Four months after travelling to Egypt for medical treatment, the Deputy Governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Aminu Alkari, returned quietly to Jalingo on Sunday under a cloud of secrecy, sparking fresh concerns over his health status and role in government.
Alkari, who reportedly suffered a partial stroke in November 2024, spent three months in Egypt receiving treatment before quietly arriving in Abuja a month ago. His return to Jalingo was confirmed early Sunday morning.
Airport workers at the Danbaba Suntai Airport confirmed to Leadership that a private chartered jet landed at approximately 1:40 a.m. on Sunday, May 4, 2025, bringing in the deputy governor under tight security.
Two government vehicles were said to have waited for hours before the jet’s arrival.
“We were not allowed access to the jet. It was after they left that security personnel informed us it was the deputy governor,” one airport worker disclosed.
When Leadership visited the deputy governor’s office along Specialist Hospital Road, behind the Presidential Lodge in Jalingo, the premises were empty. Alkari was said not to have resumed work and is reportedly awaiting the return of Governor Agbu Kefas before making any public appearances.
A close relative, who requested anonymity, said strict instructions had been given not to grant anyone access to Alkari until Governor Kefas returns to the state.
“His return is not about resumption. The instruction is that the governor must return first before any access or official statement will be granted,” the source said.
Efforts to obtain a comment from the state government proved abortive. When contacted, the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Digital Communication, Hon. Emmanuel Bello, declined to comment.
“Please, go and call his press secretary. I’m not his press secretary to speak for him,” Bello said.
It was, however, confirmed that the office of the deputy governor has not appointed a press secretary since Alkari assumed office on May 29, 2023.