The decision of the State House of
Assembly to recognise Taraba State's Deputy Governor, Garba Umar, as acting
governor has provoked angry reaction from the ailing Governor Suntai's aide.
It would be recalled that earlier on
August 29 2013, Taraba lawmakers had issued a statement, signed by 16 of the 24
House of Assembly members, advising Mr. Suntai to "return to the U.S. for
further treatment", and declaring him "unfit" to lead the state.
However, the Commissioner for
Information in the Taraba cabinet dissolved recently by Mr. Suntai, Emmanuel
Bello, has confirmed over the telephone that Mr. Suntai is "fit to
continue his duties," adding that the members who signed the statement
acted "according to the figment of their imagination."
Mr. Bello, assuring he still speaks
for Mr. Suntai, described the action of the lawmakers as "null and
void," adding that they "do not have the constitutional power to
determine whether somebody is sick."
He said, it is only "medical
experts that have the power to determine the state of health of a person."
"What yardsticks and parameters
did they use to say the governor is not fit?" he wondered and went on,
"These people visited the governor yesterday and he recognised all of them
by their faces and names, it is totally unfair of them to turn around and say
he is unfit to rule."
Mr. Bello said Mr. Suntai could
"read, write and sign documents," therefore, "What is the
standard of who a governor should be?"
"These people are not fair to
his Excellency, and they are wicked. Taraba people are not with them, and even
the Majority Leader of the House has disassociated himself from them. What they
are doing is unconstitutional and a violation of other Nigerian laws," he
said.
Speaking further, Mr. Bello said all
Mr. Suntai needed to do after he came back was to transmit a letter informing
the House of his return and resumption of duties.
He said the letter was not supposed
to be subjected to debate as it was merely "for the information of the
House alone."
Mr. Bello also stated that, as long
as the members did not subject the governor to medical checks, they had no
reason to state that he was unfit for office.
"Have they subjected the
governor to medical check? Can they give us a medical report? As far as the
people of Taraba are concerned, the governor is not sick; he addressed them
yesterday and they are satisfied with his state of health," he said.
Meanwhile, the media aide of Acting
Governor Umar, Kefas Sule, said he would issue a statement later on Thursday on
the position of his boss.
Taraba
State is witnessing a story very similar to the late President Umar Yar'Adua's.
Many activists say "charlatans" are taking over the government and
ruling in the name of Governor Danbaba Suntai. The
statement was made at a press conference, organized by the "Say No
Campaign", United Action for Democracy, and Civil Society Network Against
Corruption, on Tuesday, in Abuja.
In a joint appeal by Ezenwa Nwagwu
of "Say No Campaign Nigeria," Jaye Gaskia of United Action for
Democracy, and Olarewaju Suraj of Civil Society Network Against Corruption, the
groups demanded "that the unfolding charade in Taraba State be brought to
an end, and the Acting Governor be either allowed to continue to discharge the
duties of the governor unfettered."
Although sympathizing with Governor
Suntai, who has last weekend returned to Nigeria following 10 months
recuperation period from the consequences of the plane crash he and his aides
were involved in, the group harshly criticized attempts by some politicians to
make governance "unrealistic."
"These charlatans have
desperately kept trying to cling to political power, and by extension the
resources of Taraba State through series of craftily-woven plots of deceits,
meant to hoodwink the Nigeria public in a manner similar to the unfortunate
Turai-Yar'Adua saga," it was said in a statement.
"Deliberately and shamelessly,
these people continue to feed the public with lies (sometimes garnished with
half truths) about the true state of health of Governor Suntai.
"Every indication and report
since his unfortunate plane crash leaves no one in doubt that Mr. Suntai is
medically brain-damaged, and is thus unfit to discharge his constitutional
duties according to the Nigerian Constitution.
"By plotting this deceit and
subterfuge around his supposed recovery, the architects of this evil plot are
able to cling to power and rule Taraba State by proxy in the name of the
innocent Governor Suntai whilst they pillage the State's resources for
themselves and their cronies in Taraba and Abuja."
The handling of the ongoing Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike by the Nigerian Government also was
condemned by the group; the Government itself was described as
"tyrannical, wicked, unpatriotic and profligate."
"We watch with sadness as the
political classes trivialize the lives of our young people and the future of
this Country by refusing to honour its agreements with the Academic Staff Union
of Universities (ASUU) and Health Workers' Union; as well as for three months
previously with respect to the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).
"For six weeks now (and
counting), young, virile, sound-minded and able bodied Nigerians have once
again been kept idle and hopeless as the political elite display its lack of
respect and concern for the youth of this Country by its failure to meet the
legitimate and pragmatic demands of the striking lecturers."
The Federal Government also came
under the fire for not showing adequate concern in addressing the
"completely derelict, comatose and unsavoury state of public education in
the country."
"It is instructive to note that
not a single member of the Federal Government's negotiating team in the FG/ASUU
face off have their child(ren) in any public university/Polytechnic in Nigeria.
"Since they are not personally
affected, and can afford at our expense through illegitimate earnings to
procure the education of their children in private institutions at home and
abroad," the statement read.
The groups called on the federal
government to acquiesce to the demands of ASUU and implement the
recommendations of the report of the assessment team on the state of Nigerian
public universities.
