PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE PUBLIC INTEREST
LAWYERS LEAGUE (PILL)
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Gov
Suntai being helped from an aircraft
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Yesterday,
Governor Suntai returned to the country almost exactly ten months after he was
evacuated to Germany and later the United States for treatment of injuries he
suffered in a plane crash. That he survived the crash and ten gruelling months
of recuperation from injuries that Nigerian newspapers and online blogs
speculate range from a debilitating head injury to permanent mental and
physical incapacitation is a testimony to his indomitable spirit.
However,
his prolong absence raised, and still raises, questions over the state of his
health, the extent of his injuries and the more specific question: is he fit to
govern Taraba State?
The
picture of a man being helped by aides down the gangway of an aircraft fuels the
speculation that Governor Suntai is gravely ill, incapable of discharging the
functions of his office. The failure of Governor Suntai to address the media or
the people of Taraba state since his arrival in Jalingo appears indicative of a
more serious medical case.
We
have travelled the beaten path before. Recall President Yar’Adua’s saga. As it
was then, so it is now: a public servant, feeling very poorly, is corralled by
criminal cabal intent on subverting the spirit and letters of the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
Today,
like yesteryear, Governor Suntai is imprisoned by his aides and a wife who is
more interested in power than that the desire to help her husband deal with his
fate, the circumstances he has found himself, away from prying and inquisitive
public. Nigerians must help Governor Suntai out of his misery.
The
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is very
clear. Section 189 provides that:
(1) The
Governor or Deputy Governor of a State shall cease to hold office if:
(a) By
a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all members of the executive
council of the state, it is declared that the Governor or Deputy Governor is
incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and
(b) The
declaration in paragraph (a) of this subsection is verified, after such medical
examination as may be necessary by a medical panel established under subsection
(4) of this section in its report to the Speaker of the House of Assembly
(2) Where
the panel certifies in its report that in its opinion the Governor or Deputy
Governor is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him
permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice
thereof signed by the Speaker of the House of Assembly shall be published in
the Official Gazette of the Government of the State.
(3) The
Governor or Deputy Governor shall cease to hold office as from the date of
publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of
this section.
(4) The
medical panel to which this section relates shall be appointed by the Speaker
of the House of Assembly of the State, and shall comprise five medical
practitioners in Nigeria.
The
above section doesn’t need the adumbration of the court, nor does it elicit
interpretation beyond what the Constitution charges named statutory bodies to
give it its simple and plain meaning. Therefore, we call on the executive
council of Taraba state and the Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly
to give effect to the Constitution; and to without delay:
a.
Pass
a resolution declaring Governor Suntai incapable of discharging the functions
of his office;
b.
Appoint
a medical panel as directed by Section 189 (4) to investigate the true medical
state of Governor Suntai
Pursuant
to the foregoing, we call on the Attorney-General of the Federation, as Chief
Law Officer, and the Attorney-General of Taraba state to immediately initiate
steps to protect and secure the sanctity of the Constitution. We shall serve no
other notice of our intention to approach the court to compel them to discharge
their constitutional functions if they fail to do so within seven (7) days of
the publication of this press statement.
For
those who ask: what is it with Taraba state and why Governor Suntai? Our
response is that constitutional infractions undermine the integrity of
constitutional democracy everywhere. And for a nascent democracy like ours,
Taraba state poses a dangerous precedent; and it behoves us as Nigerians to
resist this clear abuse and subversion of our constitution.
Abdul Mahmud
Abuja
26th August, 2013
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