By Wole Ayodele
There are indications that the Taraba State Governor, Mr. Danbaba Suntai, would soon return to the country.
Suntai was involved in a plane crash last month and was flown to Germany for medical treatment.
Besides, two out of the three aides who were on board the ill-fated plane and were also flown to Germany for medical treatment - the Chief Security Officer (CSO), Tinu Dangana and his Chief Detail, Joel Danladi - returned to the country Wednesday night after being discharged from the German hospital.
Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, representing Taraba South, who had been with Suntai since he was flown to Germany and only returned to the country last Sunday, disclosed this to newsmen Wednesday after speaking with the governor on phone.
According to him: “The governor has been speaking before I left for Nigeria but when he spoke to me yesterday, he spoke more audibly and with a discerning voice and fromall indications, he would soon be back in the country.”
Speaking further, Bwacha, who is one of Suntai’s close confidants, revealed: “His wife, the First Lady, initially spoke with me and then she handed over the phone to the governor who spoke with a discerning voice.He spoke very clearly and he was in a very high spirit.”
Giving an insight into the extent of the governor’s injury after the crash, Bwacha said he had injuries in his abdomen, a fractured hand and a swollen body which made him initially unconscious.
Dispelling rumours that Suntai had a spinal cord injury and a damaged head which has affected his brains, Bwacha retorted: “The governor is recovering very fast. His state of health has stabilised greatly before I left Germany. I am surprised to hear the rumour in Nigeria that he has a problem with his head and spinal cord. It is not true.”
Taking a swipe at those peddling such rumours, Bwacha stated “Ideally, a plane crash is not a bicycle accident; he needs timeto recover well. In fact, it is by divinity from God that he even survived the air crash. Those with evil wishes would be put to shame and would definitely not go unpunished.”
With the return of the two aides, only the Aide de Camp (ADC), Dasat Iliya, is now left with the governor in Germany and according to Bwacha, both of them would soon return to the country.
With the continued absence of Suntai from the state, the state House of Assembly had mandated the deputy governor of the state, Alhaji Garba Umar, who was sworn into office few days before the governor’s plane crash to act as governor pending the return of Suntai.
Enjoining the people of the state to cooperate with the acting governor for him to steer the ship of the state well in the absence of the governor, Bwacha noted: “Whatever confidence and loyalty the people had in Governor Suntai should be extended to the acting governor. It was Suntai that nominated him to work with himas deputy before the air crash and that is an indication of the confidence and trust he reposed in him” adding, “And so far, the people of the state are satisfied with the way he is piloting the affairs of the state.”