when their brain-damaged governor, Danbaba Suntai, will be flown into
the capital in a private jet being paid for by the government of the
state.
Mr. Suntai, who suffered extensive head injuries in October 2012 after
a Cessna light aircraft he was flying crashed near Yola airport, has
been in rehabilitation at a trauma and brain injury center near New
York City.
According to press reports attributed to his wife, Mr. Suntai is
billed to be flown to Nigeria on Saturday. He will arrive in Abuja's
Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport on Sunday from where the state
governmentwill fly him to Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State.
SaharaReporters sources both in New York and Taraba State said thatMr.
Suntai's condition remains serious. Suffering memory loss, he is
unable to hold a normal conversation or remember either things or
people,and often just laughs out loud.
The last time the acting Governor of the state visited him in New
York, both men only posed for pictures, SaharaReporters was told.
People who accompanied the acting governor said there was no
discussion allowed between Suntai and his Acting Governor before the
man returned to Taraba.
Worried that the Acting Governor might decide to take over power, Mr.
Suntai's wife, brother, and some commissioners loyal to him in Taraba
approached Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State to bankroll the
returnof Suntai in a grand style that would be designed to hoodwink
the public.
According to the plan, Suntai will make a brief appearance and wave to
the crowd. He will then be quickly whisked away to safety.
His arrival may also be delayed into the late evening so that some
arrangements can be executed under cover of darkness, much like that
ofPresident Umaru Yar'Adua when he returned from Saudi Arabia,
monthsbefore he died.
With Suntai in town, his supporters will keep asking for calm and
prayers for his full recovery until the governorship elections are
held in the state.
A source at the Presidency said Mr. Jang has appealed to President
Jonathan that if Suntai is completely removed from power the number of
Christian governors in the country will dwindle, leaving just himself
and Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam as the only Christian
governors left in the entire north. Late Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna
State and Suntai were the two other governors in the north who were
Christians.
Sources at the Taraba State government house said the government
wasonly notified a few days ago of by Mr. Suntai's ambitious wife of
her husband's impending return.
The source told SaharaReporters that although the state has been
paying the governor's huge medical bills, first in Germany and later
in the United States, the government has never been briefed about his
condition.
Asked if Mr. Suntai has spoken by telephone with the governor since
theplane crash, the source said no.
Suntai's camp is taking a significant gamble. With his arrival now
just days away, there is anxiety in that camp that the return to
Jalingo couldtotally expose the governor's fragile state of health and
further emboldenthose who want to see him impeached as governor once
and for all.
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