Suntai to return Sunday – Wife

Mrs Hauwa Suntai said the governor would leave the Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Centre and Home in New York on his way home, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported.Suntai has been abroad since October 27, following the crash of a plane he was piloting near Yola, Adamawa State two days earlier.He sustained serious injuries […]

Mrs Hauwa Suntai said the governor would leave the Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Centre and Home in New York on his way home, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported.
Suntai has been abroad since October 27, following the crash of a plane he was piloting near Yola, Adamawa State two days earlier.
He sustained serious injuries in the crash and was first flown to the National Hospital in Abuja, and then to a Germanhospital where spent about five months before being transferred to the U.S. for further treatment.
The governor’s wife said yesterday that all arrangement had been concluded for the return of Suntai.
She expressed the family’s appreciation to all who had in many ways supported the family.
NAN reported that some Nigerians living in New York have volunteered to accompany the governor home.
Daily Trust rang Mrs. Suntai last night to get further details on the governor’s return but she did not answer the call.
Family friends said they were aware of plans to bring the governor back to Nigeria.
In Jalingo yesterday, officials at the acting governor’s office appeared not to be aware of Suntai’s planned return.
But Umar’s spokesman Kefas Sule said the acting governor was away in Abuja to attend today’s meeting of the PDP national executive committee, and promised to get back to our correspondent when he spoke to the acting governor on the matter.
Previously, Taraba government officials had given dates for the governor’s return but he never came back.
In a statement in Jalingo yesterday, Taraba State Information Commission Emmanuel Bello said, “We are expecting the governor. And we have been consistent in telling the world that Governor Suntai would someday return to the country as soon as his medics authorise it. The entire state is excitedly expecting him.”
Long absence
Our correspondent reports that Suntai’s long absence has caused political acrimony in Taraba State.
In November, the State House of Assembly empowered his deputy Alhaji Garba Umar to step in as acting governor.
Since then, there have been reports saying Umar was plotting to edge out aides appointed by Suntai, to pave way for his becoming substantive governor. But he dismissed this, insisting that he remained loyal to the governor.
Last month, he fired five commissioners and secretary to the state government, a move interpreted as part of his efforts to assert his powers over aides whose loyalty was questionable.
This too he dismissed, saying the sacking was in line with Suntai’s anti-corruption stance.
In May, the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) raised a fact-finding committee to confirm the governor’s health status. The committee never submitted any report, though its chairman had been to New York to see the ailing governor.