Brain-Injured Governor Suntai To Be Replaced

Two top level political sources in Taraba State have told SaharaReporters that the days of Danbaba Suntai as governor of the state may be numbered. "Alhaji Danbaba Suntai will be replaced soon," said one of the sources.

As a first step towards Mr. Suntai's removal, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today inaugurated a committee to determine the status of his office.

Mr. Suntai was seriously injured in October, 2012 when a small plane he was piloting from Jalingo crashed near the airport in Yola, the capital of Adamawa. The governor was trying to land the aircraft at the time of the accident.

Speaking to members of the seven-man committee in Abuja on Monday, the PDP's national chairman, Bamanga Tukur, said the party decided to intervene in order to resolve the political situation created by Mr. Suntai's accident. One of the tasks given to the committee was to discover and report the political repercussions among key stakeholders of the governor's sickness and absence.

"Interact and establish the most effective approach to reduce to the barest minimum, the fears of all the contending interest in Taraba State," Mr. Tukur told the committee members.

The PDP chairman added: "Fast track the process of constitutional adherence as it affects the current status of the office of the governor of Taraba State.

"Ensure that in all practical implications, the PDP Taraba emerge stronger and more united in responding to all the partisan challenges arising thereafter in the state.

"Consider and report any other matter that is, in the opinion of this committee, relevant in the resolution of the political condition of the state."

Members of the committee are Hope Uzodinma, Ahmed Gulak, Shittu Mohammed, Bala Buhari, Richard King, Bolajoko Doherty, and Abubakar Garda, who is serving as secretary.

Following the plane crash, Mr. Suntai was briefly treated at the National Hospital, Abuja before being flown to Germany for continued urgent treatment. Despite efforts by PDP officials to paint a rosy picture of Mr. Suntai's recovery, SaharaReporters revealed that the governor had suffered significant brain damage that rendered him incapable of recognizing visitors, including members of his family.

"Some of us told the leadership of our great party in Abuja that we cannot go on telling ourselves lies about the condition of Alhaji Suntai," said one of our sources. "They now realized that what we're saying is true. That's why the committee has been set up," he added.

Mr. Suntai was moved to the US and is being treated at undisclosed hospital in the East Coast. A source said the governor's brain impairment remains a serious issue.

Mr. Tukur asked the committee to submit its report within two weeks.

-naij