Lorile odi gombe: Taraba govt. Set for war as Late ex-SSG’s family rejects state burial

Family of the late former Secretary to
the State Government in Taraba, Mr.
Jonah Agyo, has rejected moves by the
state government to pay for the burial
of the late SSG.Agyo died on Monday in
Jalingo, the state capital.
He served as the SSG in the first tenure
of the ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai's
administration.
The family, led by the deceased's first
son, Magai, was said to be annoyed that
their patriarch was wrongly treated and
vowed not to allow anybody to play
politics with his death.
Though Magai said that he was too sad
to talk, a family source said that
although Agyo died of natural causes,
the mental anguish he suffered in his
last days left him a sad man and might
have hastened his death.
Agyo had also served as Commissioner
of Works and he was one of the five
commissioners indicted by a committee,
which investigated the mismanagement
of Federal Government's N400m
intervention fund for flood victims.
The four are still in court fighting their
indictment.
The family source said, "Agyo was a very
sad man for what he felt was the
tarnishing of a brilliant career he had by
the fake indictment slammed on him
when he was mentioned among those
who frittered away the funds meant for
flood relief.
"Agyo was still on his sick bed in Israel
when the panel constituted in the
House of Assembly pronounced him
guilty and recommended his sacking.
Agyo was largely away throughout the
period and never even saw a penny of
that flood money but because he was
seen as a threat his name was included
in the list."
The family source said that Agyo, a
native of Wukari in Taraba south, would
be buried in his hometown on Saturday.
Our correspondent learnt that a
delegation led by the Speaker of the
Taraba State House of Assembly, Mr.
Josiah Kente, had conveyed the
intention of Acting Governor Garba
Umar for the state to underwrite the
burial expenses.
But the family reportedly told Kente
that it would not accept the
involvement of the state government in
the burial rites.
In fact, some members of the family
were said to have threatened to boycott
the burial if the state government,
especially the acting governor, was
involved.