The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Taraba Assembly

  • JUST IN: Taraba Assembly speaker, 15 others defect to APC from PDP

    JUST IN: Taraba Assembly speaker, 15 others defect to APC from PDP

    Members of the Taraba State House of Assembly elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have defected from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Among the defectors is the Speaker of the House, John Kizito, who read the letters from each of the lawmakers, all indicating their decision to leave the PDP and switch allegiance to the APC.

    The defection, according to the members, was because of the prolonged crisis in the PDP at the national level and the need to align with the centre for federal presence in Taraba.

    The defection is in the wake of the intention of the State Governor, Agbu Kefas, to join the APC on Wednesday, November 19, 2025.

    With the defection, all 24 members of the state assembly are now on the platform of the APC.

  • Taraba Assembly resolves 27-year-old chieftaincy tussle

    Taraba Assembly resolves 27-year-old chieftaincy tussle

    The Taraba State House of Assembly has passed into law the “Establishment of One Rotational First Class Chief and Three Third Class Chiefs Bill, 2024”, for the Takum local government area, thereby settling the decades-old tussle for the Ukwe Takum stool.

    The Bill titled: “A Bill for a Law to Provide for the Establishment of One Rotational First Class Chief and Three Third Class Chiefs in Takum among the tribes of Kuteb, Chamba, and Jukun Takum respectively, and Other Matters Connected Therewith 2024.”

    Governor Agbu Kefas had earlier in the week sent an Executive Bill to the House seeking the establishment of one rotational first-class chief and three third-class chiefs in Takum.

    In a plenary session held under a makeshift arrangement, the chairman of the House Committee on Local Government, Traditional and Chieftaincy Affairs, Peter Diah, said the House considered the general principles of the Bill and after an exhaustive debate it was referred to the Committee for further legislative action

    According to him, several stakeholders submitted their memoranda which include: The Taraba State Council of Chiefs, Ministry of Justice, Bureau for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria, Tiv Cultural and Social Association, Taraba State, Jukun Takum, TEKAN/ECWA, NCWS Taraba State, Chamba Takum, Kuteb Youths of Nigeria, Ukwe Takum Royal Palace, Jibu Ruling House under Jukun Takum and Jalingo Development Foundation.

    Read Also: PDP’s Tafida wins Taraba Reps seat

    According to him, of all the stakeholders, only Kuteb Yatso of Nigeria, Ukwe Takum Royal Palace, Kuteb Youths of Nigeria and NCWS Taraba State, opposed the Bill citing “an attempt to deprive the Kuteb race of their inheritance as they consider the Ukwe stool as their exclusive preserve”.

    After stating their observations, the Committee, therefore, made their recommendations which include: that “the appointment of the Chief of Takum shall be among the three (3) third Class Chiefs and shall be on rotational basis provided that no any 3rd Class Chief shall be appointed twice if any of the other 3rd class chiefs has not been so appointed to the office of the Chief of Takum.

    “Where the Governor approves the nomination of any 3rd Class Chief to be appointed as the Chief of Takum, the ruling family from which such a nominee was drawn, shall nominate a replacement within three (3) days”.

    After laying the report, Diah further elaborated on the report. According to him, the committee saw the need to unite the three tribes of Takum for peace to reign.

    He recalled that a similar thing had happened on the Mambilla Plateau, explaining that this was the only way to have peace in Takum.

    During the debate, a member representing Takum 1 in the state Assembly, Abubakar Tanko, said for the past 28 years, attempts had been made to implement reports concerning the stool which did not work, and that there was a need to try something else to bring peace.

    For Member, representing the Ussa constituency, Joshua Rikupki, though the Bill will bring about accommodation, the House must replicate what it has done should it happen elsewhere in the future.

    The plenary session which was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Hamman Adama Abdullahi, therefore resolved to pass the Bill into Law and a draft copy to be forwarded to the governor for his assent.

  • Taraba Assembly empowers Danladi to act as governor

    Taraba Assembly empowers Danladi to act as governor

    The Taraba State House of Assembly on Monday empowered the Deputy Governor Abubakar Sani Danladi, who was reinstated by the Supreme Court on Friday, to act as governor.

    The Assembly which also sworn in a new Speaker Mark Useni, said “the empowerment of sacked acting governor Garba Umar on November 14, 2012 stands for Danladi, since according to the Supreme Court, Danladi remains the deputy governor.”

