There was a mild drama in the Taraba
State House of Assembly on Monday as nine of its members rose from a
brief plenary reiterating their earlier rejection of the letter
transmitted to the assembly by Governor Danbaba Suntai that he had
resumed work.
The nine legislators were among the 16,
who had on Thursday asked Suntai to go back to a United States
hospital for further treatment and allow his deputy, Alhaji Garba
Umar, to continue to run the state in acting capacity.
Six lawmakers who were part of the 16
did not participate in the sitting done without the mace. The plenary
was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Tanko Makarfi, in the
absence of the Speaker, Mr. Haruna Tsokwa, who had yet to return from
Abuja where he attended the Peoples Democratic Party mini-convention.
However, the Majority Leader, Mr.
Joseph Abasu, said that other members of the assembly would respond
fully to the development on Tuesday (today).
“We have resolved that we will not talk
until tomorrow (Tuesday). We just came back from Abuja and we are trying
to gather our facts before saying anything,”Abasu said.
But another member of the assembly, Mr.
Mark Useni, described the plenary as a ruse. He said the assembly was
supposed to have ended its legislative calendar last Wednesday, but
could not because the speaker was nowhere to be found.
Useni said, “Taraba House of Assembly
was supposed to end the current legislative calendar on Wednesday, but
was not officially closed because the Speaker who was to close the
calendar was absent. The closure was supposed to be backed by two-thirds
of the assembly and if there should be any extension, it should still
be approved by two-thirds of the assembly. So their so-called plenary
is a ruse. We were even told that they read from a prepared speech.”
However, the Chief of Staff to the
Governor, Mr. Aminu Jika, has dismissed a rumour that Suntai had
travelled out of the state to continue his treatment.
Jika, who spoke with our correspondent
in Jos, Plateau State on Monday, said the governor was in Jalingo and
that the letter to the assembly still subsisted.
The Chief of Staff said, “There is only
one governor in Taraba State. There can never be a governor and an
acting governor in any state. It is an insult to even assume and claim
that. Somebody is wrong somewhere and I think sooner than later, it
will be sorted out.
“I see my boss on a daily basis and his
improvement has been wonderful. Since he was taken to Germany and from
there to the US after the plane crash , it has been a wonderful story
and we thank God for that. “Yesterday (Sunday), I was with him and he
was playing a game with his sister and he was very alert and active.
He even watches television before he goes to bed.
“I am very satisfied with the state of
his health. I think sooner than later, Governor Suntai will be doing
more than he is doing now in terms of discharging his functions and in
terms of giving leadership to the people of Taraba State. If not for
the politics over his health condition, we would not have reached
this situation. I still don’t understand why people are doing what they
are doing. Why should people hide in Abuja and Lagos and be saying
what they don’t know about. We want them to play the game by the
rules. We will not rush him (Suntai) because of what people are
saying.
“Leaders and chief executives don’t have
to be in their offices before they can function. Governor Suntai is
giving directive on the running of the state and he does not need to
be physically present before things are done.
“After all, leaders who are well don’t
do the work themselves, they can be anywhere and delegate functions. It
is the prerogative of chief executives to work from anywhere in the
world and anywhere in the country . In short, he is doing well; he is
recuperating and we’re not going to rush him until he is medically
advised.
“I have no doubt in my mind that the
governor is on course and his transmission of the letter to the
Speaker, House of Assembly, according to Section 190 (2) is valid; there
is no contest over that act of the governor and we are doing everything
possible to go through this initial challenge.”
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Bring SUNTAI on TV -Let him talk--He is mentally disabled.
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