constitutional crisis in Taraba

Constitutional crisis in taraba Two law suits may shape the fierce succession battle in Taraba State. Fanen Ihyongo, Senior Correspondent, who has been following the proceedings, examines the issues involved. WHAT a witty world of paradoxes! Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai and his former deputy, Sani Abubakar Danladi, who together held Taraba State in their palms for over six years, are now at the mercy of the law to return to power. They are in separate legal battles against the Taraba State House of Assembly, although logically against Acting Governor Garba Umar who has effectively consolidated his hold on power since Suntai crashed with a plane on October 25, 2012. Besides the allegation that Umar had bribed the lawmakers to transmit power to him to continue to act, he is reportedly financing the lawyers defending the Speaker and the Assembly in all the suits. A win for the state Assembly means a win for the acting governor. In the first suit, Danladi, who was impeached by the state Assembly at the prompting of Suntai, is asking the Supreme Court to reverse his impeachment. The High Court in Jalingo the Taraba State capital and the Court of Appeal in Yola the Adamawa State capital had affirmed the impeachment. But his lawyer, Kanu Agabi, SAN, who proceeded to the Supreme Court, is arguing that the House of Assembly did not follow the due process in removing him. The former deputy governor has faulted the seven-man panel set up by the Chief Judge, Josephine Tuktur, to investigate the allegation of “gross misconduct” against him. Apart from these arguments, Danladi is faulting the lawmakers for sitting and impeaching him when the late Isiaku Audu, who represented Kurmi Constituency, died and was yet to be replaced via a bye-election. Danladi was impeached on October 4, 2012 when Istifanus Haruna Gbana was the Speaker. The impeachment brought on board Garba Umar as the deputy governor. Danladi then sued Suntai, Gbana and other members of the Assembly for “illegitimately” impeaching him. Then, Gbana and former Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Gebon Kataps were asking the court to reject Danladi’s prayers, to protect Garba Umar. The situation is now different. Umar has reportedly sponsored the removal of Gbana as the Speaker and Kataps also forced out of office when Suntai’s return plunged the state into constitutional crisis. Yusuf Ali, SAN, who was the defense counsel for Gbana, is now the defense counsel to the House against Suntai. Danladi is said to have lost so much to the impeachment. One of his greatest damages is perhaps the national honour he was deprived of. Suntai, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha and Danladi were among the 149 Nigerians listed for the 2012 national honours. But while Suntai and Bwacha were decorated with the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), Danladi, who was to be given the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), had his name which appeared as number 51 on the list, skipped by President Goodluck Jonathan. In the second suit, ailing Governor Suntai has approached the court to interpret section 190(2), with regards to the letter he transmitted to the House of Assembly on August 26 last year of his readiness to resume duty, which was turned down by lawmakers who asked his deputy to run the state as acting governor. Suntai’s lead counsel, Alex Izinyon (SAN) and Elijah Nyaro Esq, want the court to determine whether the Speaker and the House of Assembly erred in the interpretation of section 190(2) which has not attracted any judicial interpretation before now. Suntai is therefore, praying the court to declare that the letter he transmitted to the House is “absolute, mandatory obeisant, immutable and cannot be debated or contradicted by any means whatsoever as the first and second defendants (Speaker and Assembly) lack any discretion in the circumstance and that upon transmission of the said letter, he has automatically assumed his powers and responsibilities as governor of Taraba State”. Adebayo Oba Adelodun (SAN) and Yusuf Ali (SAN) are defending the Assembly while Micah Musa Esq and Yusufu Akirikwen are counsels to the Speaker. The defending lawyers, working as a team, have alleged that their clients (lawmakers) had seen the plaintiff (Suntai) and he was not fit to sign and author the letter transmitted to the House of Assembly. But Suntai’s lawyers submitted that the lawmakers are not soothsayers or medical examiners that can look at someone and say he is not fit to sign his signature. The ailing governor had on August 25 last year returned from his medical trip abroad after treatments from Germany and the United States but was proclaimed as unfit to resume work as the helmsman. His deputy also refused to revert back to his constitutional position as a deputy. Umar has always insisted that he will only revert back to the position of deputy governor when the House of Assembly, which made him the acting governor, communicates to him the change in status. Suntai is now only a ceremonial head and Umar is no longer ready to play the second fiddle. 