Mr. Emmanuel Bello is the Information Commissioner in Taraba State. In this interview with John Mkom, Bello gives a pass mark to Governor Danbaba Suntai and justifies the sack and arrest of the governor’s aide, Mr. Kabiru Dodo.
What is your general impression about Governor Suntai since his ascension to the number one position in the state in 2007?
So far so good, Governor Danbaba Suntai has done a lot for the good people of Taraba State. Fundamentally, he has laid a very good foundation and he was able to build on that foundation from 2007 to date. And we cannot actually talk about 100 days in office for a second term governor because, a new governor would be willing to start things and see how he could really cope with the challenges of office and get results within the first 100 days. But for somebody who is serving a second term, the most important thing to him is to finish those projects he started. When he came into office, he started the establishment of Taraba State University and the physical projects that we see today all over the state. After that, Governor Suntai was able to address the challenges of roads within the state capital. I keep saying this fact that in 2005, the only bridge that was linking us with other communities in Benue and Cross River states collapsed and we had to wait for the federal government to do that because we have no alternative road then. Today, within just four years apart from all those things I mentioned, Danbaba Suntai is been able to put up a gigantic bridge on River Lamurude which is now serving people as a second exit in and out of the state capital. We have also alternative to the Hamaruwa way that we use to have as the only entering point into the city. Now we have the Yanbukaka Bridge which is christened the Donga Bridge.
We also have the second bridge on Mayo-Gwai. We also have other areas that have been opened up. These actually are projects that are intended to open up the city so that people can really come and put in infrastructures in this place.
The need for governor to extend same gesture to rural areas have been the concern of most Tarabans, any plan in that direction?
The governor has always said he is a rural man and will always remain a rural man. During his first tenure, one of the first projects that he awarded a contract for was the road from Marraba to Baisa down to Abong. And we keep saying that this road is supposed to be the prerogative of the federal government. But you see, the Northern Nigeria Government could not do that road, the north-eastern states government failed to do it, the defunct Gongola State government was not able to do it but now, the Taraba State government under the administration of Governor Suntai, has commenced work on that road. We have the Jen-Balefi-Karim-Lamido road. That one too is another road that has the advantage of linking our boarder communities with their counterparts in Bauchi and Gombe states. These I think are projects that are intended to open up the rural communities for development. If you visit the local government headquarters, you will see solar powered light in some selected places. Today under Danbaba Suntai, there is no single local government headquarters in Taraba state that is not electrified. If it is not linked to the national grid, it has independent power supply. This is very obvious. You can tour all the local governments and find out what I am telling you.
This is actually a plus. And in terms of rural electrification, we have places like Kente, Sondi Bachama etc that have been linked to power. All these things were done within the last four years of this administration. So when we are talking about 100 days in office, we are only talking of how he can complete those projects he has started.
The need for federal government to diversify its sources of income aside crude oil is one of the major concerns of Governor Suntai. How far has he gone with his decision to ensure exportation of rice from the state?
Like you rightly pointed, one of the areas that even the federal government is looking at especially with rice cultivation is to ensure that Nigeria is not just going to be a mass producer of rice but to be an exporter of this commodity to the rest of the world.
Currently the issue of rice is heart breaking. The federal government is actually looking for areas where we can produce this commodity for export and not only for internal consumption. And Taraba State is one of the states the federal government is looking at. Given the fact that the state is an agrarian state, the federal government felt that the state has all that is needed for the production of the commodity in large quantities. The visit of the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo with the Kenya rice farmers led by a renowned American who is a prominent farmer in Kenya was a move in the right direction because the visit was part and parcel of the huge initiative of the federal government to ensure that we are self sufficient in rice production and to make sure that we become a rice exporter. They have done their investigation and plans are on to commence the cultivation because about 30, 000 hectares of land have been donated to the farmers by our state government
Following the recent exchange of pleasantry between the former governor, Jolly T. Nyame and the incumbent governor during the 20th anniversary of the state, would you say both of them have resolved to bury the hatchets?
From day one to date that the media talked about differences between the two figures, there has never been any personal thing between the two personalities. At least I can speak for Governor Suntai. There is no problem and they are not fighting. The differences are purely political. His Excellency decided or agreed after a wide consultation that certain compromises are forbidden for him to do as a person and of course not in the best interest of the state. And he decided that on the grounds of the principle of probity, principle of accountability, he had to weigh all the options.
He came to a conclusion that maintaining a robust relationship with his former boss would not augur well for Taraba State because it would amount to throwing these principles to the dogs.
It is nothing personal. It has nothing to do with envy and it has nothing to do with hatred. So on this ground of principles, the governor has not changed. He cannot sacrifice the overall general interest of Tarabans on the alter of some personal relationship with any body. My boss met with the former governor and they embraced. That was because we had a program in which we are looking at Taraba at twenty years, and part of it is that we invited everyone that has been part of the Taraba story. Don’t forget that Jolly Nyame had been a governor in this state. Give or take, he has actually contributed his quota to the development of Taraba. So the current governor paid tribute to the role that everyone plays from the first governor to the governor that was there before him and part of it was to embrace Nyame. Suntai is actually a very forthright man. If you have done well he will say it and if you have not done well he wont hesitate to tell you. It was in the spirit of that that all the former governors were around and they embraced. It has nothing to do with what you called reconciliation because there is really nothing to reconcile. Their difference before now is not personal. It is just disagreement on the bases of principle.
Governor Suntai’s recent sack of Mr. Kabiru Dodo, his S.A on Special Duties is raising dust in the state. What really happened?
