.....says Ag Governor, Umaru must remain a loyalists of Governor Danbaba Suntai ... .......says Asia want to kill PDP in the state
Senator Emmanuel Beacha, who represents the Southern Senatorial constituency in the Senate and also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on agriculture and natural resources, in this interview with our Correspondent, Ayodele Samuel, in Lagos, discloses that the ailing governor of Taraba state, Danbaba Suntai, had conceded the governorship to his Senatorial District in2015 amongst other issues. Excerpts:
Why, in your opinion will the Acting Governor of Taraba state sack some officials including the Secretary to the State Government SSG and other loyalist of ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai?
Mind you I stay in Abuja, I am not a Jalingo person; and Jalingo does not fall into my territorial district. Be that as it may, this is a statewide matter, and I think some of my constituents are actually involved. Well, we know that the Acting Governor has sacked the commissioners; there are many insinuation and rumours, but we are waiting to see the processes of their being replaced because Taraba is a very complex state. Like I told you, there have been many rumours.
If you talk about Suntai loyalist, I don't know what you mean, because the acting governor himself should be considered a Suntai man. Because he was not around during the election. So he is a Suntai man; Governor Suntai went and brought him; most of us don't actually know him. As a matter of fact, I have never met him since my 22 years in active politics in the state. Now for you to say Suntai loyalists, because if you bring somebody who is not your man you can't cultivate the land and call somebody to come and eat with you when the person is not your man. So I don't think that assertion is correct, the acting governor is also a Suntai loyalist.
You are perceived to be a loyalist of the ailing governor and not supporting the Acting Governor in becoming the substantive governor, is hat correct? Is the acting governor aspiring to be a substantive governor if I may ask?
Well I don't know about that but if he is, that should be wrong because the governor is alive and kicking well.
I remember we have a similar experience in this country. The late President (Umaru) Yar'Adua, Acting President Goodluck never became substantive President until Yar adua was pronounced dead. So, don't quickly forget that one and make no mistake about it that precedence has been set.
And again, there has been no clear definition of what time an acting governor can act. So, he has all the latitudes to act as an executive governor; nobody stops him from awarding contracts; nobody stops him from sacking and appointing commissioners; nobody stops him from doing anything that a substantive governor should do. So, I don't think there is a quest or a cry for a substantive governor except if he tells you there is; that is his mindset. Then, some of us can now speak. But, as he stands today, he has not told us that he is trying to become the governor. He may be doing this, I don't know; I don't want to insinuate. But, as far as we are concerned, the governor is coming back very soon. That I can tell you authoritatively.
What is your relationship with the Acting Governor?
He is the acting governor of my state and I am the serving Senator representing Taraba South; and among the three senators, I am the only senator that is friendly with the state governor, his government and his boss, the ailing governor.
Some political stakeholders from Southern Taraba, under the name Southern Taraba Peoples Congress, led by one Daniel Likam are calling for your recall from the Senate, what in your opinion informed this?
I had dismissed this question as one I should not reply because I would be dignifying some people with the response. I am not known to be a person who responds to ranting ants but the truth about it is that the so called stakeholders and a former Minister of State under Obasanjo Government, Salome by name; remember she contested election with me in the PDP, she lost; she didn't only loose, she came last. She decamped to the CPC to contest again with me to come to the Senate. There again,she lost. Not only losing, as a matter of fact, she came last.
The leader of the so-called stakeholders; I was told he is known to be a thug. He was working with the ACN candidate that I defeated. Now, placing these two people to where they belong, which vote are they going to recall.? can you go and withdraw the money you did not keep in the bank?
People who voted for you are endowed with right to recall, which votes are they going to recall? But,I am deeply concerned why people should even be distracted by these kind of persons who neither voted for me nor the PDP. So, how do you recall? If it were her wish, I wouldn'thave won the election in the first place. So why did you think if she calls for a recall it would disturb me? People who will call for my recall and I would be disturbed are the people who elected me and I know them. When they talk, I would act and then I would go home and call for town hall meetings to know the problems.
One allegation levelled against you is that you hardly visit your senatorial district since your election
I am the first Senator in the history of the Southern Senatorial District that organizes town hall meetings regularly until the governor had this crash and, secondly, no public elected officer elected from my own zone can claim that what he has on ground is better than what I have provided for the people. These facts speak for themselves; let the person come out and speak out.
Those calling for recall only want a situation where I should speak and talk about them. That is why I don't like to reply them because I would be dignifying and glorifying them with my response. These are people who don't deserve reply when they talk because they don't have the electoral value to distract me.
What are your plans for 2015, some say you have been anointed by Governor Suntai to take over from him?
First and foremost, people appear to have lost touch with the position of the world. Now, everybody appears to be focused in what he is going to be in 2015; people are not believing that the world has come face to face with the reality; the world is in a rapture mood; people don't know and that calls for a deap concern; we should not only focus on 2015.
