IN Taraba State, all has not been the same since the crash of the Cessna 208 aircraft with registration number 5N-BMJ on October 25, last year in Yola, Adamawa State being piloted by Governor Danbaba Suntai. The governor and three other occupants (his aides) were injured.
Although the then newly appointed Deputy Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar, has since taken over in acting capacity, the return of the governor to duties has been a subject of controversy and uncertainty and has gradually started to impact on governance and politics in the state.
Suntai and his injured passengers were initially treated at the Adamawa Standard German Hospital in Yola before they were flown abroad. The governor has been receiving further treatment in a German hospital since then.
Now, the question has arisen of how long the governor can be away from office and what should follow if it becomes perpetual.
The Guardian's investigation revealed that the slow pace of development in the state is due to the absence of the governor and the inability of Umar, according to Bala Danbai, a resident of Jalingo, to "have full control of the finances of the state."
Danbai said: "For now, I don't think he has the power to reach out effectively to the leadership of the various federal government security outfits operating in the state, because he has not yet being given that mandate."
Although Umar, as an acting governor, has the constitutional backing to function as a governor, in practice, it may not be so due to political schemings.
"For me, our constitution is just too ambiguous. Was it not the same constitution that failed to stipulate the numbers of days, months or years a governor can stay away from office before he can be removed?" queried Gideon Hamisu, another resident of Jalingo, the state capital.
He added: "That same constitution is now telling us again that as an acting governor, you have all the legitimate power a substantive governor has. I say no to that, because with what we are seeing now in Taraba, the power of this acting governor is limited."
More worrisome to the people is the refusal of the core loyalists of the ailing governor to allow the acting governor, who is still operating from the deputy governor's office, to relocate to the Government House.
Lady Comfort K, a student of one of the higher institutions in the state, said: "To be frank with you, although I am not originally from this state, one major problem I have discovered to be militating against the growth of this state is religion. That will take them to nowhere. Instead, it will continue to drag them backward."
The people have been compelled to wait, hoping that something positive happens, and soon, to break the debacle.
The stalemate in Taraba perhaps re-echoes the position of Michael Aondoakaa, then Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice under the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, that his boss, brought down by sickness that finally took him, could govern, infinitum, from anywhere, even as he did not communicate the Senate President his absence from office.
Section 190 (as amended) of the constitution says: "In the event that the Governor is unable or fails to transmit the written declaration mentioned in subsection (1) of this section within 21 days, the House of Assembly shall, by a resolution made by a simple majority of the vote of the House, mandate the Deputy Governor to perform the functions of the office of the Governor as Acting Governor, until the Governor transmits a letter to the Speaker that he is now available to resume his functions as Governor."
But the section is silent about what happens if the Governor fails to transmit a letter to the Speaker of the Assembly or how long he can be away from office with or without transmitting such a letter, as is the case with Suntai, whose capacity to continue in office, as a result of the injuries he sustained in the crash, remains a subject of speculation months after.
There is there is no time limit in both the old and amended versions of the constitution regarding how long a Governor can be away from his duty post, thereby creating a lacuna of sort.
According to Godwin Uwazurike, Lagos-based lawyer: "The constitution clearly allows a Governor or President to be absent from his/her office, but where it is extended, he/she shall transmit to the legislature a written declaration that he is going on vacation or will not be available to exercise the functions of his office.
"From the tone of the section, there is no time limit. Endless absence is not what the people bargained for when they elected the state chief executive."
He added: "The issues at stake are very dicey, because the acting governor is just a mere decoration; he cannot do any thing unless directed by the chief of staff.
"If he is not careful, he will lose his seat if he tries to act like the chief executive. There is a lacuna, but over time, it will be cured.
"The effect on democracy is that the people are not happy with such state of affairs and the way out is to keep faith with the constitution and amend what you can and endure the rest."
In the current scenario, Suntai was unable to write to the Speaker of the state Assembly, Mr. Istifanus Gbana, intimating him of his absence from office, and it is doubtful if he is in the right frame of mind to do so now, from all indications.
Section 189 (1) says: "The Governor or Deputy Governor of a State shall cease to hold office if:
(a) "By a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all members of the executive council of the state, it is declared that the Governor or Deputy Governor is incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and
(B) "The declaration in paragraph (a) of this subsection is verified, after such medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the Speaker of the House of Assembly."
Sub-section 2 says: "Where the medical panel certifies in its report that in its opinion, the Governor or Deputy Governor is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice thereof signed by the Speaker of the House of Assembly shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the State."
Sub-section 3, it says: "The Governor or Deputy Governor shall cease to hold office as from the date of publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of this section," while Subsection 4 adds: "The medical panel to which this section relates shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Assembly of the State, and shall comprise five medical practitioners in Nigeria – (a) one of whom shall be the personal physician of the holder of the office concerned; and (b) four other medical practitioners who have, in the opinion of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, attained a high degree of eminence in the field of medicine relative to the nature of the examination to be conducted in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section."
According to Sub-section 5, "The reference to 'executive council of the State' is a reference to the body of Commissioners of the Government of the State, howsoever called, established by the Governor and charged with such responsibilities for the functions of Government as the Governor may direct."
The Guardian