If there is anything the executive governor of
Taraba State, His Excellency Danbaba Suntai
can break a bank for according to sources within the government office,
then it would be aircraft and flying.
Danbaba Suntai’s love for aircraft and flying we reliably squealed is so
serious and this obsession, we gathered has almost allegedly run the
state aground. The governor who got into power in May 2007, within a short
time, acquired two aircrafts parked in Kaduna since the airport in
Jalingo, the state capital was not conducive though the sum of N9Billion was
allegedly later spent on Jalingo Airport and till date the airport still can’t
land the smallest airplane let alone commercial ones. In his first term,
governor Danbaba acquired another small aircraft for the State. By last year
2011 he had added a second, but none of them can still land. The latest gist
however is the acquisition of a helicopter at the cost of over 1billion
Naira last month, May by the Governor. According to our findings, the
State held a fishing festival at Ibbi town about two months back, and during
the festival, the governor hired a helicopter which took him to the fishing
festival. After the festival, he pleaded with the pilot to spend more time in
the state to teach him how to fly the chopper. Before then, we learnt
that, Danbaba had spent quality time despite his tight schedule as
governor, attending the Aviation College in Jos, as well as another training
school in America to learn how to fly. So after the fishing festival,
Governor Danbaba took delivery of the helicopter. According to sources, he has
built a helipad inside the Government House so that he could fly the chopper
out and in by himself, without having to drive through the town of Jalingo. We
gathered that ever since he took delivery of the helicopter, Danbaba has been
flying it himself, at times, just for leisure and sightseeing in the state
capital. To those who live around the Government House, they could only but
grumble over the noise from the Governor’s take off and landing. We were
told that since he brought in the helicopter, Governor Danbaba hardly travels
round the State in his official cars, preferring the chopper. Meanwhile, the
state is reeking in bankruptcy as the Governor has taken loans from banks to
build airstrips in his village, plus the three aircraft he bought as well
as keeping the Jalingo runway functional. Based on this, once the state
allocation get to the banks, the financial institutions deduct their loans
before leaving whatever that remains for the government. Because of this, the
day to day government business is run based on new loans from banks.
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