Jalingo – Tragedy enveloped Jalingo, the Taraba State capital in the early hours of Monday when the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Haruna Tsokwa, slumped and died.Tsokwa, who led the team of lawmakers opposed to the resumption of work by ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai despite his plea, is said to have slumped in his house and was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre. His corpse was later removed from the FMC Jalingo to Taraba Specialist Hospital.
Before his untimely death, Tsokwa had come under attack by unknown gunmen on his way out of Taraba State. One of his aides was killed in the attack even though Tsokwa escaped unhurt.
The late speaker was being expected to lead a delegation of the state Christian community to the yearly pilgrimage in Israel, when he kicked the bucket.
Tsokwa is said to have been down with some heart-related ailments, which eventually claimed his life at the beehive of his political career.
He was among the majority lawmakers in the state House of Assembly, who insisted that Governor Suntai could not resume work after his foreign medical treatment because of his frail state of health.
Angered by the affront, the governor approached the court to give judicial interpretation of Section 190 of the Nigerian constitution, dealing with resumption of work by a governor after prolonged absence arising from illness or incapacitation.
The court has already referred the matter to the Appeal Court following the inability of the parties to settle out of court, as earlier directed.
Source: Vanguard
