By: Andrew Ojih, Mohammed Ismail, Chibuzo Ukaibe on August 28, 2013 - 3:05 inShare Indications emerged last night that lawmakers of the Taraba State House of Assembly are now divided over the fitness or otherwise of their state governor, Danbaba Suntai, to resume work as the chief executive of the state. Suntai had just arrived from New York on Sunday after spending 304 days abroad for medical treatment following the injuries he sustained when he crashed a jet he was piloting himself. While the speaker of the state Assembly, Hon. Haruna Tsokwa, disclosed that Suntai was not fit to resume duties on the grounds that the Assembly was yet to gain access to the governor to ascertain his medical fitness, the majority leader, Hon Joseph Kunini, claimed that the governor was fit to resume work and that the Assembly had received a letter from him to this effect. However, the speaker insisted that the deputy governor, Alhaji Garba Umar, would remain in office as acting governor until further notice. Tsokwa, who described the political situation in the state as worrisome, expressed concern that four days after Suntai’s return to the state, the leadership of the Assembly was yet to gain access to him, adding that despite several calls to his residence to see him, the governor’s wife had refused to allow the lawmakers to meet Suntai. Speaking to journalists in the state yesterday, Tsokwa said that the political trend in the state needs to be handled with care to avoid anarchy and described the press conference by the majority leader, Hon Kunini, yesterday in Jalingo as a calculated attempt to plunge the state into crisis. The speaker added that the delay in addressing journalists since the arrival of the ailing governor was a deliberate attempt to ensure that the Assembly is properly acquainted with the correct position of the matter. According to the speaker, the claim by majority leader and his associates that he (the speaker and his deputy) had run away from the office to an undisclosed place to avoid meeting with people was unfounded, saying that they had been in the state trying to attend to some important matters that needed the urgent attention of the leadership of the House. The speaker urged those trying to foment crisis in the state to desist as the state is in dire need of prayers from everyone. Suntai fit to resume – Majority Leader Meanwhile, the majority leader, Hon Kunini, has stated that the state Assembly is satisfied that Suntai has fully resumed duty, having fulfilled Section 190 (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) requiring him to transmit a letter to the Assembly communicating that he is back to the state to continue his duties as governor. Kunini, who said he spoke with journalists in Jalingo yesterday on behalf of the speaker, deputy speaker, and other principal officers of the Assembly, said that they had received the letter sent from Suntai to the Assembly and had confirmed that Suntai was capable of restarting his work of governing the state. He said that before briefing journalists, he the majority leader of the House, had verified the letter sent to the House by Suntai, and that the letter was accepted based on their verification. He noted that the said Section 190 subsections 2 of the constitution made it mandatory for the governor to transmit a letter to the Assembly informing it that he is physically fit to resume office. Kunini said, “Governor Suntai has done well to have sent a letter to the House. He can even decide to sent a text, if he so wishes. “According to the constitution, the governor “may” appear before the House if he wants to. A governor is not under any obligation to appear before the House. When asked why the Assembly suspended sitting to deliberate on the letter sent to it by Suntai, he told journalists that sitting was part of the work of the Assembly and that House was supposed to sit for 181 days within a particular legislative calendar. He also noted that the Assembly could not sit between yesterday and today because members had no serious business to discuss due to preparations for the oncoming PDP convention. He denied the insinuation by some members of the public that the state Assembly was factionalised. “Nobody is for Umar and nobody is for Suntai”, he said, and reassured Tarabans and Nigerians that the ailing governor would soon appear to speak to the people of the state. German hospital in Yola saved Suntai’s life – Gov Nyako The Adamawa State governor Murtala Nyako has disclosed that ailing Taraba State governor Danbaba Suntai is alive today because of the facilities and professional attention offered to him at the ultra modern German hospital built by his administration. The governor made the disclosure yesterday at the Dougirei Government House, Yola, when some newspaper executives paid him a courtesy call and to congratulate him on his 70th birthday. The governor said the well equipped German Hospital readily came to the aid of Governor Suntai when he was involved in an accident in a Cessna airplane which he was piloting near the Yola International Airport. He said, “If not for the intervention the ailing governor got through our well equipped German Hospital, the story of the governor would have been different by now.” According to Nyako, immediately after the accident, Suntai was rushed directly to the Yola German Hospital where he received more blood and oxygen which saved his life. “The ailing governor had lost substantial part of blood and was seriously in need of oxygen to get revived as the level of oxygen in his body was reduced to only about 16%. Because of the seriousness of his predicament, the German doctors on ground, through the use of the facilities at their disposal, injected oxygen right into his system which was responsible for his being alive today. The oxygen machines we have can sustain a patient who has no oxygen in his system for days.” Nyako said apart from the blood and oxygen, the entire body system of the ailing governor was scanned using special equipment which was sent to Germany where the ailing governor was later taken to for medical treatment. Taraba State assembly asked to invite Suntai A socio-political group, Taraba Justice Forum in Abuja, has called on the Taraba State Assembly to ask the state governor, Danbaba Suntai, who just returned from a medical trip, to come and address it. The forum also declared that the stage-managed arrival of the governor had vindicated the position of the forum that the governor’s state of health called for an inquiry and action by the state assembly in line with the constitution. A statement signed by the forum’s general secretary, Mr John Ambulus, which was made available to journalists yesterday in Abuja, the group noted that the governor’s incapacity had become obvious and President Goodluck Jonathan should intervene now as a matter of urgent national importance. “The president now has a sacred duty to intervene in this matter. The commander- in-chief should not allow this matter to degenerate. There is the need for intervention as this is ridiculing the ruling party and the presidency”, the statement noted. 778
Posted on: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 11:33:34 +0000
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