Two sources told SaharaReporters that the meeting with Mr. Suntai lasted only 10 minutes. One source disclosed that the state's Acting Governor had to introduce himself to the ailing governor, as Mr. Suntai failed to recognize him.After exchanging pleasantries, the team met with Mr. Suntai's wife as photojournalists were briefly ushered in to take photos.
Other sources revealed that Mrs. Suntai then confessed to members of the Uzodinma committee and an enlarged body of stakeholders that her husband was unfit to run the affairs of the state. "She told the group that the governor was only brought back home [from an American hospital where he was being treated] because he was homesick," one of our sources stated. The ailing governor's wife then suggested that Mr. Suntai would be taken out of the country in less than a month in order to undergo additional rehab.
The Uzodinma-led stakeholders' meeting was the culmination of a series of meetings the Acting Governor had held during his recent trip to Abuja.
A stakeholders meeting attended by "political elders," members of the Taraba State Assembly as well as members of the Taraba State contingent at the National Assembly in Abuja had resolved that the acting governor should continue running the affairs of the state. However, the stakeholders asked the acting governor to consult with Mr. Suntai or his close associates on crucial issues.
According to a member of the Taraba legislature, "This was the best political solution we could come up with. Instead of overheating the state, we decided to have a situation where the acting governor shares power with those that represent the interests of Governor Danbaba Suntai."
Mr. Uzodinma and his team have since left Taraba State for Abuja where they are expected to brief members of the old PDP as well as officials at the Nigerian Presidency.
