Lawmakers stop Suntai’s resumption

[Mirror]

...says he's medically unfit to govern . Aides allege strange behavior . NMA takes stand on health condition this week

Despite his return to the country after 10-month medical treatment abroad, trouble is far from over for Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State as the state House of Assembly has prevented him from resuming duties.

To the lawmakers, the indices on ground show that Suntai is medically unfit to govern the state.

Suntai had on Monday transmitted a letter to the Assembly on his readiness to resume office.

But the House Speaker, Rt. Hon. Haruna Tsokwa, yesterday declared that the deputy governor, Alhaji Garba Umar, remains the Acting Governor until ailing Governor Suntai is able to come out and address the Assembly.

Tsokwa, who addressed a press conference in Jalingo yesterday, said that the House was thankful to God that Suntai had returned to the state. He said that the leadership of the Assembly has not been allowed access to the governor since he returned on August 24 and he had not been seen in public.

The Speaker expressed worry that "a cabal" was working relentlessly to cause confusion in the state in order to hijack the state politically. Tsokwa described the group orchestrating and replicating the Yar'Adua saga as "desperate and selfish politicians" that do not have the interest of Taraba at heart.

"As elected representatives of our people, we will be failing in our duty to the electorate and to God Almighty if we allow this development to continue.

"Our request is very simple. We want our dear governor to resist the temptation of those who want to use him to achieve their selfish interest and come out to address the people of the state.

"If, on the other hand, the governor is not fit to address the people, then it means that the governor is not fit to run the affairs of the state and the House will have no hesitation in granting him leave to go back for further treatment.

"In making this request, we have no other motive than the love of our dear state as well as the wellbeing of our dear governor and the happiness of his family.

"We affirm that Taraba belongs to all, irrespective of their religious affiliation, and therefore call on our people to demonstrate love for the state and live in peace with one another," Tsokwa said.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, said it will meet this weekend to take a stand on the state of health of the governor.

The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, has also called on the Taraba State House of Assembly to set up a medical panel to examine the state of health of the governor. National Mirror reliably learnt that in spite of transmitting letter to the State House of Assembly on his readiness to resume duties, the governor's health status is still suspect.

A source said the governor's behaviour has been strange since his return from the United States of America where he had gone to after his aircraft crashed in Yola, Adamawa State, in October 2012.

"Since his return, the governor has been behaving strangely. Sometimes, he laughs abnormally. The governor has not been able to communicate well," a source in Jalingo, the state capital told National Mirror.

It was learnt that Suntai's aides had taken over the running of governance in the state while the Deputy Governor, Umar Garba, who has been acting governor until Monday has been relegated to the background in the running of the affairs of the state.

NMA President, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, who declined to comment last night on the suitability of the ailing governor to continue in office, disclosed that the issue would be discussed at the next meeting of the association on Saturday.

"The NMA has always advocated the need for a panel of experts to monitor the health of public office holders but this has not received necessary support of stakeholders," he said.

He also said Suntai's health and his return to the country on Sunday has further re-emphasised the association's position and clamour for Nigeria to have a Surgeon General to oversee such issues of public health, a position which he said, Nigeria is not considering.

"I don't want to be subjective on this (Suntai's) matter. The NMA will make a statement not just on his case alone but in similar matters we've had in the past.

"You will remember that Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State went for some time just like his Enugu counterpart, Mr. Sullivan Chime.

"These are some of the contemporary national issues that the NMA will be discussing at its meeting on Saturday after which a statement will be made on our position," Enabulele said.

The CNPP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, however insisted that Suntai's true state of health must be established while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Abuja.

Okechukwu was reacting to the alleged moves to allow Suntai resume duties as governor. The CNPP spokesman pointed out that the constitution stipulates that a medical panel should be set up to determine the health status of the governor in such circumstances.

Okechukwu said that the constitution also provided for Suntai's personal physician to be on the medical panel to certify the true state of his health.

"We thank God that the man survived the accident, but in spite of that, the constitutional provision must be strictly adhered to in such circumstance.

"The House of Assembly should immediately set up a medical panel to investigate the matter and to determine if Suntai is capable or incapable of carrying out his constitutional functions.

"If Suntai is found to be sound, for God's sake, he should continue with his functions, but if incapable, he should hand over to the acting governor," he said.

Okechukwu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, insisted that the constitutional provisions should be adhered to at all times.

He said that the constitution made it clear what should be done to ascertain the medical fitness or otherwise of a governor or the president.

The Chairman, Inter- Party Advisory Council, IPAC, Mr. Yusuf Tanko, also said that the governor's health status must be established before any action could be taken. He, however, said that if it was established that Suntai could not carry out his duties, the acting governor should take over his functions.

Citing the case of the late President Umaru Ya'Adua, whose deputy took over his duties when he was incapacitated, he insisted that the constitution should be adhered to totally.

Tanko said the right thing should be done so that "we should not be seen to be panel-beating a bad situation,'' stressing that the right decision devoid of any personal interests should be taken. "Democracy suffers when there is discord between the electorate and the elected," he added.

An Abuja-based legal practitioner, Mr. Okoi Obono- Obla, similarly urged the Taraba Assembly to urgently set up a panel of medical experts to ascertain the true state of Suntai's health.

Obono-Obla, however, noted that there was nothing wrong for a governor to communicate to the Assembly that he wanted to resume his duties as the governor of the state.

He said Section 189 of the Constitution empowered the Assembly to take action in this case to find out whether Suntai was capable of handling his responsibilities.

Another lawyer, Mr. Max Ogar, advised those against Suntai's resumption as governor to seek constitutional interpretation from a competent court. He noted that there was nothing wrong with someone who wished to resume office after being away on grounds of ill-health.

Ogar, however, warned that Suntai should not be allowed to resume in his current state of incapacitation because people would use his name to carry out fraudulent activities.

Meanwhile, a social political group, Taraba Justice Forum, has called on the Taraba State Assembly to commence impeachment process against Suntai over his health status. The group also called on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene now before the situation degenerates.

The group declared that the stage-managed arrival of the governor had vindicated the position of the forum on the governor's state of health and its demand an inquiry and action by the state Assembly in line with the constitution.

In a statement by its General Secretary, Mr. John Ambulus, and made available to journalists yesterday in Abuja, the group said the poor medical condition of the governor could no longer be hidden and that President Jonathan should intervene as a matter of urgent national importance. "The president now has a sacred duty to intervene in this matter.

The commander- in- chief should not allow this matter to degenerate. There is the need for intervention as this is ridiculing the ruling party and the Presidency," the statement said

. "We also appeal to the National Assembly to act now instead of waiting for the situation to spiral out of hand before taking action," the forum said.

The group said that for the past five months it has been calling the attention of the nation to the bad state of health of the governor and for the invocation of section 189 of the constitution, noting that "nobody listened to us all along."

"Now the truth is out of the bag. After 10 months of treatment, the result is what the whole world saw yesterday. With the way the governor was smuggled in, it is clear he is not medically fit in all consideration of the phrase," the statement said.

National Mirror

[Folami David]

Well the resumption had to be stopped and reasons are given for it other than it being stopped for absolutely no reason at all. I reason with this!