TA KAI-TA KAI, KOWA YA IYA ALLONSA YA WANKE! Fresh crisis brews in Taraba over plot to return former Deputy Governor Category: Sunday politics Published on Sunday, 26 October 2014 05:01 Written by Fidelis Mac Leva The pro Danbaba Suntai loyalists in the unfolding political drama in Taraba State are alleged to be fine- tuning plans to reenact the kind of political script that played out in Adamawa State recently leading to the ouster of former acting governor, Adamu Fintiri through a Federal High Court ruling that voided his emergence in the wake of Governor Murtala Nyako’s impeachment. Suntai made his second homecoming to Nigeria from his medical vacation in London over a month ago amidst drama and controversy but has not gone to his home state (Taraba). Rather he has been reportedly confined to a private guest house at Asokoro area of Abuja owned by General T.Y. Danjuma, an elder statesman from Taraba. Sunday Trust checks revealed that the pro-Suntai elements, referred to as the ‘cabal’, have approached the impeached former deputy governor, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi who had been fighting a legal battle against his impeachment to work out a ‘political deal’ in anticipation of victory in his lawsuit to reclaim his mandate, which is now awaiting a final verdict at the Supreme Court on November 29. The Taraba State House of Assembly had on September 4, 2012 impeached Suntai’s deputy, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi from office on grounds of gross misconduct. The impeachment was sequel to the adoption of the recommendation of a seven-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the then acting Chief Judge, Justice Josephine Tuktur to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against the deputy governor. The Commission had submitted its findings to the Assembly, saying the deputy governor was found guilty of the three allegations leveled against him. The report said Danladi had used his office to divert Millennium Development Goals (MDG) projects to Yagai Academy, a private school, which belongs to him. The report also stated that the erstwhile deputy governor was guilty of using his office to influence the posting of an officer and interfering in the affairs of his Karim-Lamido Local Government Area to the extent that the communities were complaining of the negative attitude of the said officer. Following Danladi’s impeachment, Suntai appointed Alhaji Garba Umar to succeed him as deputy Governor. Umar, a former staff of UTC Company was later empowered by the State House of Assembly to step into Suntai’s shoes as acting governor following his (Suntai’s) involvement in the near fatal crash of an aircraft he was piloting. Umar’s emergence had created a sharp division in the state between his loyalists and those of governor Suntai. Danladi’s legal battles However, his impeachment did not go unchallenged as Danladi had gone to court challenging the process and constitutionality of his ouster. Among other things, Danladi had through his counsel filed a suit at the Taraba State High Court in Jalingo challenging the competence of the then acting Chief Judge of the state, Josephine Tukur who had constituted the panel that investigated him arguing that she had overstayed in office for three months. Not satisfied with the verdict of the Jalingo High Court which in March last year affirmed his impeachment by the State House of Assembly, Danladi proceeded to the Federal Court of Appeal in Yola to challenge the verdict. But in a unanimous judgment on July 19, 2013, the five member justices of the appellate court led by Justice Musa Abba Aji dismissed the appeal by the impeached deputy governor on grounds that it was lacking in merit. The court then upheld the judgment of the Taraba State High Court which had ruled that the Taraba State House of Assembly complied with Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution as amended in his impeachment process. The embattled deputy governor then took his legal battle to the Supreme Court which reserved judgment for November 29 this year. The ‘deal’ The alleged move by the pro-Suntai loyalists to approach Danladi to work out a ‘deal’ is said to have been predicated on the probability of his victory by him at the Supreme Court . Suntai was said to have promised to hand over power to the zone after his tenure, a promise which the pro-Suntai elements mostly from the zone see as being threatened by the ambition of the acting governor, Umar who has already obtained his nomination form to contest the PDP governorship ticket. Although the southern zone is already divided over the choice of who becomes their ticket bearer for the 2015 governorship election, the pro-Suntai elements are said to have seen Umar as a ‘common enemy’ to their agitation for power shift, hence the need to edge him out. Already there are two candidates that have been separately ‘endorsed’ from the zone to vie for the PDP ticket. While David Sabo Kente, a former staff of the National Assembly was endorsed by elders from the zone, former Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Darius Ishaku was recently endorsed in Abuja by elder statesman, General T.Y. Danjuma. It is based on the need to edge out Umar that the pro-Suntai elements were said to have in the wake of the Federal High Court ruling that voided the emergence of Ahmadu Fintiri as Adamawa acting governor mooted the idea of approaching the impeached Taraba deputy governor, Danladi to work out a deal in anticipation of his victory at the Supreme Court ruling. Under the deal, Danladi would in the event of being returned as deputy governor take charge of affairs in the state pending the conduct of the 2015 election, thereby stepping aside to pave the way for Darius Ishaku to emerge as the preferred choice of the ‘cabal’ from the southern zone in 2015 governorship election. Danladi, by the arrangement would not seek election as governor in 2015 more- so that by the time the judgment is delivered the sale of nomination forms would have closed. Former Taraba Information Commissioner, Emmanuel Bello denied knowledge of any such arrangement with the impeached former deputy governor. He however said they were aware of Danladi’s case that was awaiting judgment at the Supreme Court “but as law abiding people, we are going to abide by the ruling”. Bello said he would not comment further on the matter since it was still in court. On his part, the former deputy governor, Danladi denied entering into any political deal with anybody. “I am just hearing this from you for the first time. All I know is that I have been pursuing my case up to the Supreme Court where judgment has been reserved for November 29, 2014”, he said.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 08:15:34 +0000
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