I never declared Suntai missing, says acting governor

Acting governor of Taraba state, Garba Umar, has faulted the report that he declared Governor Danbaba Suntai missing.

The report had gone viral within the week.

Suntai had been medically unstable since October 26, 2012, when a private aircraft he piloted crashed at Yola, Adamawa state.

But in a statement issued in Jalingo and signed by Umar’s chief press secretary, Kefas Sule, he explained that he only told journalists that he was yet to set his eyes on Suntai since he returned from a recent medical trip abroad.

“The attention of the acting governor has been drawn to the screaming news headlines purporting that he has declared Suntai missing,” the statement read.

“Umar hereby places on record that at no time did he declare his boss missing, he simply said he was yet to see him since he returned from medical trip to London.

“It is disheartening to later see a barrage of misleading headlines in the media said to have been egged on by a subjective interpretation by one of the national dailies.”

It quoted Umar as urging media practitioners to uphold the ethics of the profession which emphasised accuracy, objectivity, fairness and balance at all time.