Our Position on the Taraba Situation In view of certain unsettling political developments in Taraba that are detrimental to peaceful coexistence and the stability of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the State, especially when considered against the background of the situation in this country, our state needs very urgent attention. And considering the massive propaganda being mounted by the Deputy Governor Garba Umar as a result of his shocking resolve to install himself as substantive Governor of Taraba State by all means, we wish to clear the false impression being created in the minds of people that our group which the Deputy Governor prefers to refer to as the CABAL, are desperate for power. We view the activities of the Deputy Governor as not only mischievous, but treacherous, and deserves the attention of all leaders of the PDP in the country to forestall the impending destruction of the PDP in Taraba State. It is in consideration of this that we are constrained to present to you highlights of the activities of His Excellency Garba Umar that are geared not only at destroying our dear Party the PDP in Taraba State, but to also engulf the State in crises. 1. DANBABAS HEALTH STATUS: THE TRUE SITUATION Governor Danbaba Suntai whose recovery has been of PROGRESSIVE improvement as attested to by his personal physician and team of doctors in the USA and UK The UK medical team SPECIFICALLY advised that on return to Nigeria, the Governor should, as part of the recovery programme, progressively spend some hours in the office so he could get familiar with his office environment, as interactions with his personal staff and other political office holders (which ordinarily should have been led by the Deputy Governor), would help greatly in the recovery protocol. All round recovery of Governor Suntai is progressively good enough and sufficient for him to assume his basic responsibilities under a harmonious atmosphere 2. TARABA STATE AND THE PDP Taraba state has been consistently PDP since 1999, when we produced the highest percentage of votes in the presidential elections for the PDP (Over 90%). In 2003, 2007, and 2011, Taraba State produced the highest percentage of PDP votes in the North East. Recent developments in the State, especially the illegalities and self-serving activities of the Deputy Governor, His Excellency, Alhaji Garba Umar threaten the hold of the PDP in the state. Rather than build on the PDP structure, he has been demolishing the winning PDP structure in Taraba State. Among other things he has: Sacked or side-lined most of the PDP activists in the State from Government, replacing them with stalwarts from other parties and those within our Party who are prepared to work against the Governor. Specifically, he sacked the SSG, Head of Service, commissioners, the Chairman and Board members of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Special Advisers and many others for no just reason. In place of long-standing PDP members, he brought in APC members such as Salome Jankada (ACN who he nominated into the just-concluded National Conference), Alhaji Habu Isa Ajiya (ACN), and Ahmed Yusuf (the ACN Governorship candidate in 2007, and CPC governorship candidate in 2011) who now control activities of governance and politics in the State. Habu Isa who was the ACN gubernatorial candidates running mate in 2011 only returned to our Party a few weeks ago. He played a prominent role in the change of leadership of the Taraba State House of Assembly in 2013, and the recent plot to remove the State Chairman of the PDP in their quest for the destruction of the Party structure in the State. He has been actively involved in trying to disband the PDP Executive in the State. PDP Members of the National Assembly from the State who are sympathetic towards Governor Suntai have been alienated and are no longer consulted on issues relating to politics and governance in the State. The PDP Elders Committee of Taraba State had intervened to resolve the political impasse but its efforts were rebuffed by the Acting Governor, who disregarded their report and advice; He also stopped the 13 PDP members of the State House of Assembly loyal to him from appearing before the committee. 3. HUMILIATING DANBABA SUNTAI OUT OF OFFICE Danbaba today symbolises the winning formula of the PDP in the State. The current humiliation and disgrace being meted out to Suntai serves to discourage PDP members across the State. Suntai was the first Governor from the north to declare support for President Jonathan in 2010 when other Governors were vacillating in their support. Taraba State under Danbaba Suntai gave PDP the highest percentage of votes in the North East in 2011. Suntai’s support was strategic in PDP winning the 2011 Adamawa State Governorship election In view of the above, it is only fair to state that Governor Danbaba Suntai deserves the support and protection of all well-meaning PDP leaders. Unfortunately, the only PDP attempt to resolve the political crisis in Taraba State was through the Senator Hope Uzodinma-led Committee under the former National Chairman of the Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur which was not fairly handled and therefore resulted in more confusion than solution. This was because the Committee, in carrying out its assignment failed to meet with all the contending parties to the controversy. Besides, even the resolution of the Committee that the Deputy Governor should consult with the Governor on all major State issues were blatantly disregarded by him. For example, he did not consult the Governor on the formation of the present cabinet; he also disregarded court orders which specifically stopped him from doing so. 4. SECURITY SITUATIONS IN TARABA STATE While Suntai was Governor, Taraba State was not listed as restive and volatile. Danbaba Suntai co-operated fully with all security agencies. Taraba State had no hiding place for terrorists. Kabiru Sokoto, the Madala Church bomber was fished out of Taraba State. Motor cycles were banned in the town centres. After he took over, Alhaji Garba Umar (UTC) changed all that. Today Taraba State is regarded as restive and insecure in spite of the fact that he increased the monthly security vote from N80M to N200M immediately he was made acting Governor. Most Local Governments in the Southern and Central Senatorial Districts are in turmoil; A large number of people are now internally displaced; Permanent voter’s card Distribution have not taken place in six Local Government Areas in the State; There exists real possibility of food shortage in the State; The State House of Assembly in a unanimous resolution requested the Federal Government to take over the security of the State because the State Government had failed; Taraba state has never been as divided as it is now under the Deputy Governor Garba Umar since its creation in 1991. 