Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has said that it is within his powers as governor to appoint any of the three recommended candidates to become the new Mai Tangle.
The Governor stated this on Saturday in a state-wide broadcast to the people following the violent crisis over the delay to announce the new Mai Tangle after the submission of the name by the kingmakers.
“The process, which was transparent and devoid of any interference, led to the forwarding of three (3) recommended candidates by the Tangale Traditional Kingmakers, from among whom I will select the candidate to fill the vacant stool of Mai Tangle as the law provides”, the Governor said.
According to him, the succession battle is a Tangale cum Gombe State affair and all the three recommended candidates are eminently qualified Tangale princes by virtue of their royal ancestry to the Mai Tangle stool.
The Governor said, he approached the Mai Tangle succession process with high sense of responsibility as part of Gombe State’s cultural tradition, adding that any decision taken would have far reaching implication on not only the Tangale chiefdom but the entire Gombe State.
“That’s why I undertook widespread consultations, conducted background checks and engaged in personal reflection in order to arrive at a decision that is in the best interest of the people and the state”, he said.
Inuwa Yahaya stated that the recent violence was orchestrated by those he called unpatriotic individuals, who thought they could blackmail the government into announcing their preferred candidate.
Government, he said, would continue to withhold any decision on the new Mai Tangle until normalcy returned to the affected communities.
He called on traditional, religious and opinion leaders to prevail on their people on the need to remain calm, peaceful and law abiding, assuring that adequate security had been put in place to ensure the protection of lives and property.