16 of the 24-member House, led by Speaker Josiah Sabo Kente, are backing him. Penultimate Wednesday, the G-16 or pro-UTC, as they are called, passed a vote of confidence on the acting governor, saying he is doing well. The 16 lawmakers, led by the late Speaker Haruna Tsokwa, who rejected Suntai’s letter of his intention to resume office had stated that Suntai was so sick that they would not allow him to toy with the destiny of the state. Ironically, Tsokwa later slumped and died of heart ailment. The governor, who has refused to make his medical records public, purportedly dissolved the cabinet and appointed a new Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and Chief of Staff. Umar cried foul, saying a cabal was attempting to hijack the state. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) intervened through a fact-finding committee led by Senator Hope Uzodinma. The committee, with majority of the lawmakers, asked Umar to continue to steer the affairs of the state as acting governor. The Majority Leader, Joseph Albasu, and seven pro-Suntai lawmakers rejected the decision on grounds that the Uzodinma Committee lacked the constitutional power to do so. The G-8, also known as pro-Suntai, insisted that the letter transmitted by the governor was not subject to debate by the House. The eight members have been in support of the suit against the decision of their 16 colleagues. The two parties had explored several amicable ways of resolving the matter out of court but it was as futile as fetching water in a basket. The eight lawmakers, like most of the governor’s supporters, have continued to challenge the legitimacy of transferring power to Umar to act, despite Suntai’s presence. They have pointed out that “morally,” Suntai must not be 100 percent strong before he resumes. They have argued that the Nigerian constitution does not condone a “strange contraption” where the governor is around and his deputy is referred to as acting governor. Umar has often pledged his loyalty to his ailing boss, saying he would not undermine his authority. But the governor’s associates have accused him of disloyalty and backstabbing, having fired Suntai’s loyalists from office, embraced Suntai’s foes and made unsuccessful moves to remove the governor. Thus, the governor’s allies have continued to block Umar from seeing his ailing boss when he returned recently from another medical treatment from the United Kingdom. Speaker Josiah Sabo Kente, who has pitched tent with Umar, has carried out several legislative and over-sight functions that allegedly favored Umar. He screened a list of commissioner-nominees submitted by the acting governor, despite a court’s injunction. The bailiff, who brought the notice, was beaten by the police. In recent times, the acting governor was accused of plotting to remove Suntai by instigating the setting up of a medical panel to investigate his medical condition, but the court presided by Justice Silas Haruna restrained him and the Speaker to desist from taking any action with respect to the office of the governor. The suits by Suntai and his former deputy are generating hot debate and tension. The storm is all about power shift and the succession battle. The acting governor, who is from the north, is scheming to succeed Suntai in the coming polls. He has picked the PDP nomination form. The southern zone, where power is expected to rotate to, has vowed to stop him. They prefer Suntai to take over so that he could assist them realize their ambition. Suntai had said the north and central zones have ruled the 23-year old state for 18 years, so the fairest thing to do is to zone the slot to the south. Danladi’s case came out on October 16 but was adjourned to November 21 by Justice Walter Onnoghene. If the verdict of the Supreme Court favors Danladi, Umar will cease to be the acting governor and deputy governor. Danladi will return as the deputy governor. Majority of those who instigated his impeachment, including Suntai and former Speaker Istifanus Gbana, are now supporting him. But no one can tell what the former deputy would do should he return to office. Will his return foster reconciliation or provide an opportunity to take his pound of flesh from his former foes turned friends? Umar is not his friend either. If Suntai gets Judgment, Umar will no longer be in charge as he would reverse to his position of deputy. If the judgments favor the House of Assembly, Umar would assume more powers to his political advantage. So, as it stands, informed observers agree that the much-awaited court judgments now hold the key that would ultimately resolve the Taraba constitutional crisis and help shape the governorship race in 2015.