SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY ALHAJI SANI ABUBAKAR DANLADI, FOLLOWING THE SUPREME COURT RULING ANNULLING HIS IMPEACHMENT MY FELLOW TARABANS, I thank God Almighty, The most Merciful, and the most Magnificent for keeping us alive to witness this day and remember that at all times power and authority are given by Him; and He gives it to whoever He pleases. May praises, Glory and Honor go to Him. My gratitude must also go to the Judiciary for proving in my case that it is truly the last hope and resort for the common man. The Judiciary has once again demonstrated its preparedness to uphold and protect the extant provisions of our Constitution. I therefore pledge to uphold and demonstrate my total submission to the Rule of Law in the discharge of my duties by virtue of the express mandate you, the good people of Taraba State, gave His Excellency, Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai and my humble self in the April, 2011 elections. I want to acknowledge and thank the good people of Taraba State for their prayers and steadfastness. I wish therefore to express my profound gratitude to all Tarabans, friends and well-wishers who stood by me through my trying period. To my family members who went through so much, I also thank you. My fellow citizens of Taraba State, it is still fresh in our memories that shortly after my removal from office in 2012, our leader and benefactor, His Excellency Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai was involved in the unfortunate plane crash that has kept him out of office for over two years now. But with gratitude to God, through your prayers, our Governor is recuperating satisfactorily. I have been in close contact with him since he returned from his first trip to the United Kingdom and have reported to him today to inform him of my resumption of duty as Deputy Governor in line with the Supreme Court judgment. I am glad to inform you that our Governor is in very high spirit in response to my return. I have briefed him on the content of this address and have his mandate to go ahead with it. I therefore wish to express my gratitude to him and his wife for their show of solidarity with me. At this juncture, I wish to pledge my unalloyed loyalty to my Principal and Leader, Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, and this I shall demonstrate not only in words but in my actions in the days ahead. To the leadership of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party in Taraba State, I wish to thank you for your loyalty to the Danbaba administration. We will stand by the PDP to ensure that all players during this political transition period in the State are given level playing field to express their political ambitions. As a people that are brought together by God, Tarabans must eschew all forms of bitterness, especially the ugly monsters of tribal and religious differences that have suddenly reared their ugly heads and introduced into our polity in the past two years of the absence of our Governor. It is therefore pertinent at this point to call on Traditional Rulers and Religious Leaders to play their role as custodians of peaceful and cordial co-existence among their subjects, and resist the temptation of meddling into partisan politics so that they can sustain their vital roles as parents to all. Let me re-echo the cardinal principle of The Danbaba administration which is founded on peace and security of lives and property. The recent Supreme Court judgment is a further assurance to all citizens who may feel aggrieved to always seek redress in the court of law instead of resorting to self-help as a means of settling disputes. In order to provide complete healing and increase mutual understanding in the public service, and to correct the anomalies that have generated unnecessary tension, we have decided, after due consultation with the Governor to: 1. Nullify, all political appointments made from the 14th of November, 2012 to date, because in the eyes of the law, they had no foundation, and were therefore illegal, null and void; 2. All affected person should, within the next 24 hours, hand over all government properties in their possession. Further instructions and directives will be communicated. SECURITY: In the last two years, Taraba State has witnessed crisis which it did not witness before. Governor Danbaba has instructed and I want to announce that we will not tolerate breakdown of law and order and the wanton killings of our people. We will work with all communities to ensure that peace returns to all parts of the state. We seek the cooperation of all citizens to flush out the undesirable elements from our midst. In the coming days, we will be working with the security agencies to ensure lasting peace in Taraba State. Finally, I wish to assure our citizens that this administration will continue to explore all avenues to maintain and sustain a cordial working relationship with The Legislature and the Judicial arms of Government in order to ensure that our citizens enjoy the maximum benefit of this Supreme Court judgment returning me to office. Thank you God Bless Taraba State.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 10:23:05 +0000