His Excellency, the governor, reserve the right to hire and fire anyone of the aides. Let me just give you a little background.
Governor Suntai is on record as one of the governors that has worked longer years with his aides and his commissioners than any other governor in the history of the state. It is based on principles. What happened is that the S.A that you are talking about had issues and they are not personal issues. Some of the matters are in court now. So for fear of being charged for sub-judice, we cannot go into them. But since the former is crying blue murder, let me put the record straight. First the governor has no personal problem with anybody. If anybody lost his or her job in the government, it is because he or she failed to live up to expectations of their duties. One of the things the S.A believes is that he feels betrayed by the governor. What is betrayer in this context? This was somebody that ran an election and lost. He actually started his political jugging as a member of the Taraba State House of Assembly under the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). It is true that may be because of some political calculations he decided to cross carpet to the PDP.
When he came into the PDP, it is clearly on record that he got all the helps. There is no way you can be contesting election in a party that the party is not going to afford you all the necessary assistance you need to win your election. When he said he was betrayed by first the party and then the governor he needed to be tasked on what betrayal really means in this case because like I told you, he got all the necessary assistance he needed. What is even more worrisome is that this is someone who lost election because he is not popular with the people. Our governor is not the type that will go and influence elections. From the beginning of his administration, the governor clearly said he was not going to support any candidate unduly. He said the people will decide who to vote for and that was exactly what happened throughout the electoral process and the general elections proper. Despite that the sacked SA lost the election; the governor still appointed him S.A on special duties even though he couldn’t deliver his wards.
PDP completely lost in his constituency.
For God’s sake, how would such a person now come out to accuse the governor of betrayal? He was never discriminated against as he claimed. He was in that position before the issues that I said we cannot comment on because they are in court came up. So let us put it on record that he is not being hunted and persecuted by the governor as he has claimed. I also want the public to note that contrary to what the former SA claims, he was not arrested in government house and that the governor ordered his arrest. The governor won’t stop the law enforcement agents from doing their work. He is not that type of a governor. He allows the police to do their work as well as the army and other security agencies. As the commissioner of information, if I misbehave and the police claim to have issues with me, the governor will allow them to go with me.
The governor does not have to give them permission because he does not have control over the police. You know very well that it is a constitutional matter and the constitution does not make the police answerable to the governor.
As a former House Committee Chairman on Public Matters and later S.A on Special Duties, are you people not scared of him being in possession of some relevant documents that can taint or nail this administration?
Governor Suntai is Mr. Frank. He has nothing to hide. One of the most interesting qualities of the governor is that he is very open. He is so transparent that he has nothing to hide. If he has something to hide, he would have done everything possible to prevent the law enforcement agents from arresting the said S.A but he did not do that. He said let the law take its cause. What should be paramount to Kabiru Dodo is how to exonerate himself by clearing his name of the charges levelled against him and not to drag the name of the governor in the mud. Our governor is given to justice. He is one person that will not allow you to suffer unjustly.
Did he want the governor to use his executive power to stop the cause of the law? The last time the governor had meeting with the royal fathers, he clearly told them if the enforcement agents claimed that any royal father has a question to answer especially as it borders on the peace of the state or the security of the state, the governor said he was going to allow the law enforcement agent to have their way with such a monarch left alone those of us who are his aides. So again the issue is about the interest of Tarabans versus the interest of one person or an individual. The law enforcement agent believed that Kabiru Dodo has got questions to answer and so they went for him. The talk that he was not protected enough; our governor does not operate in that style. If today the commissioner of police said the governor has got question to answer, the governor will be willing to talk to the police.
But he claimed that both the governor and the security agents are hunting for him and that compelled him to live the state.
In one word, our governor does not hunt for anyone. The first thing he banned when he came in as governor is thuggery. He does not believe in persecution, he does not believe in wicthhunting opponents. In fact he allows them. Nobody is hounded. We don’t believe in the principle of hounding and hunting. Do you have any example of somebody that have been hounded and hunted by this government? This governor was somebody who has people in his cabinet that were fighting him. But he still allows them to be there.
What Kabiru Dodo should do is to come back and clear is name before the law. The governor is not after him as he claimed and he will never be after him because he {Suntai} is a man of principle. Dodo is a liar. He even accused my boss of punishing him because of religious differences even though the governor is not a fundamentalist.
But he accused the governor of facilitating his arrest by sending over 70 policemen to his house. Was it actually the governor that sent the police or the command did that on their own?
Like I said, a whole lot of matters are before the court of law. Let me repeat, our governor does not control the police. He does not control who they arrest and who they should not arrest. It is not in the character of our governor. Even constitutionally, the commissioners of police, don’t take their orders from governors. Beyond that, in case you don’t know the governor does not have power to arrest. So our governor did not order his arrest.
How true is it that Kabiru Dodo recorded his conversation with the governor and what could have necessitated that?
I have read quite a number of interviews of Kabiru Dodo and he has not come out to deny that.
What would be your candid advice to Kabiru Dodo if you happen to meet him one on one again?
I will tell him that being a lawyer; he has every right in the world to clear his name. And the only way to do that is to make himself available to the law enforcement agencies. It is not fair for him to go about castigating the governor, a man who stood by him even after he lost election. Governor Suntai did not betray him rather he is the one that is betraying trust and he is betraying confidence. My advice to him is that first, he should stop this campaign of calumny. He knows more than any other person that our governor does not discriminate against any religion as he mischievously wants the public to believe!
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