Ex-Gov Suntai dies in US at 55

.Saraki, Dogara others mourn

Former Taraba State Governor, Dambaba Danfulani Suntai, is dead.

He died in Houston, Florida, in the United States of America on Wednesday, where he was undergoing rehabilitation for brain injuries from the plane crash he was involved in 2012.

A former Taraba State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Emmanuel Bello, confirmed the passage of the late Suntai on Wednesday.

Bello, who served in the regime of Suntai, said the “former governor died in the United States.”

He said information on when the remains of the former governor would be conveyed back to Nigeria would be released later.

The 55-year-old came into politics in the late 1980s, when he was elected chairman of Bali local government of the state and led the people from 1989 to 1993.

He rose through the ranks in the Taraba State civil service, where he eventually became the director-general of the Taraba State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources from 1994 to 1996.

In 2012, Suntai was piloting a Cessna 208, 5N-BMJ, owned by the state government, which crashed in Yola, Adamawa State, leaving the governor in a critical state of health.

He was flown out of the country for further treatment after emergency aid at a private hospital within Adamawa State.

A year after the crash, the governor was still said to be recuperating from a severe brain damage.

“We thank God, not only for saving the life of His Excellency, but also healing him of the injuries sustained in the plane crash,” Garba Umar, Suntai’s deputy at the time said a year after the crash.

“As we pray God to perfect the healing of our leader, we declare that, our commitment and dedication to his vision and master plan for the transformation of our State remains unflagging.”

Meanwhile, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dogara Yakubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have expressed shocked over Suntai’s death.

Many other eminent Nigerians have also been sending their condolence messages to the family and the people of Taraba State.