"I Am Loyal To Governor Suntai," Taraba Acting Governor Says

Acting Governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Garba Umar (left) with Governor Danbaba Suntai

On Wendesday, the Acting Governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Garba Umar, addressed the press in Jalingo, the state capital. Among other things, he said his loyalty to his ailing boss, Governor Danbaba Suntai, is consistent and unshakable.

"As a loyal lieutenant, I will continue to hold brief for my boss by staying focused on his master plan for the development of our dear state.

"My resolve to do so is borne out of the need to ensure continuity and completion of the set goals and objectives within the life span of the current administration, started about seven years ago," Mr. Umar said.

Also, the acting Governor listed some of the goals achieved under his supervision: completion of work on Jalingo-Sunkani-Garba Chede Road, completion and inauguration of Takum General Hospital, connection of Suntai Village, the Governor's country home, to the national grid, as well as the state's House of Assembly Service Commission Complex.

"It is to the credit of the current administration that local government workers are now enjoying a new minimum wage, and we were able to pay September salaries of workers without federal statutory allocation," he said.

Mr. Umar urged the state House of Assembly to hasten the approval of the 2014 budget he presented earlier, so that the process of implementation could begin early in the year 2014.

He commended security agencies for their roles in maintaining peace in 2013, stressing that the efforts of traditional and religious leaders was remarkable.

Speaking further of variuos challenges of 2013, the Acting Governor said the major one was "the cabal which tried to hijack the machinery of governance using the name of Suntai. I can assure the people of the state that I will not fold my hands and allow any individual or group to hijack the state. We have now appointed commissioners and formed EXCO (executive council) and set for a better 2014," he pledged.

Mr. Umar also addresse the issue of the State Government’s "inability" to pay former Gov. Jolly Nyame his severance allowances.

"I have sent a bill to the state assembly to make a law allowing the state to pay former governors their entitlements and the law makers are yet to complete work on the document.

"Nyame failed to do that during his time [for 10 years], but I have played my part, remaining that of the assembly," he said.

It will be recalled that Governor Suntai returned to Nigeria on Aug. 25, 2013, after spending 10 months in foreign hospitals. The Governor was involved in a plane crash in Yola in October 2012.
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