Aaron Artimas, Spokesperson to former acting Governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Garba Umar,has been reportedly evicted from his quarters by Governor Dairus Ishaku for joining the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to reports, Governor Ishaku ejected Artimas on the grounds that apart from joining APC, he had condemned the poor performance of the government in the last hundred days.
Artimas who spoke with the press recently, said, “All the achievements Governor Ishaku showcased of his former principal during his wasteful celebration of 100 days as governor of the state, are all vague lies.
“As a Nigerian, I have the God given right to belong to any political party of my choice. I am a member of APC and it is absolutely my right since I have retired from the service. What has this got to do with the 35 years of service to my state?
“I have no apologies to offer anyone for my views,” Artimas noted.
Artimas, however, took to his Facebook wall to recount his ordeal: “Friends, this morning I was woken up at around 6a.m by a frantic and desperate knock on my door. I rushed out to meet a man who came to deliver a letter to me. It was a quit notice from the Ministry of Housing directing me to pack out within seven (7) days from my official residence which I had occupied since 1997. The man looking troubled said, he was under pressure to deliver the letter since the previous day because the State Governor wanted to receive the delivery note in Kaduna with immediate effect.
“Actually somebody had called me two days ago to hint that the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Anthony Jellason, drove to the Ministry of Housing himself to demand that I should be removed from the house because I am a member of the opposition party, APC. All efforts made to dissuade him from issuing the quit order met with resistance as he said it was on Governor Darius’s directive. He even threatened the Permanent Secretary with allegation of belonging to APC.
“The clear evidence of this is that I was the only one singled out of the entire estate for this shameful and primitive act, under the pretext that I had not paid my rent for nine (9) months. Prior to my retirement after 35 years of diligent meritorious service to the Gongola/ Taraba state, the rent had been deducted from my monthly salary and the deduction had not been transferred to my monthly pension. As I write, my gratuity has not been paid by the government. Besides, there are more than ten retirees in my estate who have similar case to me. So, why single me out?
“The fact that this house was not sold to me on retirement underlines the problem with our state. Taraba State is the only state in Nigeria that is yet to sell houses to civil servants. Perhaps it is not aware of the National Housing Policy. I will therefore continue my right to purchase this house because of the service years I rendered to this dear state.
“If indeed the directive to forcibly remove me from this house came from Darius and his government, then he has not only elevated me to the enviable position of his esteemed opponent but also lowered himself in my estimation. The way this instruction was frantically carried out, one will think the government wants to record it as one its achievements in 100 days. This is really astonishing as it portends great danger of things to come under the Darius regime. Just yesterday I read in one of the papers that some staff at the state owned Taraba Broadcasting Service was queried on behalf of the Taraba State Government for holding opinion on Face Book while some workers in other government departments and the local governments were also suspended for going to the governorship tribunal in Abuja. We have not seen this type of autocracy, brutality and trivialization of government business as we are now seeing in Taraba state. No serious government can bring itself so low to fight individuals or ordinary workers when it has so much work at hand.
“Finally, I want to make it clear that I will continue to pursue what is right in my estimation, no matter what anyone says. According to Albert Estein, ‘the world will not be destroyed by evil men, but by people who sit and watch while the world is being destroyed’. As a Nigerian I have the God given right to belong to any political party of my choice. I am also being crucified for my consistent defense of the UTC regime, for which I am a proud participant. Many people think I should deny the legacies which with time, will be accorded their rightful place in the history of the state. If I were desperate for money and position, I would have joined the Darius regime even though he is completely unknown to me. In fact I am yet to see him physically since his name surfaced in the state but many notable people in the regime have offered to bring me in, but I graciously declined. They know themselves and I sincerely thank them for their interest in me. In Taraba, we had been brothers and sisters irrespective of political or religious affiliation and if a new Taraban has suddenly emerged, he should be told so. Since Taraba was created, it has been ruled by about ten people and the lists keep increasing after every four years.Very soon the person will surface.
“Note,” he wrote further, “I know that this ejection is not unconnected with my recent interviews in the media on the leadership style of the present administration in the state and the reviews of the government’s so called achievements in 100 days by a political group, which has been linked to me.
“The government of Taraba State still owes me an obligation to cater for me till death and as a retiree I am a reserve staff. Therefore it is completely wicked, vindictive and opprobrious to forcibly remove me from my house against my right to free association or political opinion.
“I will pack out within seven days as the notice directed, to protect my family against positive acts of state sponsored brutally, but I will continue to fight for my right as long as God keeps me alive. The government has also given me the opportunity to know that I am an enemy of the state because of my patriotic views and I could be in danger. This is for everyone to note also,” Artimas wrote.
