There is considerable disquiet in Taraba and Enugu states over the lack of official information on the medical conditions of their respective governors who have been out of the country for weeks now. Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State is in Germany since October 27 where he is receiving treatment for severe injuries he sustained two days earlier in a Cessna plane crash he himself was piloting.
For his part, Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State is away in the United States for 52 days now for what officials said was his "accumulated vacation."
The Save Taraba Group at a news conference in Jalingo yesterday said they would protest in the state capital and then march to the German Embassy in Abuja if within 24 hours the state government did not issue an official statement on the health status of the governor.
Reacting to the Save Taraba Group, Information Commissioner Emmanuel Bello said the state government was not hiding anything from the public.
The amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that if a governor is going on vacation or is unable to discharge his functions he should write to the state house of assembly, failing which within 21 days the assembly shall declare the deputy governor as acting governor.
Attempts to speak with the Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly yesterday on what they will do by the expiration of the 21 days on Thursday were not successful as he was not reachable by telephone.
In Jalingo, coordinator of the STG, Razak Umar, said keeping the health condition of Suntai secret when he is being treated with tax payers' money could lead to anarchy in the state.
"We have waited patiently and 17 days after the incident (and) nobody is saying anything. All we are hearing is lies and lies and lies everyday," he said.
"That is why we decided that we are tired of these lies and we are demanding an official statement from government. Look, Danbaba is our property and they are using state money to finance his treatment so they owe the state a duty to tell its people the state of his health.
"What is happening in Taraba is the same thing that happened during the late Yar'Adua and President Jonathan saga. Today the executive council would say this, tomorrow it would say that. That's the same thing we are experiencing in Taraba.
"Somebody will come and tell you that he drank tea with Danbaba but we saw two of his aides on social media and on Channels Television and we didn't see Danbaba and his ADC, why? Are they hiding the governor and his ADC? Enough is enough, we can't wait for other activists from far away Lagos to be fighting for us."
He berated the house of assembly for neglecting their constitutional duty and instead taking on the duty of being the spokesman of the governor, saying the house should have not been the one to say that the governor has been discharged from hospital and is resting at his hotel room in Germany.
But in his reaction, Information Commissioner Bello said the state government was not hiding anything. "We have kept the whole world abreast of the progress of the governor's health. Has anyone asked questions and they were not answered? If the group say we are not telling the truth, then they should tell us the lies they are accusing us of.
"The personal physician to the governor, Dr. Ahmed Kara, has continued to brief the state on the governor's health. The Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Sylvanus Giwa, even spoke to the state from Germany. They all said the governor is getting stronger daily. So what lies are we talking about? This group comprise of people who are mere relevance seekers sponsored by those who hate Taraba.
"If they truly want to save Taraba, they should join both Muslims and Christians in praying for the speedy recovery of the governor so that he would come and continue the job of transforming Taraba," Bello said.
In Enugu, anxiety is mounting over Chime's whereabouts more than seven weeks after he disappeared. He left the country on September 22.
Many residents of the coal city who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the weekend expressed worries that the governor was over-staying his welcome abroad, but his aides and party chieftains say there is no cause for alarm.
Information Commissioner Ugwoke the governor handed over to his deputy, Mr Sunday Onyebuchi, who was fully in charge of the state's administration.
"Activities have been on. There is no activity of government that slowed down because you realise that there is an acting governor who is fully in-charge," he said.
The commissioner said the governor would return as soon as his vacation was over, pointing out that he had not exceeded the duration of his vacation. In his own reaction, the Chairman of ACN in the state, Mr Emeka Udeh, said the prolonged absence of the governor was unhealthy for governance.
Udeh said the governor was entitled to his vacation but that where it became too long, the people also had the right to be worried.
"It is not healthy for the state. I don't know if the deputy governor has all the executive powers in his acting capacity. But what I want is that the state must be working," he said.
Chairman of the NLC in the state, Mr Chukwumaife Nze, described the governor's absence as the 'beauty of democracy'.
"I believe that it is democracy in action in the sense that there is a provision in the constitution for acting governor, depending on the circumstance around.
"The only thing we are saying is let the governor come back safely at the appropriate time. The absence of the governor is not affecting the productivity of workers in the state," Nze said.
Daily Trust
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