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.

Source: Sahara Reporters