Taraba set for Governor Suntai's return

The people of Taraba state are set to receive their long-absent governor, Captain Danbaba Danfulani Suntai tomorrow.

The governor's wife, Hajiya Hauwa Suntai, yesterday arrived Jalingo, the state capital, in preparation for the reception.

Hauwa, who has been in New York, United States with her ailing husband, led an advance team to coordinate the womenfolk in the state in anticipation of the governor's return.

Suntai survived a crash in a plane he piloted near Yola, Adamawa State, on October 25 last year.

The governor, who was seriously injured, was taken to German and United States hospitals for treatment. He spent 10 months abroad, during which his foes tried in vain to remove him.

His deputy, Alhaji Garba Umar, who has been holding the fort, said he wants to make his boss' reception 'very special.'

In the state, there is no issue considered bigger than Suntai's return tomorrow. In Jalingo, the issue topped every discussion where two or more people were gathered yesterday.

'The state is in the mood for a big celebration,' Commissioner for Information Emmanuel Bello, told The Nation yesterday.

Suntai was on board the ill-fated Cessna 208 aircraft with his Aide de Camp (ADC), Iliya Dasat, Chief Detail Joel Danladi and Chief Security Officer (CSO) Tino Dangana.

All the security aides have since recovered and returned to the country. They are all anxious to see their boss tomorrow.

'The occupants of the ill-fated plane were recipients of God's mercies,' the ADC had said.

'God miraculously saved us,' he added while narrating his ordeal upon his return.

Suntai's return has been long awaited.
The governor, during his conversation with The Nation correspondent in March, his first and only direct communication with any journalist since his involvement in the plane crash, said he was grateful to God.

'I am grateful to God that I survived. Also, I thank God for the recovery,' he said. The governor added that he was coming back with happiness.

A member of the Taraba State House of Assembly and a friend to the Suntai family, Hon. Mark Useni, who visited Suntai in New York, told The Nation that the governor was tired of the environment there and had been eager to return home. 'His return was only being delayed on the advice of his doctors,' he said.

Suntai is expected to leave the Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Centre and Home in New York tomorrow for Abuja, where he will meet President Goodluck Jonathan; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and other stakeholders from Taraba who are resident in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He would then be flown from Abuja straight to the Government House in Jalingo.

Some Nigerians in New York, according to Mrs Suntai, will accompany the governor.