Tarabans in Diaspora have condemned the Appeal Court’s ruling which returned Darius Ishaku of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as duly elected governor of the state. The group in a statement by it’s coordinator, Clement Bitrus, said it received the Dec.31 ruling with shock.
The governorship tribunal ruling had earlier nullified the election of Darius Ishaku of the PDP and returned Aisha Alhassan of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as duly elected governor of the state.
But the group lamented that the ruling has only caused a setback for the state which according to it is in dire need of stability. “In the past two years, we have had about four governors; what state can develop under that kind of situation? There has been no form of development whatsoever and that was why during the past election, most people voted for change”, he said.
He said the group really expected the Appeal Court to uphold the tribunal ruling, as according to him, the ground for the nullification was clear.
“The PDP was immersed in crisis; most of the candidates were sidelined as the godfathers tried to impose a candidate on them. It was based on that, that they could not hold Primaries. How can Appeal Court now return Ishaku as the duly elected governor”, he said.
He warned that the Appeal Court ruling, if allowed to stand, will promote imposition of candidates and the internal democracy we have been harping about will remain a mirage. “During the elections, Aisha Alhassan won, but the powers that be did not allow her to be sworn in as governor. Now, our only hope for good governance is in the judiciary and we urge the learned judges to look at the merits of the case and upturn the Appeal Court ruling”, he said.
He lamented that if nothing is done about the situation, Taraba will “remain in the same comatose state it has been in for the past few years”.
“Taraba State has been yearning for good governance for a long time and we know that Hajia Aisha will work for the state. She is a woman who worked for everything she has achieved. She knows the problem of the common man and she will ensure that the problems bedevilling the state, especially that of insecurity is tackled.

During the elections, we saw how she rallied support from both sides of the state; infact she bridged the gap between the two groups. One of the major problems in the state, is the division between Muslims and Christians, and she is capable of uniting both groups, he said. He urged the Supreme Court to hasten judgment on the matter, as according to him, any time wasted is time lost to people of the state.