Suntai ‘writes’ Taraba speaker

Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai yesterday wrote to the State House of Assembly notifying it of his return from foreign medical trip and his readiness to take charge as governor, officials told Daily Trust in Jalingo.The assembly had in November empowered deputy governor Garba Umar to serve as acting governor, following a plane crash in […]

Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai yesterday wrote to the State House of Assembly notifying it of his return from foreign medical trip and his readiness to take charge as governor, officials told Daily Trust in Jalingo.
The assembly had in November empowered deputy governor Garba Umar to serve as acting governor, following a plane crash in which Suntai was injured on October 25 last year. The constitution requires the governor to write to the speaker of the state assembly when he returns before he could resume his duties.
In a letter to Speaker Haruna Tsokwa, Suntai said he was ready to return to work, a government official told our reporter, asking not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the matter.
House Minority Leader Ibrahim Imam confirmed to Daily Trust that a letter was received from the governor but said he could not disclose the contents since it was yet to be deliberated upon by the House.
Also, Suntai’s spokesman Sylvanus Giwa confirmed to our correspondent by text message that a letter had been transmitted to the assembly.A government source said the House of Assembly is scheduled to officially receive the letter at a plenary session today.
He added that the constitution does not require any debate on the letter, and that as soon as the assembly is officially notified, Suntai would take charge as governor.
Section 190 (2) of the constitution says, “In the event that the Governor is unable or fails to transmit the written declaration mentioned in subsection (1) of this section within 21 days, the House of Assembly shall, by a resolution made by a simple majority of the vote of the House, mandate the Deputy Governor to perform the functions of the office of the Governor as Acting Governor, until the Governor transmits a letter to the Speaker that he is now available to resume his functions as Governor.”
Suntai made a dramatic arrival in Nigeria on Sunday, following 10 months at hospitals in Germany and the United States, to treat injuries sustained in the October plane crash.
Opinions are divided as to whether he is fully recovered and fit enough to resume work as governor. While his aides and associates say he is “mentally alert”, his appearance on Sunday portray the contrary.
He had to be helped to disembark from the aircraft that ferried him from the US to Abuja and the one that conveyed him to Jalingo.
Also, contrary to the spin created by his aides ahead of his return, the governor did not speak to journalists or to the crowds that turned up to receive him.
Suntai was not seen in public yesterday, as he remained in his residence at the Government House in Jalingo.
His wife Hauwa spoke on the BBC Hausa radio last night, saying the governor had recovered and was only resting.
She said his doctors discharged him because he was not under any medication in the US but was only undergoing rehabilitation which could still be done back home.
Asked if there was the possibility of his return to the hospital, Hauwa said she was not sure but added that this was not likely. She said the doctors in the US said they were not envisaging a situation where Suntai would have to be flown back.
On why visitors were not allowed to see the governor, she said no visitor was blocked but added that he needed to rest after a 13-hour flight from the US.
Earlier in the day, Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako and his deputy Bala Ngilari visited Suntai at the Government House in Jalingo.
After a private meeting, Nyako told journalists that he was happy that Suntai was back and wished him quick recovery.
“I am waiting for him; we have a lot of grounds to cover. We will make sure that justice prevails and democracy develops,” he said. Sunati’s wife Hauwa thanked Nyako and Ngilari for the visit, noting that the Adamawa governor had been supportive of her husband since the plane crash last year.
Elsewhere in Jalingo, acting governor Umar held a meeting in his office with Speaker Tsokwa. Umar had been operating from his office of deputy governor throughout the period of Suntai’s absence, our correspondent in Jalingo said.
On Sunday, he had a rough experience with the governor’s associates who blocked him from receiving Suntai at the Jalingo airport as had been scheduled.
After his meeting with the speaker yesterday, Umar spoke briefly to journalists, and thanked the people of the state for their orderly conduct when they turned out to welcome the governor back home on Sunday.
But Tsokwa refused to speak to reporters.
Meanwhile, coalitions of youth movements in Taraba State yesterday addressed a news conference in Jalingo where they called on Suntai to address people of the state who had been praying for his recovery during his medical trip.
Coordinator of the group, who is also president of Taraba Youth Leaders Forum, Abubakar Abba Waziri, said they heard conflicting stories from the media about the governor’s health condition and therefore wanted to clear any doubts.
Also speaking, president of the National Union Taraba State Students (NUTASS), Bashir Yakubu, urged members of the state assembly to invite the governor to address them.