Suntai Begs For Out Of Court Settlement After Withdrawing Case AgainstThe State Assembly.

Taraba State governor, Danbaba Suntai, has withdrawn his case against the state House of Assembly over the disputed governorship seat of the state. The ailing governor, through his counsel, Alex Iziyon (SAN), yesterday entered a plea for an out of court settlement on the case the governor instituted last month challenging the Assembly’s rejection of his resumption letter.

Governor Suntai, who returned to the country in August after 10 months of medical sojourn in Germany and the United States, had transmitted a letter to the Speaker, informing Taraba lawmakers of his resumption of duty, but the letter was said to have been rejected by the legislators on grounds of its authenticity.

Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Haruna Tsokwa and 15 other lawmakers were said to have doubted Governor Suntai’s authorship of the letter, thereby setting it aside and mandating the Deputy Governor, Garba Umar, to continue to act as governor of the state. Dissatisfied, Governor Suntai approached the Taraba High Court seeking the court to determine by way of interpretation, whether section 190 (2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended confers any power(s) on the state House of Assembly to debate his letter or not as it did.

At the last sitting, counsels to the state Assembly and the Speaker, Yusuf Ali (SAN) and Yusufu Akirikwen, respectively challenged the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matter; thereafter the trial judge, Justice Ali Andeyangtu, adjourned to September 30, 2013 for ruling. At the resumed sitting yesterday, Barrister Elijah Nyaro, who held brief for the plaintiff’s counsel, Alex Iziyon (SAN) filed a plea, seeking the suspension of proceedings to enable the parties involved in the dispute to explore an out of court settlement and was granted.

Granting his prayers, Justice Andeyangtu said; “Even though the ruling is ready, since the plaintiff ’s counsel has requested for time to settle out of court and the defense counsel did not object to it, I therefore adjourn the case to October 28.This is to enable them settle the dispute as brothers for peaceful coexistence,” he stated.

Governor Suntai, his aide-de-camp and two others were involved in a plane crash piloted by him (Suntai) near Yola, Adamawa State in 2012. Meanwhile, the detained Senior Special Assistant to Governor Suntai on Media, Silvanus Giwa, was yesterday granted bail by the police following his arrest and detention last week.