Femi Falana
From: Diana Okon-Effiong, Calabar
Human Rights Lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), has appealed to key players in Taraba politics to desist from turning it to “State of Impunity’’.
He sated this in Calabar in an interview with journalists at the on-going bar conference at Tinapa Resort.
According to Falana a few Cabal in the state is holding it to ransom by creating “political confusion’’ over the return of Governor Dambaba Suntai from a medical trip abroad.
The Taraba executive council was Wednesday dissolved and a new Secretary to the State government as well as Chief of Staff appointed.
According to Chief Sylvanus Giwa, the Senior Special Assistant to the State governor who announced the dissolution, all Special Advisers were also relieved of their appointments.
He also disclosed that Suntai approved the appointment of Mr Gebon Kataps as Secretary to the State Government and Mallam Aminu Jika, as Chief of Staff.
But Falana alleged that “another political cabal has, unfortunately,emerged in Taraba state to cause confusion and to deny the ailing governor the opportunity to have himself fully treated’’.
He also alleged that Suntai “ is being brought back into the country to achieve certain political selfish interest that will further endanger the health of the governor’. “From the information at my disposal he is not in a position to write a letter, to sign, to compose a letter and send the letter to the Taraba State House of Assembly.
“I have already done a petition to the Inspector-General of Police to investigation the circumstance surrounding the writing of that letter. I have also written another letter to the speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly to set up a committee to investigate the health situation of the governor,” he said.
Falana revealed that he had also petitioned the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act on the matter.
He said that he sought from the authorities to make available to him and to the Nigerians the true state of health of Governor Dambaba Suntai.
He said that he did so to ensure that the citizens of Taraba can be properly governed as required the constitution.
“It is very dangerous for us that this culture of impunity has continued unchecked, the governor has recovered and is prepared to resume his duty since last Sunday. He should have appeared in his office to attend to his files and allow his deputy to brief him on how he has run the state since he has been away.
“He should have met with the Speaker to find out what the House has done but to keep him away to all the agencies of the state is not acceptable. And for the people to be running the show, writing a letter purportedly signed by the governor should not be tolerated in any decent society. Considering what the nation went through during the late President Yar’Adua ,it was the same way the current President who was the vice President then was shielded away from him.
“The Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives were not allowed to see the president then. And if that is now repeating in Taraba state, the relevant provision of the constitution should be invoked. I am happy that the human right community is involved now to get to the root cause of this ugly development,’’ he said.
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