Suntai escapes impeachment, addresses the state
The move by the State Assembly to impeach ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai who ignored an invitation to address the assembly but instead dissolved the state cabinet on Wednesday has been aborted with the governor’s televised speech to the state.
A highly reliable source in the Assembly revealed to Daily Review Online that there were moves by the Assembly was to initiate impeachment proceedings against Suntai.
Our source said: “Walahi, the governor disappointed us. He failed to reciprocate our patience and understanding all this while he has been away. We could have impeached him for long or invoke the doctrine of necessity as was the case with late President Yar’Adua.
“But we were patient and never wanted to create any confusion in the state. What is wrong with asking to Governor to address us? Yes we received his letter and the constitution only provided that he writes to us and then resumes, but we also have our oversight functions and part of that is to ascertain whether the governor is truly fit to govern us again.
“I mean, he shouldn’t take anybody for a ride. The people are thinking that the man if not fit and we are representing the people. So he must come to address us otherwise, we would ask what the people we are representing demand from us.”
But Suntai late in the evening on Wednesday, Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba state on Wednesday evening addressed the people of Taraba state, commending them for their prayers to recover fast.
The governor’s address was televised on the Taraba Television (TTV) during the state news.
In the statewide broadcast, Suntai is seen and heard thanking the people and asking them to live in peace.
He also inaugurated the newly appointed Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Barr. GT Kataps and the new Chief of Staff, Mallam Aminu Jika urging them to work in the interest of the people.
Meanwhie, the Acting Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar, on Wednesday called for calm following the purported dissolution of the State Executive Council by the Gov. Danbaba Suntai.
The Press Secretary, Kefas Sule, who addressed newsmen on behalf of the acting governor in Jalingo, said Umar and other major political stakeholders were working to resolve the impasse.
Umar said the state executive council was worried that some individuals were bent on fomenting trouble in the state, and urged the people to continue with their normal activities.
He said he would address the people on the situation after the council meeting, and gave assurance that the issues at stake were being sorted out.
Suntai was flown out of the country for urgent medical treatment following injuries sustained in a plane crash in October 2012.
Suntai, who returned to Jalingo on August 24, wrote to the House of Assembly informing the lawmakers of his return and readiness to resume office.
The assembly, however, asked Suntai to appear before it to enable it to decide on his request.
Instead of accepting the invitation, Suntai dissolved the state executive council, and appointed a new Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and new Chief of Staff, Government House.
Mr Silvanus Giwa, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, announced the dissolution at a news conference on Wednesday.
Giwa who claimed he spoke on the orders of Suntai, named the outgoing Commissioner for Justice, Mr Timothy Kataps, as the new SSG and Alhaji Aminu Jika as Chief of Staff.