TARABA STUDENTS’ LEADERS FORUM STOP THE MEDIA PROPAGANDA AGAINST TARABA STATE ACTING GOVERNOR, HIS EXCELLENCY ALHAJI GARBA UMAR (UTC) Our attention has been drawn to the consistent and inexorable media attacks by self misguided individuals and groups who are hell-bent on blackmailing the Acting Governor of Taraba State, His Excellency Alhaji Garba Umar (UTC) and members of his cabinet. What has Umar done to deserve this kind of hatred? Is it because he has kept faith while holding fort for his ailing boss, Governor Danbaba Suntai? Or is it because of the positive changes he has brought into the system which has made him endeared by the people that have warranted the unprecedented animosity? An advertorial by a group known as the Taraba Integrity and Transparency Group, published in Thisday Newspaper of Wednesday, September 3, 2014, and an interview granted by sacked SSG of Taraba State Emmanuel Njiwah, published in Thisday edition of Thursday September 4, 2014, are few examples of the media propaganda embarked by these detractors. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have bothered to respond to the campaigns of calumny by these disgruntled elements since there are rivalry old songs. However, given the fact that the general public might have been misinformed, we have decided to abreast everyone of what has truly happened in Taraba within the time that Umar is running the affairs of the state. The Taraba Students Leaders Forum has taken note -with dismay, of the spate of media attacks and vituperations on the person of Garba Umar, despite the fact that he has remained very humble and loyal to his principal and the good people of the state. Umar has shown his prudence and transparency by checkmating the activities of a hitherto notorious cabal that had been feasting on the lean resources of the state. In continuation of Suntais policy of The People First, Garba Umar took up the gauntlet and not only exposed, but booted out those who looted the flood mitigation funds. Should that be a crime or a welcome development? Is it an offense that Umar emancipated the state from the firm grip of corrupt officials who were plundering the state? For the avoidance of doubt, all the opposition groups and individuals have not said anything new, apart from their usual evil gospel that aimed at tarnishing the good image of the acting governor. We have totally disagreed with them, but completely identified [ourselves] with the present administration and wish to continue to support its laudable efforts in making the state better. We do so because we know, and Umar has always said, that there [only] one government in Taraba -the administration of Danbaba Suntai. TARABA INTERGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY GROUP: This group is a direct opposite of its name. It is a political jobber that lacks integrity. The group, composed of a bunch of detractors, wants to distract the acting governor, and by extension confuse Tarabans. It will not succeed. Umar will remain focus in his quest to build a greater Taraba, by completing all the projects started by his boss. He has achieved in the areas of roads, bridges and other infrastructural projects. In education and youth development, Umar has excelled, that is particularly why we, as students, have decided to identify with him and his government. If he was not doing well, we would have been the first to criticise his administration. Therefore, if this group is truly transparent, they owe Umar some commendation for positively changing the face of the state, rather than trying to blackmail him on the pages of newspapers. LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS: The Taraba Integrity and Transparency Group accused the Acting Governor of attempting to dissolve the local council chairmen that were democratically elected. How? Did Umar, or his media aide announced the dissolution of the council chairmen? Was there any complaint by the chairmen that Umar has asked them to leave? Or are members of this group a soothsayer that reads the minds of people? Well, their allegation is baseless. What we and every well meaning Taraban know is that the acting governor, in his quest to save money for the state’s development, has impeded so many conduit pipes through which local government funds were being misappropriated. How is he doing it? The affairs of the local government councils and their spending are now closely being monitored. Recently the House of Assembly, with support by the executive arm, embarked on a tour to investigative how the N10 billion loan procured in 2012 for the construction of four-kilometre roads in each of local government areas were managed. Does that portray Umar as a corrupt leader or one who has stood the path of prudence? PRESIDENT JONATHAN AND 2015: It is sad and regrettable that these saboteur elements and their pay masters can wake up and say that PDP and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan will lose Taraba in 2015 if Umar gets the governorship ticket. Alhaji Garba Umar is not only a strong faithful of the PDP, he is the leader of the ruling party. And he is continuously building the party since coming onboard as the acting governor. He has remained supportive to the candidacy of the Jonathan/Sambo for their joint ticket in 2015, just as he has been carrying on with the president’s transformation agenda. Under the leadership of Umar, no one has left the party. Rather, many have defected back into the ruling party. Umar’s relationship and identification with the Governor Jonah Jang led Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and PDP Governors Forum attest to the fact that the acting governor is a Jonathan/Sambo man. Senator from Taraba north, Aisha Alhassan left the PDP because of the intra party problems that were caused by the cabal. Umar is however, building the party and reunifying its members. ILLEGAL DEDUCTIONS: In a haste to retain the confidence of their paymasters, the Taraba Integrity and Transparency Group resorted to reckless statements on the state of the finances of Taraba. But they ended up exposing their gross ignorance. For instance, they claimed Umar makes illegal deductions from the local governments’ allocations. When they were in the system, they had always said Umar was the best thing that has happened to Taraba. But now they are trying to paint him black because the man discovered their evils and sacked them to serve as deterrent to others. The Honourable Adviser on the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bashir Marafa, was appointed by Suntai. And since Marafa has been committed, the acting governor sees no need to remove him. If Umar wanted to tamper with the running of the bureau, he would have sacked Marafa and appointed someone else. When he sacked Njiwah as SSG, he replaced him with Garvey Yawe who is another appointee of Suntai. The joint account, for those who don’t know, is an account jointly run by the local governments and the state executive so as to ensure that statutory allocations