Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Prof. Itse Sagay and Mr. Femi Falana, on Tuesday backed the offer by the Nigerian Medical Association to set up a board to ascertain the health status of Governor Dambaba Suntai of Taraba State.
Both lawyers, who spoke separately with our correspondent on the telephone, said the offer by the NMA was in order, although it was an extra-constitutional solution to the problem.
Sagay said the NMA’s offer was in good faith. He said this became imperative as the state executive council had failed to initiate a probe of the governor’s health status, as provided for in the constitution.
He said, “It is an extra-constitutional offer. The constitution itself provides that members of the executive council of the state should make that request, and the Speaker to constitute a panel.
“But what the NMA is doing is to try and resolve the matter since the Suntai’s executive does not have the courage to do it. In any case, they will say they have been dissolved; there is nobody to even do it.
“So, this is not the constitutional way out of it; it is the political way out of the logjam that the NMA is trying to create.”
On his part, Falana said the issue at hand, being of public interest, made the offer by the NMA not to be in breach of any constitutional provision.
Falana likened the offer by the NMA to public statements often made by the Nigerian Bar Association to clarify legal issues.
“It is not about the constitution; this is a public interest issue. It is just like when the Nigerian Bar Association issues a public statement clarifying the position of the law. There is nothing wrong in what the NMA is trying to do,” he said.
Falana however expressed the fear that Suntai’s handlers might refuse to make records of Suntai’s health history available to the NMA, a development which might scuttle the association’s offer.
“But the difficulty the NMA may have is if Suntai’s people will be ready to make the medical records of the governor available to the NMA. As you know, medical records are personal and they may not concede to releasing them to the NMA,” the human rights lawyer said.
Sagay nevertheless urged the governor’s handlers to accept the offer, if truly they were sure the governor is medically fit to rule the state.
“The NMA is acting in good faith. If I were Suntai and the people behind him, it will be to accept to prove that he is well enough to run the government. So, it is a matter of good faith on the part of the NMA,” Sagay said.
Culled: Punchng