A group of Taraba State citizens on Wednesday called on the state’s Acting Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar, and the Speaker of the legislature, Hon. Haruna Tsokwa, to solve the riddle surrounding the state Governor, Danbaba Suntai.
Suntai has been in hospital abroad following an air accident he had in Yola, Adamawa State on October 25, 2012.
Addressing a news conference in Jalingo, the state capital, Tafi Warwar the spokesman for “Mambilla Concerned Citizens Forum”, said the state could not continue to suffer endlessly because of the continued absence of the governor.
Warwar said Section 176 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution states clearly that a state must, at all times, exist with a functional governor and a deputy governor.
Warwar, a former Deputy Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, pointed out that in the case of Taraba State, Umar had for the past eight months been operating both as a governor and the deputy governor.
He said the group was speaking in “exercise of our freedom of speech and association.”
Warwar said the continued absence of Suntai for “over eight months has caused this state not to have a sitting Executive Governor and his Deputy as provided by Sections 176 (1) and (2) and Section 186 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“We also support, appreciate and associate ourselves with the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) National Secretariat which constituted a committee that visited Governor Suntai in the US.
“This is a demonstration of high spirit of love, care and concern which our great party has for Governor Suntai.”
The group called on all individuals and corporate bodies who had pending cases in law courts in relation to the Suntai matter to allow the authorities concerned to follow due process in resolving such cases.
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