    Majority Leader, Joseph Albasu, who moved the motion said since Governor Danbaba Suntai was still recuperating from the injuries he sustained in the plane crash of October 25, 2012, Danladi should be declared as acting governor.

  • Supreme Court reinstates sacked Taraba deputy governor

    Supreme Court reinstates sacked Taraba deputy governor

    … Acting governor to vacate office

    The Supreme Court has sacked the Deputy Governor (who is the Acting Governor) of Taraba State, Garba Umar, on the ground that the process leading to the impeachment of his predecessor, Sani Abubakar Danladi was unconstitutional.

    The court voided Danladi’s impeachment and ordered that he be reinstated.

    Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, who read the lead judgment of a seven-man panel that held an appeal by Danladi, upheld his (the appellant’s) argument that he was not accorded fair hearing by the panel that investigated the allegations against him and found him guilty of gross misconduct.

    Danladi, in the appeal marked: SC 418/2013 had prayed the court to set aside the earlier decisions by the Court of Appeal, Yola and the Taraba State High Court, which affirmed his impeachment.

    Danladi was impeached by the state’s House of Assembly on October 4, 2012 on ground of gross misconduct. He had accused the now ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai of influencing the legislators’ action.

    He challenged the impeachment at the state’s High Court, but the court in its judgment of March 19, 2013 upheld the impeachment. He went before the Court of Appeal, Yola, which equally upheld the impeachment in its judgment of July 19, 2013, prompting Danladi to approach the Supreme Court.

     

     

  • Taraba Assembly crack deepens

    Taraba Assembly crack deepens

    The division in the Taraba State House of Assembly deepened yesterday. Eight of the 24 members boycotted a sitting where a vote of confidence in Acting Governor Garba Umar was passed.

    Sixteen members, referred to as the G-16 or the pro-UTC, passed a vote of confidence in Umar, saying he (Umar) has maintained peace, provided security and executed infrastructural projects started by his ailing boss, Governor Danbaba Suntai.

    The G-16, led by the Speaker, Josiah Kente, said: “Umar has remained focused and maturely handled the functions of his office, despite distractions by enemies of the state. He has maintained a cordial relationship between  the legislature and the executive arms of government.”

    The motion for the vote of confidence was moved by Mohammed Abdulkarim (Ibi Constituency).

    No member of the G-8, known to be pro-Suntai, was present.

    The G-8 said the G-16 passed the vote of confidence in Umar because “they are expecting election funds from the acting governor”.

    A G-8 member said both groups were in court over the constitutional crisis rocking the state.

    He said Taraba owes over N13 billion under Umar’s leadership, which he described as “illegal”.

    The lawmaker said: “Whenever they (G-16) do something like this, the deputy governor has promised them money. Umar has promised to give them money for the forthcoming elections; that is why they are passing a vote of confidence in the man.

    “Otherwise, the state’s treasury is now empty to the tune of N13 billion, how can you pass a vote of confidence in the man steering the affairs of such a state?”

  • Suntai’s suit referred to Appeal Court

    Suntai’s suit referred to Appeal Court

    The High Court in Jalingo –the Taraba State capital on Monday referred the case filed by Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai against the Speaker Haruna Tsokwa and the state House of Assembly to the Court of Appeal for “guidance and direction.”

    Suntai, through his lead counsel, Alex Izinyon (SAN), is praying the court to interpret Section 190(2) in relation to the letter he transmitted to the Assembly on August 26 on his readiness to resume duty but was turned down by the lawmakers, who said he must appear on the floor of the House and address them.

    The defendants are seeking referral of the case to appeal court, on grounds that the interpretation of section 190(2) has never attracted any judicial interpretation.

    In his ruling, Justice Ali Andeyangtu, said there was need to refer the matter to a higher court for judicial pronouncement that would become a reference point, owing to the “importance of the case to Taraba people.”

    “Transferring the case to the court of appeal is pertinent because no previous judicial pronouncement has been made on this section of the constitution in the country,” he said.

    The judge, however, noted that “the matter requires the application and interpretation of section 190(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.”

    Section 190(2) talks about transmission of letter and resumption of duty by a governor.

    The plaintiff and the defendants had asked the court, three weeks ago, to allow them settle their dispute out of court but were unable to reach compromise within the time given by the court.