Update: How Taraba lawmakers declared Governor Suntai unfit to rule

"The ailing governor spoke in a manner that brought more doubt to his letter."

The Taraba State House of Assembly on Thursday reaffirmed Garba Umar as the Acting Governor of the State and advised ailing Gov. Danbaba Suntai to proceed for further treatment.

In a statement signed by 16 out the 24 members of the House of Assembly, the legislators said the decision was taken in the interest of the state.

"The leadership of the assembly made several efforts to see the governor since his arrival, but up till Wednesday they were not allowed access to him.

"The ailing governor spoke in a manner that brought more doubt to his letter purportedly transmitted to the speaker," the lawmakers, who met Mr. Suntai on Wednesday evening, said.

"In view of the above, we, the undersigned members of the state assembly unanimously resolved at our meeting that the Deputy Governor, upon whom power was earlier transmitted to by the state Assembly, still remain the acting Governor of Taraba.

"He will continue to act in that regards until such a time the governor is capable of administering the state," the statement said.

The lawmakers, who signed the statement, include the Speaker, Haruna Tsokwa; Deputy Speaker, Tanko Makarfi; Chief Whip, Mohammed Gwampo; and Deputy Majority Leader, Josiah Kente.

Others are Deputy Chief Whip, Mohammed Umar; the Minority Leader, Ibrahim Imam; and the Minority Whip, Yahya AbdulRahman.
Also in the list are Iratsi Daki, Rashida Abdullahi, Aminu Umar, Emmanuel Dame, John Bonzena, Abubakar Jugulde, Hamman Adamu Abdullahi, Abdulkarim Mohammed and Edward Baraya.

Mr. Suntai was flown out of the country for urgent medical treatment following injuries sustained in a plane crash in October 2012.

The governor, 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 him to appear before it to enable it decide on his request and confirm if he indeed wrote the letter.

Instead of accepting the invitation, an aide of the governor announced that Mr. Suntai had dissolved the state executive council, and appointed a new Secretary to the State Government, SSG, and new Chief of Staff, Government House.
Silvanus Giwa, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, announced the dissolution at a news conference on Wednesday.

Mr. Giwa, who claimed he spoke on the orders of Mr. Suntai, named the outgoing Commissioner for Justice, Timothy Kataps, as the new SSG and Aminu Jika as Chief of Staff.

The lawmakers statement of Thursday is believed to have voided the actions announced on Mr. Suntai's behalf on Wednesday.

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