Garba Umar
A former Deputy Governor of Taraba State has called for the immediate swearing-in of the Acting Governor, Garba Umar, as substantive governor.
Senator Saleh Usman Danboyi, who was the second-in-command during the Jolly Nyame administration, said the installation of Umar would put an end to what he described as “administrative standstill in the state.”
In an interview with newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja, Danboyi lamented that governance in the state has come to a halt since Governor Danbaba Suntai was involved in a crash three months ago.
Danboyi who represented Taraba South Senatorial District between 2003 and 2007, noted that the electorate have the right to know the health status of their leaders.
Speaking further, he said: “Our governor was involved in a plane crash and he was taken to Germany. Ever since, we have not heard anything regarding his health status and this is causing much concern to the entire people of Taraba State.”
“We have the acting governor but things are not moving, particularly the developmental projects which involved capital projects. They are not forthcoming. Nothing is moving. It is believed in any civilised society that if their leader is sick, they ought to know the position of his health and we haven’t heard anything. We are being treated just like fools.”
He said everyone in the state was in the dark over the matter, adding that “nobody addresses us and we haven’t heard anything from him.
“What we saw was a picture trick indicating that the governor is sitting with his wife and his twin babies and one other person besides him. These are not sufficient evidence to prove to us that the governor is responding to treatment. We don’t wish him any bad omen. We want him to be well and recover quickly but we want to know the position of his health. If you take the case of Hugo Chavez of Yugoslavia, every morning in world news, his vice president will announce to the people of Yugoslavia about the health condition of their leader.”
Danboyi who also cited the case of Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State, said “you can see a typical example in Kogi State here. The governor was involved in a motor accident. We saw him in the television even when he was being discharged from the hospital. He talked to the people of the state and the country in general. We have seen that. But in our own case in Taraba, some cabals are just holding the state to ransom, saying the governor will come today, the governor will come tomorrow.”
“It is the issue of the state. We want the governor to address us. At least, he can do that from Germany.”
The former senator said he would challenge the matter in court if the present situation remains the same.
“The position of the constitution in Sections 189 and 181, is well spelt out on how we should have an acting governor and how the acting governor will become substantive governor. “So, the acting governor is not addressing us about the condition of the health of the governor. The onus of the proof about the health condition of our governor lies entirely in the hands of his deputy.”
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