By Stephen Osu, Jalingo and Joshua Egbodo, Abuja
Former Governor of Taraba state, Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, is dead. He died in the United States in the early hours of yesterday. His former Senior Special Assistant on Media and later Commissioner for Information, Emmanuel Bello, and his former Chief Press Secretary, Hassan Mijinyewa, both confi rmed this to Blueprint. It would be recalled that the former governor’s light aircraft he piloted in October 2012 crashed at the Yola airport and had been battling with injuries he sustained from the accident. Bello described his death as “a colossal loss to the state and the entire country,” saying the late Suntai had peculiar democratic virtues that would be missed by all, who came in contact with his kind of politics. Also speaking, Mijinyewa said “the news of the loss of the former governor is devastating, but we pray God to grant the family the fortitude to bear it.”
In his reaction, Nigeria’s former Ambassador to the Republic of the Cameroun, Emmanuel Injuwa, in his reaction, said the former governor was “patriotic, philanthropic, upright, charismatic and God fearing leader, who achieved a lot for his state.” According to him, Suntai worked for the enduring peace, which the people of his state enjoyed during his time. A former member of the Taraba state House of Assembly and the late Suntai’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Barrister Kabiru Umaru Dodo, described him as “an icon in Taraba politics, who stood for the truth and defended it.” He said “there is a lot for leaders to learn from the Late Suntai; his patriotism, indiscriminate attitude to humanity, and treating everybody on his or her fi rst value as a human being, not withstanding where you come from and your affi liations.” Meanwhile, Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has said his death was “an incalculable loss to the nation.”
He said Suntai gave a good account of himself as a politician, public administrator and party man. “Th is is an incalculable loss not only to the people of Taraba State, but also to the Peoples Democratic Party family, and the nation in general. We had all prayed for his full recovery following the air mishap of October 2012. “Th is is a very sad news, for he was a leader that loved his people, for he gave a good account of himself as a politician, public administrator, man of peace, patriot, party man, and nation builder. He will be sorely missed, but like all great men, he is immortalised by his selfl ess service to God and humanity,” he said. He also prayed for the peaceful repose of the soul of the deceased. In his reaction, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said he was saddened by the former Taraba state governor’s death.
In a press statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Aff airs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, Dogara prayed the Almighty God to comfort his immediate family. “I received the news of the death of former governor Suntai with a deep feeling of sadness, but God is the author of life, from Him we came and to Him we will return. “To the government and people of Taraba state, I extend my heartfelt condolences, and to his immediate family members who are the ones who will feel the pain more deeply. I pray God comforts you and gives you the fortitude to bear the loss,” he said.
