Reports this evening said Taraba State Governor, Danbaba Suntai is now in ‘stable’ condition at the Emergency Ward of the National Hospital, Abuja where he has been moved to for further medical attention.President Goodluck Jonathan spoke with reporters about Suntai’s condition after visiting the National Hospital , Friday afternoon.
Jonathan who according to reports went to the hospital with scant security said “I have to thank God for what has happened. Plane crash is not something you just wave off.We are quite happy that the governor is stable, I have seen him, doctors are working very hard on him”.
“I believe that God willing, he will come out of it. But he is still in hospital. Being a governor, people are worried. People want to know his state of health ” the president said.
The Chief Medical Director, CMD of the hospital, Professor Bello Bala Shehu also told journalists that Suntai “ is very stable. For the first 24 hours of any injuries, there were worries but they were very few.”
“We will continue to observe him for the first 24 hours”,he said , adding “There is no need to do any operation on him. He is very stable. Given what happened, we are very satisfied with the situation at the moment”
It was not immediately clear when the governor was moved to the national hospital.A plane piloted by him crashed in Yola, Adamawa State on Thursday, sparking off wild fears of his death.The fears were later dispelled by officials after some hours of confusion.
A statement on Thursday night by Mr. Joe Obi, special assistant on media to the aviation minister,titled: “Incident Involving Aircraft, Cessna 208, 5N-BMJ in Yola, Taraba State”, said ,“An aircraft, Cessna 208 with 6 souls on board including crew, operated by the Taraba State Government departed Jalingo, Taraba State for Yola this evening and reported contact with the Yola Control Tower (1720Z) and field in sight at 38 miles estimating landing at 1730Z. The pilot subsequently lost contact with Yola Control Tower and subsequent effort to raise the aircraft failed.”
“Search & Rescue was immediately activated and site of incident located with all victims alive with various degrees of injuries. The victims have been evacuated to the hospital for treatment pending further investigation of the incident.”
It was this statement that convinced Nigerians that the governor was still alive.There were reports Friday evening that Suntai maybe flown to Germany.Newsdiaryonline.com could not confirm this at the time of writing this report.
With reports by Frontiersnews.com