for local governments are judiciously used for the purposes meant –after salaries. This means that local councils now have more to execute local projects in their domains than in the past. In fact, this group should find out what Umar is doing in developing the grassroots. The Sure-P scheme for local councils and completion of other projects that were kick-started by Suntai in the local government areas are a few examples. The joint account, which is operated not only in Taraba state, is therefore, designed to prevent the council chairmen from ‘misbehaving’ with tax payers’ money, but directing them on developmental projects especially in the areas of education, health and security. The Taraba Integrity and Transparency Group should take some basic lessons on the joint account instead of exposing their ignorance. EMMANUEL NJIWAH, THE MISCHIEF MAKER: The sacked SSG, Emmanuel Njiwah, is a mischief maker. He is a drowning man who has resorted to cheap blackmail as his trade, since he has become idle. His utterances in the public domain particularly on the pages of national dailies has exposed him as a staunch member of the cabal who laboured in vain to snatch the machinery of government from the humble acting governor. Now that he has been sacked, he has all sorts of names for his former boss -Garba Umar. He has forgotten the things he told the acting governor when Suntai had not returned. Or he thinks Umar is his type that benefits by insulting people? Corruption should not be encouraged by any well meaning administration like one led by Garba Umar. And when corruption is clampdown, the society should not be torn apart. When Umar sacked the former SSG and other bad eggs in the system, we knew that they were going to involve in this drama we are seeing today. In Taraba state, the three arms of government -the executive, legislature and the judiciary are working in harmony while upholding the principle of checks and balances. So, after a wide cry by those who were affected by the flood disaster of 2012, the House of Assembly did a thorough probe of those who were saddled with the responsibility of purchasing relief materials for the affected persons. The lawmakers indicted a few of them including the former SSG, who were then axed by the acting governor. So, where is the justification that Umar went against Suntais loyalists? Was every Suntais appointee sacked? The public and those who were sacked know the reason why the acting governor took that bold decision. We are aware that Umars boss would have punished the former SSG more than what Umar did to him. Njiwah was always calling those who were in charge of purchases to find something for him. For those who care to know, Governor Suntai, before the unfortunate incident, had made Umar chairman of the committee, as Njiwah pointed out. But soon after the crash, the acting governor then appointed Njiwah as chairman, following Umars confirmation as the acting governor. This, Umar did with the hope that Njiwah would not betray the confidence reposed in him. But alas, he failed Umar and the state. We know his history as a public petition writer, who became a virus to the people of Mambilla. He was part of those who caused the chieftaincy dispute in the Mambilla Plateau for a decade, until it was recently resolved by the present administration. It is not an open secret that Njiwah has a deep hatred for the former Chief of Staff, now SSG. Njiwah mentioned Mr. Garvey Yawe’s wife as one of the contractors that made the purchases. The question is, was she invited, questioned of any misappropriation in the purchases made? His ugly image in the civil service during the defunct Gongola era remains fresh our memories. We recall the role he played during the military when he served as the commissioner for education. Where is the N12 million that Njiwah received as “concession?” What about the commissioners who bought yams, corn and other items and inflated prices that was discovered after a thorough scrutiny? If Njiwah was not in the disbursement and purchases committees, why is he so quick to defending everybody that no one tampered with the [flood] funds? Njiwah alleged in his sponsored interview that Umar offered him the position of deputy governor with N100 million bribe to prepare a memo that would make him (Umar) the substantive governor. Haba our former ambassador! You are this blatant liar? For the benefit of doubt, the office of a deputy governor is so sensitive and demanding that umar cannot bypass many credible personalities to favour Njiwah when the need to pick a deputy arises, what more, grease his palm with N100 million. Njiwah cannot reject such a huge offer, if what he said could be true. For those who care to know, the acting governor is not that desperate to remove his boss. He has the majority of the House of Assembly members and commissioners to his kitty, but the idea to impeach his principal does not track his imagination. You will be surprise to note that Umar has disappointed many who suggested to him to impeach his boss. He has been praying fervently for his boss to recover. UMAR’S RELATIONSHIP WITH SUNTAI: Umar deserves commendation for his unalloyed loyalty to his principal, Danbaba Suntai. We dont think any other person would have done more than Umar in this regard. Despite the power and paraphernalia of the position he now occupies, Umar remains a gentleman. He still regards Suntai as number two, after God. We can attest to the fact that Umar has maintained a very cordial relationship with our dear Governor Danbaba Suntai. He still refers to Suntai as his boss; he calls him sir when conversing with him; respects and takes care of his family members. Umar pays the medical bills of the governor and consults him on the decisions he takes. Taraba state is more than an individual. It is better that Umar is serving the interest of the state than the interest of Njiwah or someone else. ORIGIN OF UMAR, NJIWAH: Njiwah claimed in his garbage piece that the acting governor is an indigene of Taraba state by extension. Every living witness can testify that Alhaji Garba Umar is a native of the Wurkun ethnic group from Karim-Lamido local government area, unlike others who emigrated from the Republic of Cameroon, which their parents had lived and died there, yet they have the privilege to benefit from political appointments in Taraba. FINALLY: We want to caution and advice our dear good people of Taraba state, particularly politicians, to stop the propaganda against the acting governor. As 2015 election draws near, let us play the game according to the rules and avoid politics with bitterness. Let us remain united and supportive to the government in order to make Taraba great. If you chose the path of opposition, be constructive in your criticisms, without trying to pull down the government. Signed: COMRADE MOHAMMED AUWAL JIBRIN, COMRADE DAVID ODEH, State Coordinator State Secretary
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 15:14:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015