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After Supreme Court ruling, comes the task of governing Taraba

By Charles Akpeji, Jalingo
15 February 2016   |   2:45 am
FOR now, Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba State must have put aside the trepidations that emanated immediately after the governorship election of April 2015 since the Supreme Court affirmed his victory on Thursday last week. The decision of the apex court must have also put to rest the anxiety that covered the state after…
Ishaku

Ishaku

FOR now, Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba State must have put aside the trepidations that emanated immediately after the governorship election of April 2015 since the Supreme Court affirmed his victory on Thursday last week.

The decision of the apex court must have also put to rest the anxiety that covered the state after the election as the people are now looking up to what the administration of Governor Ishaku would do to deliver the dividends of democracy to them.

It would be recalled that apart from the three-man panel of the Governorship Election Tribunal that quashed Ishaku’s victory on the ground that he was not the elected governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the state, the Appeal and Supreme courts both frowned at the judgment of the tribunal.

While the tribunal was said to have deviated from its assigned responsibilities and dabbled into party affairs, both the Appeal and Supreme Courts were of the view that no court has the jurisdictions to dabble into party affairs.

Citing the recent cases of Benue and Zamfara states, which were all said to be similar to that of Taraba, which the PDP lawyers had earlier said lacked locus, it was argued that the APC’s governorship candidate, who is presently the Minister for Women Affair, Alhassan Aisha Jumai, has no power to challenge the PDP primaries as she was not a member of the party, an argument which the two superior courts held in high esteem.

Now that the election litigations have been put to rest, the need for the governor, to as a matter of urgency, embark on the process of bringing the people of the state together irrespective of their political parties, religion and ethnic difference, now seems to be the utmost concern of the citizens of the state.

Should he (Ishaku) tread this path, the people are of the view that the expected growth that had eluded the state since its creation in 1991 from the defunct Gongola State would definitely become a thing of the past.

Another task that demanded urgent attention now that the PDP has successfully secured victory was the need for the governor to carry along the party executive whom he was alleged to have sidelined since he emerged governor last year.

According to a reliable source from the PDP, “Even though the party members have been pretending that all is well the reality is that Governor Ishaku has not been able to meet with the party executive since he assumed office. This of course, is causing a lot of unrest within the party.”

The source further alleged that rather than creating avenue to meet with the party executive, the party Chairman, Victor Bala Kona has been shielding the governor, a situation that is fast threatening the life span of the PDP.

Piqued by this development, some of the party members, said there was the need for the governor to stop distancing himself from the party executive, but to go along with the entire officials “and stop attending to the chairman alone. This would help redeem the battered image of the party in the state.”

A chieftain of the party, Alhaji Danuma Isa Munga said, “The governor need to go an extra mile to bring in capable hands to assist him in actualizing his dream for the people and the state at large. This can no longer be overemphasized.”

He claimed that since the assumption of office by the governor, the state has continued to move backward. “Ishaku should as a matter of urgency fashion out ways of uniting the people rather than promoting religious and ethnic bigotries.

According to him, “When other states in the country are busy going digital, Taraba State, since the coming of Governor Ishaku, has been going analog. The governor needs to operate an administration that is devoid of sentiments.”

Munga who also accused the governor of surrounding himself with persons that does not have the interest of the state at heart, urged him to use his professional background and his exposure to do the needful for Taraba.

According to him, “The PDP as a party has refused to embrace change for the past 16 years but Governor Ishaku needs to tread the path of growth by opening wide his arms to embrace the mantra of change, which I think would catapult the state to the expected height.

“It is a must for the governor to embrace change so that our state can move forward. He should bring in good hands and stop appointing inexperienced people who knows nothing about governance.”

Apart from Munga, several other concerned citizens of the state also faulted the governor for not making judicious use of the abundant human and natural resources that were available in Taraba to achieve the dividends of democracy. The people were however of the opinion that it was not yet late for the governor and his team to tread the right path now that he has triumphed at the Supreme Court.

Elated by the ruling, the immediate past Commissioner for Information in the state, Mr. Emmanuel Bello, who was of the view that the victory “is an indication that the Supreme Court has the country’s interest at heart, said it is imperative of the governor to embrace all in his administration irrespective of their political differences.

According to him “It is time for Governor Darius Ishaku to embrace all as a father and get everyone’s input as he embarks on making good his mandate. The administration does not have the luxury of time to waste on partisan and pretty issues.”

Like every respondent, Bello, expressed optimism that Taraba State has what it takes to be great provided the collective interest and unity of the people of the state must not toyed with, “the governor must work towards uniting Taraba State to achieve the goals of the rescue mission.”

To reconcile the people of Taraba, who have been polarized along religious and ethnic divides over the years, some political analysts stressed the need for the governor to take a critical look into that aspect, saying: “That would not only bring in the much-needed change in the state, it would further spur members of the opposition parties to pitch tents with the PDP.”

A politician who did not want his name on print said, “This is an opportunity for the PDP to amend its ways so as to have a smooth ride to victory in the 2019 general election.”

The politician who also said there were some aggrieved members within the party, urged Governor Darius and the leadership of the party to reconcile all members of their party and those that have defected to APC otherwise the PDP may experience worse things in 2019.

However, the Spokesman of the PDP, Alhaji Inuwa Bakari, denied the allegation that the party chairman has been shielding the governor from the party’s executive.

He said the chairman has been working hard to “ensure that members of the opposition join the PDP. So it is not true. He is not preventing the governor from meeting with the party executive.”

Also speaking, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, Alhaji Hassan Mijinyawa, said the most important priority of the government now was how to ensure that peace continued to reign in Taraba.

According to him, “That is why the governor has been pleading with the people to give him peace so that he would in turn, reciprocate by giving them development.”

Corroborating what the PDP spokesman said, the CPS described the governor as a democrat who “will never interfere in matters that would not bring progress to the state and the people.”

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