Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Alhaji Bamanga Tukur is expected to visit ailing Taraba State governor Danbaba Suntai today in Jalingo, Daily Trust learnt in Abuja yesterday.
Governor Suntai had been through German and American hospitals in the past 10 months following injuries he sustained after he crashed his Cessna aircraft in October last year.
He returned to the country barely a week ago but controversy continues to rage over his attempt to resume office.
The State House of Assembly has invested his deputy Garba Umar with the powers to act as governor in his absence and he has been discharging that responsibility ever since.
But Suntai’s aides had said he is fit to return to office and the governor had since written to the House that he is back and wants to resume office.
He sacked the state executive council members many of whom were appointed by his deputy and went ahead to make two key appointments.
However, the House refused to accede to his attempt to function as governor saying Suntai should first prove he has fully recovered by coming to the assembly to make an address to the state.
The legislators, after an executive session, asked the deputy governor to continue to function as acting governor.
Aides and family members of the governor finally allowed the legislators access to the governor but after their meeting with him they issued a statement the following day advising the governor to return to hospital to resume his treatment.
President Goodluck Jonathan, whose party is in power in Taraba, has all along refused to wade into the matter.
However, the PDP chairman Bamanga Tukur was quoted last week as saying the party would not allow the government in Taraba to be run by proxy.
His visit today, sources said, is the first attempt by the ruling party to explore ways of resolving the impasse.
Bamanga is expected to first meet with Suntai, who has not been seen in public since he returned to Nigeria from the US on Sunday last week. Bamanga will also hold separate meetings with members of the State House of Assembly, the acting governor as well as aides and associates of the embattled governor.
PDP National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh was not available for comment as at press time on the planned visit of the national chairman to Taraba today.
However he said at a news conference in Abuja earlier in the day that the political impasse on Governor Danbaba Suntai, his state of health and controversy surrounding his arrival in the state were not part of the issues discussed at NWC meeting yesterday.
“We did not discuss the Taraba issue at today’s meeting, but I will find out from the national chairman what has happened and may be NWC meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) will discuss this issue, I promise that I will bring it to be discussed, and would brief you appropriately,” he said.
daily trust
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