S/Court sacks Taraba acting governor

With yesterday’s sack of acting governor Garba Umar and his replacement with impeached deputy governor Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi, Taraba State politics has assumed a new dimension, the outcome of which no-one can easily predict. Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling is said to also be a win for the Suntai camp on one hand and the […]

With yesterday’s sack of acting governor Garba Umar and his replacement with impeached deputy governor Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi, Taraba State politics has assumed a new dimension, the outcome of which no-one can easily predict. Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling is said to also be a win for the Suntai camp on one hand and the Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma one on the other.
Ailing Governor Dandaba Suntai loyalists, referred to as the ‘Suntai cabal’, had approached Danladi who had been fighting a legal battle against his impeachment to work out a ‘political deal’ in anticipation of victory reminiscent of Adamawa State’s, where Umaru Fintiri was replaced with Bala Ngilari.
The Taraba State House of Assembly had on September 4, 2012 impeached 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 levelled against him. The report said Danladi had used his office to divert Millennium Development Goals (MDG) projects to Yagai Academy, a private school belonging 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 said officer.
Following Danladi’s impeachment, Suntai appointed Alhaji Garba Umar to succeed him as deputy governor. Umar was later empowered by the State House of Assembly to step into Suntai’s shoes as acting governor following his (Suntai’s) accident. Umar’s emergence created a sharp division in the state between his loyalists and those of Suntai’s.
However, in a unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court held that the impeachment panel set up by the House of Assembly to investigate the allegations against Danladi violated his rights to fair-hearing. The judgement is seen as a test case being the first since Thursday’s swearing-in of the new Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, who incidentally, is from Taraba.
The impeachment panel was said to have gone ahead with its proceedings without giving Danladi opportunity to present his side of the story and recommended his impeachment. Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, who delivered the lead judgment, held that there seemed to be a conspiracy between both the Taraba State High Court and the “kangaroo” impeachment panel to frustrate the appellant. He also set aside the judgments of both the Court of Appeal and the Taraba State High Court, which had dismissed Danaladi’s suit. The apex court held that the two lower courts ought to have resolved the issue of fair hearing in favour of Danladi.
Danladi was impeached by the state’s House of Assembly on October 4, 2012 on ground of gross misconduct. He challenged the impeachment at the state’s High Court, but the court in its judgment of March 19, 2013 upheld the impeachment, a decision which the Court of Appeal, Yola equally upheld in its judgment of July 19, 2013.
The deal and Suntai’s role
Before his recent return to London for continuation of his treatment 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 home (Taraba). Rather he has been reportedly confined to a private guest house at Asokoro area of Abuja owned by Gen. Danjuma, an elder statesman from the state.
It was during his stay in Abuja, Weekly Trust learnt, that the ‘deal’ was perfected though predicated on the probability of his victory at the Supreme Court. Suntai was said to have promised to hand over power to the southern 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 reportedly endorsed in Abuja by elder statesman, Gen. Danjuma.
It is based on the need to edge out Umar that the pro-Suntai elements soft-pedalled on their hard stand against Danladi, especially in the wake of the Federal High Court ruling that voided the emergence of Ahmadu Fintiri as Adamawa acting governor.
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, when he is expected to step aside to pave the way for Darius Ishaku to emerge as the preferred choice of the ‘cabal’. Danladi, by the arrangement would not seek election as governor in 2015 since by the time the judgment is delivered the sale of nomination forms would have closed.
Both camps had however denied such a deal exists with Danladi saying that all he was concerned about was getting his case heard on merit.
Danladi’s legal battles
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 entered judgment yesterday. There were however mixed feelings in the state on the Supreme Court judgment.
Weekly Trust observed that supporters of Danlandi and enthusiasts of Governor Suntai took to the streets of Jalingo in jubilation shortly after the news of the judgement filtered in. Many of the supporters were seen carrying posters bearing the portraits of the new acting governor Danladi, Governor Danbaba Suntai and that of Darius Ishaku, the anointed candidate of Gen. Danjuma.
It was also observed there was gloom and pensive mood amongst supporters of ousted Alhaji Garba Umar. Some of his supporters were seen gathered in clusters discussing the development.
Danladi, who assumed office yesterday, nullified all appointments made by ousted acting governor Umar. In an address shortly after assumption of duty, he thanked the Supreme Court for its landmark judgement which he said has re-echoed the fact that the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man. He directed all those appointed by Umar to vacate office within 24 hours, declaring that all appointments made from November 14, 2012 to date were illegal, null and void.
Danladi said as deputy governor of Taraba State, he would remain loyal to Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai not only in words but in action throughout his time in office.
According to him, he had reported to Suntai upon arrival from Abuja to inform him he (Danladi) had assumed duty as the deputy governor of the state. He arrived Jalingo Airport at about 5.50 pm and was driven to the Government House.
Other personalities that were at the airport to receive Danladi include former governor Jolly Nyame, Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, deputy speaker of Taraba house of assembly, Tanko Maikarfi, the G-8 lawmakers loyal to governor Suntai, aides and political associates of Governor Suntai and Danladi.
Reacting to the Supreme Court judgement, Spokesman to Alhaji Garba Umar, Mr Aaron Artimas said his boss takes the Supreme Court’s judgement in good faith and will not be bitter over the development, adding that government is a continuous process. “We are hoping that this ruling will serve the people of the state well, we hope it will bring peace, development and progress to the state. There is nothing to be bitter about since the person that is coming is an indigenes of Taraba and it is the same PDP family. He has been deputy governor and he is qualified to rule the state”, he said.