In politics, am aware that the ailing governor has agreed that the governor would come from my zone, Southern Taraba. He has told me, he has told the world, he has told several other politicians from my zone but he has never told us who he wants to succeed him from the south. I have made this clear times without number.
Also when they say they are doing this to distract me, I am not surprised because some of them, sometimes when you think differently when you are being focused, somebody tries to distract you. I have well over two decades of experience in practical politics. Now if you say do I have gubernatorial ambition? In developed democracy, I would have told you that I wished I was the President of Nigeria; because in developed democracy, like the United States, even in Europe, you find that President are being sourced from the countries parliament, particularly the Senate. Now, you would be insulting me if you think am not qualified to be a governor. Again, I am experienced enough by the history of my state to know that governors emerge by divine arrangement; not by the might of the candidate, not by the wealth they have, not by their connections. Our state governors emergence are largely attributable to divine direction. From Governor Jolly Nyame who came from nowhere and just emerged as the governor; even Suntai was not the candidate that the then sitting governor wanted and I think Suntai is also well experienced enough not to tell anybody that any candidate that he want is automatically going to be the governor. He has said it, is God who would decide who is going to be the next governor of the state and I am aware of that as the truth, so I don't know why people are being mischievous and are being hyper active about trying to distract me .
Internal crisis in the state PDP?
Well if you want to know that, we replied them and that is actually what gave rise to our being in court with Senator Aisha (Alhassan). When the congress was conducted, they decided on their own to stay away; all of us were there- myself and the other five members of the House of Representatives. So, it is not possible for two people, out of nine, to say that a congress that was held was not held. So, to me, it is sounding very strange. The congress was held and the former party chairman who vacated office also made public speech, endorsed the congress probably out of naivety and hypocrisy that is inherent in Nigerian politics or in the third world politics. The chairman that left office also turned around and said that there was no congress. So, I am not surprised because it is very typical of losers in Nigerian politics.
What is the chance of PDP in the state looking at the coming together of opposition to form the APC?
Parties are like huts in the farm land. When there is sunshine or rainfall, to ensure you don't fall victim of the effect, you remain under the umbrella. If PDP allows a hole in the umbrella, when you create a hole in the umbrella and when the rain is falling nobody would like to stay under the umbrella but if the umbrella of the PDP remains as we know it to be, I am a foundation member of the PDP, by the way, I was the State Secretary General of the Peoples Democratic Movement PDM (Yar'adua political machine that gave birth and was the principal partner in the coalition that formed the PDP, in my own state). We were actually the dominant group that formed the PDP and I was the secretary of the state chapter. So, if the umbrella is like how we formed it from day one, we have never known any opposition party in the state, but if somebody else has decided to create a hole in the umbrella, then you never can tell because like I told you nobody would like to stay were rain would be falling on his head; you would naturally run outside to seek for where you can stay and rain would not fall on you.
Mind you I stay in Abuja, I am not a Jalingo person; and Jalingo does not fall into my territorial district. Be that as it may, this is a statewide matter, and I think some of my constituents are actually involved. Well, we know that the Acting Governor has sacked the commissioners; there are many insinuation and rumours, but we are waiting to see the processes of their being replaced because Taraba is a very complex state. Like I told you, there have been many rumours.
If you talk about Suntai loyalist, I don't know what you mean, because the acting governor himself should be considered a Suntai man. Because he was not around during the election. So he is a Suntai man; Governor Suntai went and brought him; most of us don't actually know him. As a matter of fact, I have never met him since my 22 years in active politics in the state. Now for you to say Suntai loyalists, because if you bring somebody who is not your man you can't cultivate the land and call somebody to come and eat with you when the person is not your man. So I don't think that assertion is correct, the acting governor is also a Suntai loyalist.
You are perceived to be a loyalist of the ailing governor and not supporting the Acting Governor in becoming the substantive governor, is hat correct? Is the acting governor aspiring to be a substantive governor if I may ask?
Well I don't know about that but if he is, that should be wrong because the governor is alive and kicking well.
I remember we have a similar experience in this country. The late President (Umaru) Yar'Adua, Acting President Goodluck never became substantive President until Yar adua was pronounced dead. So, don't quickly forget that one and make no mistake about it that precedence has been set.
And again, there has been no clear definition of what time an acting governor can act. So, he has all the latitudes to act as an executive governor; nobody stops him from awarding contracts; nobody stops him from sacking and appointing commissioners; nobody stops him from doing anything that a substantive governor should do. So, I don't think there is a quest or a cry for a substantive governor except if he tells you there is; that is his mindset. Then, some of us can now speak. But, as he stands today, he has not told us that he is trying to become the governor. He may be doing this, I don't know; I don't want to insinuate. But, as far as we are concerned, the governor is coming back very soon. That I can tell you authoritatively.
What is your relationship with the Acting Governor?
He is the acting governor of my state and I am the serving Senator representing Taraba South; and among the three senators, I am the only senator that is friendly with the state governor, his government and his boss, the ailing governor.
