Taraba state drifted further Wednesday without a
clear decision on who was in charge after its
acting governor, Garba Umar, dismissed the
dissolution of the state cabinet by ailing governor,
Danbaba Suntai, insisting that he would continue
to act as governor until the state assembly decided otherwise. Mr. Umar said he was however willing to revert to
his position as deputy governor if the House of
Assembly, which had insisted on determining Mr.
Suntai’s true health condition, asked him to do so. “I am waiting to hear from them. As I speak to
you, if the assembly tells me to revert to the
position of deputy, I will comply,” Mr. Umar was
quoted as saying Wednesday as the state
appeared to inch towards a full-blown political
crisis. The acting governor had earlier dismissed Mr.
Suntai’s decision on Wednesday to dissolve the
state council and appoint a new secretary,
insisting that he was in charge since the state
assembly was yet to notify him that the governor,
who returned on Sunday from a 10-month medical trip abroad, had resumed work. In a reaction to an enquiry by PREMIUM TIMES, a
spokesperson said the steps purportedly taken by
Mr. Suntai so far were null and void. “Before he assumed office as acting governor, a
letter was conveyed to him by the state House of
Assembly confirming him. Up till this moment,
there is no communication from the House to say
that confirmation has been reversed,” the
spokesperson, Kefas Sule, said. “To the best of our knowledge there are no two
governments in Taraba and all members of the
State Executive Council remain in office.” Mr. Suntai, who appeared apparently ill during his
arrival on Sunday, has made no public appearance
or given an address since his arrival, fuelling
speculation about the state of his mind and
capacity to lead the state. The House said on Tuesday it would insist on
meeting with the governor before taking a
decision. But after what seemed a decisive effort to meet
the governor on Wednesday, the lawmakers
declined to state the details of their findings, or
whether they were allowed access to the governor
or not. The House said it would speak on the visit
Thursday (today)
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