiery Fidel Castro of Cuba ceded power to his younger brother. Today, Castro is still alive and his brother is presiding over the affairs of the country. Ahidjo lived for several years before he died.

    So, why are the jesters surrounding Suntai trying to force a man who is clearly under lots of personal trauma cling unto power till he drops dead?

     

  • Suntai’s men plot to impeach Acting Governor

    Suntai’s men plot to impeach Acting Governor

    The crisis in Taraba State might worsen following the alleged plot to remove the Acting Governor of the state, Alhaji Garba Umar.

    But a pressure group, Taraba Justice Forum, yesterday pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the constitutional challenge facing the state.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that loyalists of Governor Danbaba Suntai have perfected plans to remove the Acting Governor.

    It was learnt that the pro-Suntai men have been alleging that Umar is disloyal to his principal.

    They also claimed that the Acting Governor had lobbied the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some forces in the presidency to remove the governor.

    Suntai’s loyalists alleged that were it not for security implications of Umar’s lobbying, the presidency almost conceded to his agitation.

    They accused Umar of voting for Governor David Jang during the election of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to earn the confidence of the presidency to become the governor of Taraba State.

    A top source said: “There is a plan to remove the Acting Governor. Some loyalists of Suntai are already going about to influence members of the state House of Assembly to impeach Umar.

    “Their main grouse is that Umar is disloyal. In one of their meetings, one of those aggrieved said: “Can you imagine that the man had only N48, 000 in his account when he was appointed a deputy governor? Now he wants to be governor; we won’t allow it. I think he should be the one to go.

    “Some of them are trying to introduce ethnic and religious sentiments to impeach Umar. Their first target now is to hijack the House of Assembly from the control of the Speaker, Haruna Tsokwa.”

    It was learnt that another set of Suntai’s supporters are aggrieved that “Umar allegedly backed Jang during the the NGF crisis to enable the House of Assembly to invoke Section 189 of the 1999 constitution to declare Suntai permanently incapacitated.”

    But pro-Umar supporters have faulted the position of Suntai’s sympathizers.

    A source in the Umar camp said: “For 10 months, the Acting Governor refused to move into the Government House and he was still using his office. Is that an ambitious person?

    “Apart from paying a get-well visit to Suntai, he made sure that the state government footed the medical bill of the governor.

    “Suntai’s loyalists can crosscheck from the presidency whether Umar betrayed his boss in any manner whatsoever. They are complaining that he sacked some members of the executive. What should he do if things were wrong?”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “We are aware of a plot to remove Umar so that he won’t take over from Suntai, if he is incapacitated.

    “I think they want to remove Umar before declaring Suntai unfit as a governor. They have a game plan.”

    On its part, the Taraba Justice Forum last night asked President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the crisis.

    The group, which made the demand in a statement by its General Secretary, Barrister John Ambulus, said the presidential intervention was necessary to avoid implosion.”

    The statement said: “Mr. President, please intervene now before the impending chaos and implosion. The National Assembly, act now so that you won’t have to take over the Taraba State House of Assembly later.

    “Taraba State House of Assembly, remain steadfast on the path of truth; see the process to conclusion. Section 190 of the Constitution cannot be a cover for illegality.”

    The forum insisted that the Taraba State House of Assembly acted legally by rejecting Suntai’s letter of resumption.

    The forum added: “We again use this medium to affirm that the Taraba State House of Assembly acted within the letters and spirit of the constitution by their rejection of the purported letter of resumption of duty allegedly sent by the governor and their resolution calling on the governor to proceed on medical vacation.

    ”Section 190 is inferior to many sections of the constitution which affirm that sovereignty rests with the people, the citizens. Section 190 is not superior to the powers of the legislature to oversight activities of the executive and apply removal option if sufficient evidence is collated.

    “Specifically, nothing can remove powers of the legislature to investigate and act as provided for in Section 128 of the constitution.

    ”We commend the magnanimity of the lawmakers who, after seen the governor, were moved to tears and choose to ask him to go on medical leave.

    “We note the sense of patriotism and good judgment of Taraba caucus of the National Assembly who have also endorsed decisions so far taken by the Taraba State House of Assembly.

    ”It is time for the immediate family of the governor to stop the cabal from further using their man as political bargaining chip.

    “It is inhuman and unfair to the governor who is not in control of his life.

    ”We also salute the courage and good judgment of the PDP leadership for setting up a committee earlier on and for promising to intervene before the situation degenerates further.

