Suntai returns tomorrow Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai, who has been on medical trip abroad since October last year, is scheduled to return tomorrow, the state government announced yesterday. But sources close to the governor told Weekly Trust that he is still in poor health condition and may not be able to assume leadership role in the state. They said he is being flown home against the advice of doctors and close friends who genuinely care for his well being. “The decision to return him was made mainly by politicians who want to gain political capital from his physical presence in the country,” one of the sources said. “They know he is still sick and is not in a condition to govern, but they plan to shield him from the public,” the source added. They said the governor would arrive in Abuja in the morning on Sunday but he would be blocked from speaking to journalists. He would then be flown to Jalingo, Taraba State capital, where he would be kept in a restricted place, the sources said. Taraba State acting governor Alhaji Garba Umar had earlier confirmed that the return of his boss. Suntai sustained serious injuries from his air crash of October 25, 2012. Umar, who confirmed this to Weekly Trust yesterday through his chief press secretary, Kefas Sule, said all was set by the state government to accord the governor a rousing reception in Jalingo. “His Excellency the acting governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Garba Umar, is pleased to announce that the executive governor, Danbaba Danfulani Suntai has recovered from the injuries he sustained during the air mishap of October 25, 2012”, said a statement signed by Sule. According to the statement, Suntai would be arriving Abuja at about 10 am on Sunday in the company of family members and friends from where he would take off for Jalingo, the Taraba State capital where “he would be received by the acting governor and other top government functionaries at about 2pm on Sunday.” “His Excellency the acting governor enjoins all Tarabians to turn out en masse to receive our beloved governor,” the statement reads. Suntai’s wife, Hauwa had on Wednesday announced that her husband, who had been receiving medication in the United States since March, is expected to return to Nigeria on Sunday. Mrs Hauwa reportedly told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Suntai would leave the Sea View Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre in New York on his way home. However there are fears that the return of the governor even when he has not fully recovered may lead to a reenactment of the Yar’adua scenario and plunge the state into confusion. A coalition of 150 civil society organizations yesterday made a formal request for official information on the state of health and medical treatment of the Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai. In the request signed by its chairman Olanrewaju Suraju, and addressed to the Taraba State Commissioner for Information, the coalition said it read in the media that “His Excellency Mr. Danbaba Danfulani Suntai is set to return to Nigeria over the coming weekend after having been absent for 10 months of Medicare due to severe injuries he sustained in a ghastly plane crash on the October 25th, 2012.” It said “where timely and credible information is lacking, lies, rumours and conjectures fill the vacuum. We wish to note that the failure thus far of the Government of Taraba State to come out with facts and evidences to support same, about the true state of health of Mr. Governor, has left rooms for conjectures and speculations. We dare say, that such conjectures and speculations are not healthy for our polity, given the trauma this Country underwent during the unfortunate political manipulations that prevailed in the final period of the sickness and eventual death of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. “To this extent and in a bid to uphold the values of transparency and accountability in governance and public life, we hereby request, by virtue of sec 2,3, and 4 of the Freedom Of Information(FOI) Act, that the Taraba State Government make available to us and by extension the general public, the following; Evidence(s) to proof that Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai has fully recovered, and this may include video recording of visits to him by PDP delegation and or medical report certifying him well again; Details of the amount of money expended on his treatment so far. We would appreciate if this requested information is made available to us within one week from the receipt of this letter.” When contacted, Taraba State Information Commissioner Mr Emmanuel Bello said he did not receive any request from any group whatsoever asking for any detail concerning the governor’s health condition. He however said that such request would have been unnecessary since the governor was already coming back to the state. The health condition of the governor has been a subject of controversy. The first major controversy was as a result of an interview granted on the governor’s health condition by the then Chief Medical director of the Taraba State Specialist Hospital, Dr. Aliyu Zakari where he declared that Suntai’s condition was getting worse in the German Hospital and advised on the urgent need for his transfer to the John Hopkin’s Hospital in the United States. Zakari’s comments drew the ire of the state House of Assembly which set up a panel to ascertain the motive behind them. He was later sacked in hazy circumstances. Also worried by the continued absence of the governor, the PDP national secretariat set up a fact finding committee headed by Senator Hope Uzodinma to meet with the relevant stakeholder with the view to ascertaining the situation in Taraba, a development that did not go down well with some individuals who went to court to stop the committee. Although the team reportedly visited the ailing governor in USA where they expressed satisfaction with his health condition, many critics from Taraba seemed unimpressed with their verdict. The health of Danbaba Suntai was also said to have been the topic of a meeting held between President Goodluck Jonathan and retired General T.Y. Danjuma, who hails from Taraba State, shortly after his coronation as the Jarma of Zazzau, where the need to maintain the state’s power equation was discussed. As Suntai returns, after several failed promises of his anticipated return, many say they fear that a cabal will use the governor’s presence to frustrate the acting governor, just as it happened to President Goodluck Jonathan before he became a substantive president. It also remains to be seen how Taraba State, which has been without a full-pledged governor for the past nine months, will weather this political storm.
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 04:49:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015