4th November, 2013
The Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, Haruna Tsokwa, is dead. He died in the early hours of today at the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo, after a brief illness.
P.M.NEWS reports that Tsokwa, who was said to be suffering from high blood pressure, was ill for about three days and was rushed to the medical centre late last night. He died at about 8 O’ clock today.
The late Speaker, who was elected in controversial circumstances following the plane crash involving the state governor, Mr. Danbaba Suntai, was attacked by gunmen in Plateau State on his way from Obudu in Cross River State to Abuja about four weeks ago.
He survived the attack in which two policemen in the convoy were injured and one died later.
The death of the Speaker has shocked many Tarabans who had heaved a sigh of relief following his election as speaker of the Assembly in August.
The state Acting Governor, Alhaji Garuba Umar, who is on official assignment to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, had to cut short his engagement and was already on his way back to Jalingo at the time of this report.
As at press time, politicians, members of the state House of Assembly and sympathisers numbering over 1,000 were at the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo, where he passed on this morning.
The death of the Speaker has stalled the screening of the commissioner-nominees from the 16 local government areas who were scheduled to appear on the floor of the assembly today.
Since the election of the late Speaker, the assembly has been polarised into two factions with 16 members including the late Speaker in support of the acting governor to continue in office, while eight other members regarded as the cabal bent on using the name of the ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai to run the affairs of the state, have been advocating for the ailing governor to take over the leadership of the state, even when it is clear that he is still incapacitated.
—Ben Adaji/Jalingo