The long absence of governor Darius Ishaku from the state where he is the governor of, Taraba, is evoking anger and the sad memory of former governor Dambaba Suntai who was on sick bed for a long time after a near fatal helicopter crash creating a power vacuum because he did not transmit power to his deputy before his unfortunate accident that caused his absence.
Ishiaku was sworn in as a governor of Taraba state, after which he relocated to Abuja and never came back to the state.
He has joined the league of government officials who have been operating from Abuja instead of their respective states. Sometimes most of them travel overseas for long periods without transmitting power to their subordinates.
President Buhari has stayed longer than any president outside the country.
Ishaku’s absence has generated heated debates in the state with many asking that he either comes back home to govern or he should transmit power to his deputy if he is bent on staying back in Abuja.
This magazine learnt that official documents are usually ferried to Abuja for him to sign, and that State Executive Council meets at Abuja. many consultations are done via phone calls and some documents needing urgency are ferried via private jets. In fact, the state assembly are used to taking their bills to Abuja for governors accent.
Civil servants no longer got to work since there is no body to monitor their activities.
Recall that former governor of the state Dambaba Suntai was involved in a plane crash in 2012 that rendered him incapacitated and that power was not transmitted officially to the deputy until his eventual death.
Opposition party members are worried that Ishakus absence may impact negatively on their hold in the state as he is of the Peoples democratic party.
Both Suntai and Ishaku are part of the few governors in the North that are Christians with Muslim deputies.
