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| sunnewsonline.com |
Five months after his boss was hospitalized in a foreign hospital over
injuries he sustained in a chopper crash, the Acting Governor of Taraba
State, Alhaji Garba Umar, appears to be consolidating and set to emerge
the substantive governor.
Alhaji Umar may have finalized his emergence in Nairobi, Kenya when
some top Presidency officials, National Assembly members and chieftains
of his Peoples Decmocratic Party (PDP) sealed the hope of Governor
Danbaba Suntai coming back to office. The occasion was the swearing-in
of Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta three weeks ago. Sources told Daily
Sun that it was for the purpose of resolving the Taraba’s political
imbroglio that made the officials and Umar to embark on the trip.
“The trip afforded the officials and the Acting Governor effectively
brainstorming on the political situation in Taraba, and the way forward.
“The Acting Governor was able to frankly discuss the frustrations he
has been allegedly encountering in the hands of Suntai family and aides,
and how the situation has frustrated the smooth running of governance,”
the source offered. Daily Sun gathered that it was at the Nairobi
meeting that Umar was encouraged to take full control of the legislature
by getting the members change their leadership.
Barely two weeks after Acting Governor Umar returned from Kenya, 17
out of the 24-member Assembly met and announced the removal of Speaker
Istifanus Gbana, his deputy, and the Majority Leader. Interestingly,
unlike in many other states that have experienced turbulent changes in
their House leaderships, ousted leaders of the Taraba Assembly said they
took their removal in good faith.
“This clearly showed that they had succumbed to superior power which
definitely operated from outside the state. And with the complete
overhaul of the Assembly leadership, dissolving the State Executive
Council (SEC) by Umar would be a stroll in the park,” the source
explained. Since Monday’s change of guards at the state legislature,
Daily Sun gathered, top politicians appointed by Suntai have begun to
switch loyalty to the acting Governor. “The coup clearly showed that for
Suntai, the game is over.
Since Monday, those die-hard loyalists of Suntai have begun to worm
their ways into the heart of Umar and members of his family. Obviously,
they don’t want to lose out of the power game,” a source close to the
Government House in Jalingo explained. Another source spoke on the
anxiety which Suntai’s condition had created in the national and Taraba
State chapters of the ruling PDP. “PDP at the state and national levels
have been worried by Suntai’s condition. The worry is that keeping Umar
as Acting Governor indefinitely could take its toll on the fortunes of
the party. “PDP in neighbouring Adamawa State is in crisis.
Keeping Umar as Acting Governor indefinitely could send wrong signals
that PDP didn’t care about the feelings of Taraba people. This could
provide a perfect breeding ground for All Progressives Congress (APC)
sentiments,” the source stressed. For five months, Taraba State had been
without a substantive governor. Suntai had been in hospital following
injuries he sustained when the small aircraft he was flying crashed near
Yola, Adamawa State. He is presently said to be undergoing therapy
sessions at John Hopkins Hospital in the United States.
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