The political crisis in Taraba State deepened on Wednesday morning with the dissolution of the state Executive Council by the Governor, Danbaba Suntai.
The latest development was made known by the special adviser to the governor on media and publicity, Sylvanus Giwa.
Apart from sacking the cabinet, the governor also removed the secretary to the state government,SSG, and appointed Timothy Gibon Kataps in his stead.
Similarly, Suntai replaced his former Chief of Staff, with Aminu Jika, who is handling the position for a second time.
Confirming the dissolution, Suntai’s chief press secretary, Hassan Mijinyawa, said that all commissioners had been directed to hand over to their permanent secretaries.
He said that the appointments of the SSG and chief of staff are with immediate effect.
Reacting to the move, the immediate past commissioner for information and culture, Emmanuel Bello, described the dissolution as a welcome development which would help re-shapen the Suntaiadministration “to continue to transform Taraba State until his tenure lapses in May 2015.”
In less than 72 hours since the return of Suntai on Sunday, the political temperature in the state has gone up, creating a division between those in support of the deputy governor, Garba Umar, who has been acting as governor for 10 months in the absence of his boss and those on the side of the recuperating governor.
While the Speaker of the House, Haruna Tsokwa has asked the governor to come and address the Assembly at plenary as a condition for resuming, the Majority Leader, Joseph AlbasuKunini, asked the governor to start work with immediate effect.