UPDATE: Suntais Health; Assembly members relocate to Abuja ------------------------------------------ Majority Leader of the Taraba House of Assembly, Joseph Albasu Kunini, yesterday said the planned return of Governor Danbaba Suntai from his medical trip abroad is at the instance of his physicians. He maintained that the move has no political undertone as being insinuated. Albasu Kunini, who said he was in London about two weeks ago, said Suntai’s condition has improved and that his physicians have certified him fit to be discharged, according to report from Daily Trust “He only went on a routine check up and the hospital has certified him fit. It is the hospital that said he could come back. If the hospital discharges him, what will he be doing in the UK,” he said. He added that preparations for the return of Governor Suntai are being handled by the family and not by any group. He further stated that it was the state government that paid the air fare for Suntai’s return. On the setting up of a medical panel by the state executive to investigate Suntai’s health status, Albasu said the move was a sign that the acting governor’s camp ‘‘is jittery over the return’’. He said the state executive council is ‘‘trying to create another round of political crisis in the state with its latest move.’’ But Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the acting governor, Aaron Artimas, maintained that his boss is not jittery over Suntai’s return, adding that the state executive only did what was required of it by the law. He said the continued absence of Governor Suntai has created a constitutional ‘lacuna’ and that was why the state executive decided to set up a medical team to ascertain his health status. “If Danbaba Suntai is certified fit to come back, let him come back so that Umar can revert to his deputy position. It is not sentiment, victimization struggle for power. It is purely a constitutional matter,” he said. Meanwhile, less than 12 hours after the Taraba State Executive Council wrote a letter directing the state House of Assembly to set up a committee to ascertain the true state of health of the state Governor, Danbaba Suntai, all the members of the assembly have moved to Abuja ostensibly to ward off pressure and douse tension that might arise from the exercise. In the same vein, the acting Governor of the state, Alhaji Garba Umar, has also left Jalingo, the state capital, yesterday morning to Abuja though it was not clear whether his trip to the federal capital had anything to do with the convergence of the lawmakers in Abuja, according to report from Thisday The state executive council, at its weekly meeting held in Jalingo on Wednesday, unanimously resolved to write a letter to the state House of Assembly, directing it to set up a committee to ascertain true state of health of Suntai who has not been administering the state since he was involved in plane crash on October 25, 2012. Suntai, who is presently receiving treatment in the United Kingdom, it was gathered, was billed to return to the country on Sunday and his coming, according to sources, is to come and take over the reins of government from his deputy, Alhaji Garba Umar, who has been the acting governor of the state since November 2012. When Suntai was brought to Nigeria on October 25, 2013, and was said to have returned to resume office, the state was bedeviled by a serious political crisis which led to the polarisation of the state assembly with the emergence of the G16 which stood firmly against his resumption and the G8 which backed his move to resume office. But as tongues continue to wag over the mass exodus of the lawmakers to Abuja, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the assembly, Mr. Timothy Eyab, dismissed insinuations that the lawmakers are in Abuja due to the letter from the executive council, saying being in Abuja was purely to board their flights to UK for an international workshop. Eyab, who expressed dismay over the insinuations that the assembly was currently on recess and as such, if there was any letter from the executive council, it can only be treated when it resumes. According to him, “There is no iota of truth in the assertion that the members of the assembly relocated to Abuja to hatch a plan on the letter written to it, directing it to set up a committee to ascertain the governor’s health. The truth of the matter is that the members are billed to travel to UK for an international workshop alongside other members of other state assemblies and they are in Abuja for the trip. Though I cannot confirm to you if the assembly has received the letter from the executive, I can tell you that the assembly is presently on recess and every issue would remain pending till they resume”
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 21:11:32 +0000
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