Some political stakeholders from Southern Taraba, under the name Southern Taraba Peoples Congress, led by one Daniel Likam are calling for your recall from the Senate, what in your opinion informed this?I had dismissed this question as one I should not reply because I would be dignifying some people with the response. I am not known to be a person who responds to ranting ants but the truth about it is that the so called stakeholders and a former Minister of State under Obasanjo Government, Salome by name; remember she contested election with me in the PDP, she lost; she didn't only loose, she came last. She decamped to the CPC to contest again with me to come to the Senate. There again,she lost. Not only losing, as a matter of fact, she came last.
The leader of the so-called stakeholders; I was told he is known to be a thug. He was working with the ACN candidate that I defeated. Now, placing these two people to where they belong, which vote are they going to recall.? can you go and withdraw the money you did not keep in the bank?
People who voted for you are endowed with right to recall, which votes are they going to recall? But,I am deeply concerned why people should even be distracted by these kind of persons who neither voted for me nor the PDP. So, how do you recall? If it were her wish, I wouldn'thave won the election in the first place. So why did you think if she calls for a recall it would disturb me? People who will call for my recall and I would be disturbed are the people who elected me and I know them. When they talk, I would act and then I would go home and call for town hall meetings to know the problems.
One allegation levelled against you is that you hardly visit your senatorial district since your election
I am the first Senator in the history of the Southern Senatorial District that organizes town hall meetings regularly until the governor had this crash and, secondly, no public elected officer elected from my own zone can claim that what he has on ground is better than what I have provided for the people. These facts speak for themselves; let the person come out and speak out.
Those calling for recall only want a situation where I should speak and talk about them. That is why I don't like to reply them because I would be dignifying and glorifying them with my response. These are people who don't deserve reply when they talk because they don't have the electoral value to distract me.
What are your plans for 2015, some say you have been anointed by Governor Suntai to take over from him?
First and foremost, people appear to have lost touch with the position of the world. Now, everybody appears to be focused in what he is going to be in 2015; people are not believing that the world has come face to face with the reality; the world is in a rapture mood; people don't know and that calls for a deap concern; we should not only focus on 2015.
In politics, am aware that the ailing governor has agreed that the governor would come from my zone, Southern Taraba. He has told me, he has told the world, he has told several other politicians from my zone but he has never told us who he wants to succeed him from the south. I have made this clear times without number.
Also when they say they are doing this to distract me, I am not surprised because some of them, sometimes when you think differently when you are being focused, somebody tries to distract you. I have well over two decades of experience in practical politics. Now if you say do I have gubernatorial ambition? In developed democracy, I would have told you that I wished I was the President of Nigeria; because in developed democracy, like the United States, even in Europe, you find that President are being sourced from the countries parliament, particularly the Senate. Now, you would be insulting me if you think am not qualified to be a governor. Again, I am experienced enough by the history of my state to know that governors emerge by divine arrangement; not by the might of the candidate, not by the wealth they have, not by their connections. Our state governors emergence are largely attributable to divine direction. From Governor Jolly Nyame who came from nowhere and just emerged as the governor; even Suntai was not the candidate that the then sitting governor wanted and I think Suntai is also well experienced enough not to tell anybody that any candidate that he want is automatically going to be the governor. He has said it, is God who would decide who is going to be the next governor of the state and I am aware of that as the truth, so I don't know why people are being mischievous and are being hyper active about trying to distract me .
Internal crisis in the state PDP?
Well if you want to know that, we replied them and that is actually what gave rise to our being in court with Senator Aisha (Alhassan). When the congress was conducted, they decided on their own to stay away; all of us were there- myself and the other five members of the House of Representatives. So, it is not possible for two people, out of nine, to say that a congress that was held was not held. So, to me, it is sounding very strange. The congress was held and the former party chairman who vacated office also made public speech, endorsed the congress probably out of naivety and hypocrisy that is inherent in Nigerian politics or in the third world politics. The chairman that left office also turned around and said that there was no congress. So, I am not surprised because it is very typical of losers in Nigerian politics.
What is the chance of PDP in the state looking at the coming together of opposition to form the APC?
Parties are like huts in the farm land. When there is sunshine or rainfall, to ensure you don't fall victim of the effect, you remain under the umbrella. If PDP allows a hole in the umbrella, when you create a hole in the umbrella and when the rain is falling nobody would like to stay under the umbrella but if the umbrella of the PDP remains as we know it to be, I am a foundation member of the PDP, by the way, I was the State Secretary General of the Peoples Democratic Movement PDM (Yar'adua political machine that gave birth and was the principal partner in the coalition that formed the PDP, in my own state). We were actually the dominant group that formed the PDP and I was the secretary of the state chapter. So, if the umbrella is like how we formed it from day one, we have never known any opposition party in the state, but if somebody else has decided to create a hole in the umbrella, then you never can tell because like I told you nobody would like to stay were rain would be falling on his head; you would naturally run outside to seek for where you can stay and rain would not fall on you.
