The Acting Governor of Taraba State,
Alhaji Garba Umar, has said that a cabal surrounding the ailing
Governor, Danbaba Suntai, is holding him hostage in their bid to hold
onto power to the detriment of his health.
But reacting to the development through
his Special Assistant, Media, Mr. Aaron Artimas, Umar said that the
cabal was also thinking and acting for the ailing governor because he
was not capable of doing so himself.
He decried a situation where a clique had
decided to hold the ailing governor in perpetual hostage and made all
the decisions for him because they wanted to perpetuate themselves in
power.
Artimas said that the cabal was also
shielding Danbaba from everybody because the acting governor was
prevented from welcoming the ailing governor at the airport.
However a group, Tarabans United for
Suntai, said that Umar was prevented from seeing the ailing governor
because he (Umar) had been sponsoring all sort of falsehood and half
truths in the media against his boss.
The group said that it was the highest
point of hypocrisy for Umar to see Suntai when he (Umar) had few days
before his boss’ arrival.
However, Artimas said that despite all
the antics of the Suntai loyalists, the state government had continued
to foot Suntai’s medical bills as well as taking care of his family and
would not shirk from that responsibility.
He said, “Suntai returned from treatment
abroad and he is still in Abuja because these people are the ones
thinking for him. It is those who want power that are looking up to him
as the solution to their immediate problem. The truth must be told one
day because no matter how long they continued to hold him and shield him
from the people of Taraba State, they are still answerable to Tarabans,
who elected him.
“The government, which he heads, has been
supporting him financially, materially and morally. All mortals are
susceptible to falling sick at any time, including death and the people
around Danbaba should allow him to recover fully and he needs all the
rests to do that.”
He added, “The government has continued
to foot his medical bills 100 per cent and take care of his family 100
per cent. Whatever they tried to do will not stand the test of time
because you cannot continue to hide the truth. We cannot shy away from
our responsibility to Danbaba as the duly elected governor of Taraba
State. After being governor, Danbaba still has a long time to live and
they should just allow him to live life to the fullest.”
But the pro-Suntai group, in a statement
signed by the Public Relations Officer, Ezekiel Gambo, said that since
Suntai’s ailment, the acting governor had spent huge funds on a
relentless media campaign against his benefactor; from photo cropping to
outright falsehoods.
The statement said, “Right now, a rattled
Umar, who sees power slipping from his quivering hands, is getting
desperate sponsoring all sorts of attack against the governor. He has
for instance, said he was blocked from seeing his boss at the airport
and that this could only mean that the governor is not medically fit.
“But the truth is that he couldn’t see
his boss on the grounds of principles. The handlers of Suntai rightly
reasoned that for a deputy who just last Wednesday mandated the speaker
to start the impeachment process on his boss, coming to the airport to
receive or welcome that same person smacks of dishonesty. Was Umar there
to ascertain if he was justified in branding his boss a vegetable? Or
was he there to cause confusion? Are friends and family members not
right to be wary of a man who thinks and speaks only negatively of their
benefactor? And even if it is true that his boss was indeed
incapacitated, should Umar, a man Suntai never offended, go after him so
ferociously?”
