Taraba Speaker, Haruna Tsokwa, slumps, dies

Taraba Speaker, Haruna Tsokwa,
slumps, dies
on november 04, 2013 at 10:32 am in news
By Soni Daniel & John Mkom
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.