    “Lastly, we call on the acting governor, Garba Umar, to continue to act with caution and high sense of integrity while offering total support to Suntai in this difficult period.”

  • Suntai’s men plot to impeach Acting Governor

    The crisis in Taraba State might worsen following the alleged plot to remove the Acting Governor of the state, Alhaji Garba Umar.

    But a pressure group, Taraba Justice Forum, yesterday pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the constitutional challenge facing the state.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that loyalists of Governor Danbaba Suntai have perfected plans to remove the Acting Governor.

    It was learnt that the pro-Suntai men have been alleging that Umar is disloyal to his principal.

    They also claimed that the Acting Governor had lobbied the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some forces in the presidency to remove the governor.

    Suntai’s loyalists alleged that were it not for security implications of Umar’s lobbying, the presidency almost conceded to his agitation.

    They accused Umar of voting for Governor David Jang during the election of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to earn the confidence of the presidency to become the governor of Taraba State.

    A top source said: “There is a plan to remove the Acting Governor. Some loyalists of Suntai are already going about to influence members of the state House of Assembly to impeach Umar.

    “Their main grouse is that Umar is disloyal. In one of their meetings, one of those aggrieved said: “Can you imagine that the man had only N48, 000 in his account when he was appointed a deputy governor? Now he wants to be governor; we won’t allow it. I think he should be the one to go.

    “Some of them are trying to introduce ethnic and religious sentiments to impeach Umar. Their first target now is to hijack the House of Assembly from the control of the Speaker, Haruna Tsokwa.”

    It was learnt that another set of Suntai’s supporters are aggrieved that “Umar allegedly backed Jang during the the NGF crisis to enable the House of Assembly to invoke Section 189 of the 1999 constitution to declare Suntai permanently incapacitated.”

    But pro-Umar supporters have faulted the position of Suntai’s sympathizers.

    A source in the Umar camp said: “For 10 months, the Acting Governor refused to move into the Government House and he was still using his office. Is that an ambitious person?

    “Apart from paying a get-well visit to Suntai, he made sure that the state government footed the medical bill of the governor.

    “Suntai’s loyalists can crosscheck from the presidency whether Umar betrayed his boss in any manner whatsoever. They are complaining that he sacked some members of the executive. What should he do if things were wrong?”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “We are aware of a plot to remove Umar so that he won’t take over from Suntai, if he is incapacitated.

    “I think they want to remove Umar before declaring Suntai unfit as a governor. They have a game plan.”

    On its part, the Taraba Justice Forum last night asked President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the crisis.

    The group, which made the demand in a statement by its General Secretary, Barrister John Ambulus, said the presidential intervention was necessary to avoid implosion.”

    The statement said: “Mr. President, please intervene now before the impending chaos and implosion. The National Assembly, act now so that you won’t have to take over the Taraba State House of Assembly later.

    “Taraba State House of Assembly, remain steadfast on the path of truth; see the process to conclusion. Section 190 of the Constitution cannot be a cover for illegality.”

    The forum insisted that the Taraba State House of Assembly acted legally by rejecting Suntai’s letter of resumption.

    The forum added: “We again use this medium to affirm that the Taraba State House of Assembly acted within the letters and spirit of the constitution by their rejection of the purported letter of resumption of duty allegedly sent by the governor and their resolution calling on the governor to proceed on medical vacation.

    ”Section 190 is inferior to many sections of the constitution which affirm that sovereignty rests with the people, the citizens. Section 190 is not superior to the powers of the legislature to oversight activities of the executive and apply removal option if sufficient evidence is collated.

    “Specifically, nothing can remove powers of the legislature to investigate and act as provided for in Section 128 of the constitution.

    ”We commend the magnanimity of the lawmakers who, after seen the governor, were moved to tears and choose to ask him to go on medical leave.

    “We note the sense of patriotism and good judgment of Taraba caucus of the National Assembly who have also endorsed decisions so far taken by the Taraba State House of Assembly.

    ”It is time for the immediate family of the governor to stop the cabal from further using their man as political bargaining chip.

    “It is inhuman and unfair to the governor who is not in control of his life.

    ”We also salute the courage and good judgment of the PDP leadership for setting up a committee earlier on and for promising to intervene before the situation degenerates further.

    “Lastly, we call on the acting governor, Garba Umar, to continue to act with caution and high sense of integrity while offering total support to Suntai in this difficult period.”