5. RULE OF LAW/IMPUNITY Driven by a vaunting ambition, and desperation, His Excellency, Alhaji Garba Umar has ruled Taraba State like a drunken emperor. Removed from office almost all persons associated with Danbaba Suntai, and replaced them with persons openly hostile to Suntai; Refused to recognise the appointments of the SSG and Chief of Staff made by the Governor Has kept on with plots to remove the State Chairman of the PDP Removal of Public Officers including the Chairman of the Basic Education Board and the Head of Service without reference to the law, and procedures; (some of them for accompanying Gov. Suntai to Church for service); Flagrant disregard of court orders including the order which restrained him, and the State House of Assembly from screening the present set of Commissioners and taking actions to remove Danbaba Suntai from office. The recent statements by both the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and the Attorney-General of the State that the medical panel on the Governor would go ahead with their investigation in disregard for subsisting court orders. 6. FINANCIAL RECKLESSNESS Disregard for competence, and professionalism in the management of State Finances such as the appointment of Secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in one of the villages as Commissioner of Finance, not minding the level of experience that such a sensitive office demands. Barring of Chief Executives of regulatory agencies such as Chairman, State Planning Commission, Director-General, Bureau for Public Procurement and Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission from being in attendance at “Executive Council” meetings. These government functionaries were made to attend Exco meetings so as to guide the Council on major financial decisions in line with existing laws and best practices. State Government accounts are in perpetual deficit. As at today the state accounts are overdrawn by over N10 Billion Government borrows to pay Salaries; some civil servants are yet to receive August salaries while payment of gratuities of retired civil servants have long been stopped; Local Governments have almost been crippled – Some owe two to three months salaries, with no meaningful developmental projects to show since H E Garba Umar took over as Acting Governor. After he was made Acting Governor he raised security vote from ₦80 million to ₦200 million per month yet the security situation has worsened; and The Academic Staff Union Of Universities (ASUU) of the Taraba State University Jalingo has been on strike for non-release of funds to the State University. The staff government issued a cheque of one hundred million Naira to the University which bounced ( could not be honoured for lack of funds). 7. HIS EXCELLENCY GARBA UMARS SITUATION AND COMPARISON WITH PRESIDENT JONATHAN GOODLUCK His Excellency the Deputy Governor erroneously compares himself with the treatment Mr. President received when the late President Yar’Adua was sick. The differences, however, are as clear as the difference between day, and night. 20 Days after the unfortunate plane crash, Alhaji Garba Umar was made Acting Governor by the State House of Assembly in compliance with the Constitution; He operated the state accounts and government structures without impediment from anybody; Unlike the late President Yaraduas situation then, Gov. Danbaba Suntai’s health has been recording tremendous upward improvement. President Goodluck did not celebrate 100 days in office when President Yar’ Adua was sick, but Alhaji Umar celebrated 100 days in office with fanfare while his boss was then in critical health condition in Germany; For the 10 months that Danbaba Suntai stayed in Jalingo on his return from the US, His Excellency Garba Umar could not, even on compassionate ground, visit him, although numerous personalities and groups from within and outside the State visited him. For the three months Governor Suntai was in the UK for check-up, he did not go to visit his boss, while the wives of the President and the Vice President graciously visited, among other personalities from Nigeria. To show his lack of sympathy, respect and loyalty for Gov. Suntai, Alhaji Umar presided over a meeting of the State Executive Council and passed a resolution, a day after the Governor was discharged from the UK hospital (10/09/14), requesting the Speaker of the State House of Assembly to set up a medical panel on his boss in commencement of processes for his removal. The fundamental difference between the situation being experienced in Taraba State and what obtained in the case of President Goodluck Jonathan with his boss then, is that President Jonathan treated his boss with a deep sense of respect, loyalty and sympathy, while Garba Umar is now treating his boss with a very high level of contempt, disloyalty, disrespect and lack of sympathy. 