Palpable tension pervades Taraba State over the continued absence of the deputy governor, Alhaji Aminu Alkali, on account of ill-health for about eight months running.
The issue has triggered debates over his continued stay in office without being able to perform his duties as the second-highest political office holder in the state.
The deputy governor has not appeared in public for over eight months after he took ill last year. He was first admitted to the National Hospital in Abuja and later flown to Egypt when his health condition worsened.
Governor Agbu Kefas has been running the state without an active deputy whose duties include holding the office of the governor if he (the governor) proceeds on vacation or is unable to perform his functions.
Alhaji Aminu’s prolonged absence on health grounds has raised questions over whether he is still capable of staying in office or should be removed. However, the state executive council, which has the constitutional mandate to make a pronouncement on the matter, has remained silent.
According to a report monitored in Daily Trust, instead, Governor Kefas had posted Mr Emmanuel Lawson, a deputy chief of staff in his office, to oversee the office of the deputy governor.
In a letter dated July 1, 2027, signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Barr. Gebon T. Kataps, Mr Lawson was told that the appointment was with immediate effect.
“The posting is to ensure effectiveness of governance and articulation of government policies and programmes emanating from the purview of the office of the deputy governor,” the letter read.
Since the announcement of the posting of Lawson, there have been suggestions in Jalingo that the motive was for him to “act as the deputy governor,” with some observers saying the governor, who leads the state executive council, ought to have used stipulated laws to resolve the agitations over the long absence of the deputy governor.
Some of those who spoke said it was a nullity for Mr Lawson to run the office of the deputy governor, considering that he was not elected and as an employee, and that his role should have been to assist the ailing deputy governor in discharging his duties whenever he is around.
