Disclose true state of Gov. Suntai's health -Cleric demands

A new twist was Sunday added to the political crisis rocking Taraba State with a top Catholic cleric in Jalingo, Rev. Father Charles Nyameh, challenging both the state House of Assembly and the state executive council to disclose the true state of health of Governor Danbaba Suntai.

In a statement issued at the weekend, the cleric accused politicians in the state of lying about the state of health of the governor, warning that: “It is time the truth is known so that the state can move forward.

“I strongly call and urge, in the name of God, Taraba State Executive Council and Taraba State House of Assembly to do what is necessary and within their constitutional powers, to make Taraba State have a substantive governor. We cannot continue in this situation indefinitely; we should tell ourselves the truth and do what is necessary for the state to move forward,” Nyameh said.

The cleric noted that “If it is in our position or power to make the governor well and bring him back to continue his work, we would have done it since,” adding “We have prayed and are still praying, but it is not out decision to make.

“We have to come to terms eventually with certain realities which are not in our power to determine. It is a common factor in Nigeria that we often don’t want to say the truth if it affects our ‘interests’, which are often selfish. But we have to face reality as it is. If we don’t speak because we think we might be at a disadvantaged position, when a similar incidence occurs when we might be in an advantaged position, we must be prepared to also remain silent,” the cleric said.

The Rev. Father further declared that while the governor will be remembered for so many positive things he did, “Taraba State existed before the administration of Danbaba Suntai and will continue to exist after his administration, adding that there are limits to what an acting governor can do.

“We have played so much politics with the issues of the governor’s health and have created so much divide in the camps of those who are either for or against him. We pray God to heal him to come back and continue his life, but the governance of the state must continue according to the tenets of our sovereign national constitution,” the cleric said.

The clerics who commended the state assembly for its conduct so far affirmed that “the truth must be said even if a price has to be paid”, concluding that “It is an honour to be identified with the truth in life or in death.”