8. POWER SHIFT IN TARABA STATE The political tension in Taraba State today has arisen simply because Alhaji Garba Umar (UTC) who was brought into government by Governor Danbaba DanFulani Suntai seeks to overthrow his boss and change the political succession programme the people of Taraba State have largely come to accept based on the principle of equity, fairness and justice. Please note: The first elected Governor of Taraba State, Rev. Jolly Nyame is from the Northern Senatorial zone, and has governed Taraba State for 10 years Danbaba Danfulani Suntai is from the Central Senatorial Zone and is governing State for a second term that makes him Governor for 8 years. The Deputy Governor Alhaji Garba Umar is from the same Senatorial District with Governor Nyame who has governed the State for 10 years. By the above understanding, power is to shift to the Southern Senatorial Zone come 2015. However the Deputy Governor wants to truncate the arrangement. To achieve this, he has marginalized the Party and major stakeholders within the Party in the State. Furthermore, he made several failed attempts to change the Party leadership. Garba Umar claims that he is not accepted because he is a Muslim. This claim is not only false but mischievous as those for and against his desperate ambition comprise both Christians and Muslims in the State. Political power arrangements in this country are made largely on the basis of geo-political considerations. Besides, shifting power to the South is the right thing to do now to give the sense of belonging to all groups and sections of the State. In any case, for us in the PDP in Taraba State, the Southern Senatorial District has been unwavering in its commitment to the party as evidenced from the 2011 election results in the State tabulated below. zone PDP CPC ACN Northern Zone 141,598 134,594 3,487 Central Zone 120,241 90,114 9,085 Southern Zone 189,579 59,459 68,778 9. ACCESS TO THE GOVERNOR BY HIS DEPUTY The Deputy Governor, in his quest to attract undeserved sympathy for his ambition to unseat his boss, has been making spirited efforts to confuse the public with the propaganda that the Governors family and close associates have prevented him from seeing his boss. The facts are highlighted below: The Deputy Governor visited his boss when he was in Germany and also when he was in the US. At both visits, His Excellency Garba Umar had unfettered access to the Governor On the Governors return to Jalingo from the US in 2013, the Deputy Governor was at the Jalingo Airport together with government officials and well-wishers to welcome him. However, for some reasons best known to him, he did not accompany the Governor to his residence. And throughout the ten months the Governor was in Jalingo before he left for the UK, the Deputy Governor never visited the governor The only time the Deputy Governor made an attempt to see his boss was on the Sallah Day of 2013 at about 10:30 pm and was told the Governor had retired to bed. We therefore wonder where the hue and cry about him being prevented from seeing his boss is coming from. It must be pointed out here that while the Governor was in Jalingo, he made several trips to and from Lagos and Abuja, but at none of those trips did the Deputy Governor make any attempt to see the Governor off from Jalingo or receive him back on arrival. It is baffling that the Deputy Governor who held all his Exco meetings in the Government House during those ten months, but never made efforts to go and visit the Governor in his house within the Government House is now complaining that he was denied access to the Governor. The Deputy Governor who made all arrangements for the return of the Governor from the UK and knew the time the aircraft was scheduled to land in Abuja chose to get to the airport late and so could not be there to receive his boss. And of course, the Governor did not need to wait for his arrival at the airport before leaving. 10. MORAL ISSUES In the whole of this, there is the need to put in perspective the following moral issues His Excellency Garba Umars appointment as Deputy Governor was made by Governor Danbaba Suntai who accepted his nomination by stakeholders from his Local Government Area Governor Danbaba severally voiced out his acceptance of the Deputy Governor on grounds of his age, thereby, showing his deep respect for his Excellency Garba Umar, who he believed would not show any ambition that would undermine the political stability and commitment to power shift which is a cardinal principle of the PDP. He went ahead to dismantle the political structures put in place by the Governor. Among other things, he went ahead and instigated a change in the leadership of the House of Assembly, removed the SSG, Head of Service, some Commissioners and Special Advisers, Board members and Chairmen without consulting his boss. In spite of the magnanimity of the Governor who went ahead to appoint the Deputy Governor in spite of the fact that he was only a fringe member of the PDP in the State, he is now openly out to remove his boss by requesting for the setting up of a Medical Panel by the Speaker of the House of Assembly to investigate the health of the Governor. Considering the circumstances that led to the appointment of Garba Umar by Governor Danbaba, it is beyond moral human comprehension why the Deputy Governor is spending so much public funds to ensure the removal of his boss from office in spite of the fact that his recovery has been progressive. As a matter of fact, even if Governor Danbaba’s health condition was worse than it is, should he (Alhaji Garba Umar) have done what he is doing to his boss? 11. IMPLICATIONS OF THE EMERGING POLITICAL SITUATION The almost unassailable strength of the PDP in Taraba state is being threatened as never before; The possibility of PDP losing the 2015 elections in Taraba State are real – if the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar (UTC) is not stopped. 12. PRAYERS Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai should not be disgraced and humiliated out of office, as is being orchestrated by Alhaji Garba Umar and his cronies; The existing PDP structure in the state should not be tampered with in anyway. The Federal Government needs to revisit the resolution of the House of Assembly to take over the security of the state by setting a Joint Task Force. So far the Deputy Governor and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly have disobeyed every court order and sometimes beat up bailiffs. They must be called to order so that people don’t resort to self-help. The PDP national secretariat needs to affirm the power shift arrangement in place in Taraba State. The Adamawa formula of power shift needs to be adopted, and announced immediately to douse the tension in the state. HE Garba Umar should revert as soon as possible to his position as Deputy Governor. Deputy Governor should subject himself to the leadership of Governor Danbaba Suntai and the state party leadership. Signed Dr. Alfred Yahaya Kobiba Ambassador emmanuel njuwa hon. john mamman
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 13:48:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015