100 days in office: How Speaker averted major political crisis in Taraba
Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
It is a hundred days since the Speaker, Taraba state house of Assembly, Doctor Joseph Kunini was elected as the speaker of the House, following the unceremonious resignation of the then Speaker Mr. Abel Diah.
However, his sound leadership has averted what many considered a replication of political crisis that engulfed the state in 2012, in the wake of the unfortunate air mishap that eventually claimed the then Governor Danbaba Suntai.
The state governor Darius Ishaku has been away from the state for nearly three consecutive months, for reasons that were, until recently, shredded in top secrecy, and this has stirred a lot of controversy.
The controversies are further intensified by his failure to transmit powers to his deputy Alhaji Haruna Manu in acting capacity.
For most of the key players and agitators, the ultimate power correct the “anomaly” rests with the House of Assembly that has the power to either impeach the governor for the “constitution breach” or compel him to either return to the state or hand over to his deputy.
According to the state Chairman of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC Mr. Ibrahim El-Sudi, “Section 190 subsection 1 requires the governor to transmit a letter to the state House of Assembly, informing them if he is going to stay out of the state for a long time. Subsection 2 states that in the event that the governor fails to do that, it beholds on the house of assembly by a simple resolution, to make the deputy to assume power in acting capacity until such a time when the governor would return and transmit a letter to the house that he was back and ready to resume his work as the governor.
“Unfortunately, the governor has failed to do the needful and has been out of the state for nearly three months now. The state House of Assembly has also failed to invoke the necessary constitutional provisions. We therefore call on the house to urgently do this in the interest of the state. If the house fails to do this, we may have no choice but to explore legal options to compel the governor to come back to the state. He was elected as the Taraba state governor and it beholds on him to serve the people from the state, not from a remote area. Abuja or wherever else he is staying has their own leaders residing and ruling people from there and he shouldn’t go and erect another seat of power there while there is none in Taraba”.
Many other discordant voices in the state have continued to mount pressure on the state house of assembly.
However, the Speaker of the House, Dr. Kunini has been able to manage the situation with so much tact and leadership sage has saved the state from plunging into another political crisis that could have disrupted governance and possibly deteriorated into violent clashes with attendant lose of lives and property.
Taraba state is not only very volatile due to its ethno religious diversity, but comprises of rather fanatical political philosophies that easily spiral into violent clashes once there are any openings.
According to the state Commissioner of Youths and Sports, Alhaji Ibrahim Imam, “the opposition in the state here rarely look at issues objectively. Everything done by the government of the day is considered wrong and condemnable. In recent times, you are aware that if it was not for the sound leadership style of the Speaker and his firm believe in ensuring the entrenchment of democracy, the state could probably have been in chaos now because of the governor’s absence in the state. I personally salute the speaker for his political savvy”.
But the speaker is resolute in ensuring that the “the executive/legislative relationship is such as to serve the interest and and infrastructural development of the state without creating unnecessary tension that could stall development in the state”.
The Speaker, in an exclusive interview with The Sun said that ” the proponents of the principle of separation of power, checks and balances, do not, in anyway, intend to create unnecessary friction amongst the three arms of government. In fact, the principle is aimed at ensuring a complimentary working relationship that would ensure that each and every arm of government works towards achieving the onerous goal of providing stable good governance for the people, without abusing their powers”.
With this in mind as the basis for his leadership operational philosophy, the Speaker of the state house of Assembly has been able to mobilise the members to throw their weight behind the governor, haven concluded that his absence in the state has not, in any way, resulted into a constitutional breach.
“As far as the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria is concerned and all the relevant extant laws, the governor has not done anything unconstitutional. Besides that, there is no vacuum in the governance machinery in the state. All the relevant projects are ongoing and workers are carrying out their work promptly and are paid as and when due. In fact, I think the ordinary man on the street has the governor in mind and is praying for his quick recovery rather than raising unnecessary issues. If, at any point at all, the House establishes that the state governor has breached the constitution and committed impeachable offence, the House will not hesitate in doing the needful. But we need to be very careful.
“As a House, we have passed a vote of confidence on the governor and his Deputy for the good job they are doing. We would continue to support the government in ensuring the provision of infrastructural development in the state. My duty as a leader is to make sure that the house is not divided against itself. So far, we have been able to break the barriers of political, ethnic and religious dichotomy so that we can carry out our legislative duties with the sole aim of providing good governance to the good people of Taraba state. ”
This stance has helped to avoid plunging the state into a crisis.
According to a member of the House who spoke to our correspondent in confidence, “I am sure that this state would have been in chaos now if the Speaker was not so tact in his leadership style. He has been able to unite the house so well just within few days in office as the speaker and to literally save the state from a major political situation. For now, he has won our respect, our support and unwavering followership”.
As the Speaker marks his one hundred days in office, his leadership qualities, political experience and operational philosophy are already indelibly inscribed on the sands of time in the state as they all cone to play in saving the state from both political and actual violent clash.
