Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako
By Daji Sani
Fresh facts emerged Sunday, that a ‘cold war’ appears to be brewing between the Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako, and his deputy, Mr. Bala James Ngillari, over allegations that Nyako was planning to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Ngillari was been positioned to take over the leadership of the party in the state.
Following the lingering political crisis between the Chief Joel Madaki-led faction of PDP backed by the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and Alhaji Mijinyawa Kugama-led faction supported by Nyako, Ngillari was accused of betrayal to his boss, following an allegation that he was caught attending a secret meeting with the Madaki faction in the state.
Ngillari was alleged to have been convening secret meetings with the Tukur’s camp, aligning with them in a bid to overthrow his boss and remove the party structures from him.
However, a source told THISDAY that when the governor heard about the allegation, he was said to have confronted Ngillari on the issue, which, according to the source, the deputy governor denied as a mere rumour.
The deputy governor was said to have told the governor to discard the rumour, while also promising that his loyalty still remains unfettered with the governor.
Ngillari, who spoke through his Press Director, Maxwell Jukur, told journalists in Yola, that there was no cold war between his boss and his principal, stressing that his principal did not have any secret meetings with the Nyako loyalists.
THISDAY checks revealed that the reason for the double standards game allegedly played by Ngillari was because of the promise made to him by the Madaki faction that he (Ngillari) may be the one anointed to be Nyako’s successor and the leader of the party in the state in the forthcoming 2015 general election.
However, observers in the state claimed that the reasons for the political intrigues is as result of Nyako’s unbending principles and his refusal to compromise to the Tukur’s camp, which has the support of President Goodluck Jonathan and some highly-placed political stakeholders in the state.
The bone of contention between the two factions was the struggle for the soul of the party and a governorship candidate, who will be Nyako’s successor in the election.
Political analysts have opined that the current variation in the state’s politics may put former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, at a politically disadvantage position, given the fact that some of his loyalists had joined forces with Tukur’s camp, whose son, Mr. Awwal Tukur, is also believed to be eyeing the governorship seat of the state.
Recently, Tukur, in his bid to reconcile, reform, and rebuild the party in the state, was seen recruiting some of Atiku’s die-heart loyalists, as his foot soldiers, in preparation of the political battle drawn ahead of 215 to oust Nyako, as state leader of the party.
While speaking to journalists in Yola, Tukur justified confidence in his ongoing programmes across the country, saying it had being yielding dividends to the party. He said it was this sanity that attracted the leader of ACN and former governor of the state, Boni Haruna, to defect to PDP.
He argued that Haruna, who was the leader of ACN in the state, had decided to retrace his step.
“I believed if not for our programme of reconciliation, reformation, rebuilding that has imposed sanity and discipline in the party in the state. Haruna wouldn’t have returned to the party and because of the significance of our programmes, many aggrieved party members have stage a comeback into the party in many states. See what happened in Nasarawa State, the people that left us have returned back to the fold,” he said.
Haruna, while declaring his intention to return to the PDP, at his residence in Yola, told journalists that he rejoined the PDP, through the Madaki faction backed by Tukur, so that he could mediate between the two factions, as well as put the political wranglings to rest.
The former governor further stated that his return to the PDP had dislodged and weakened the power of the opposition in state politics, claiming that he had returned alongside key players in the opposition party hence it would put an end to serious opposition in the state.
However, the state Publicity Secretary of ACN, Chief Yohana Mathias, had debunked claims that Haruna had defected with key players in ACN to PDP, challenging him to list the names of the key players that followed him to the PDP.
According to him, the governorship candidate of ACN in last governorship polls held in the state Mr. Markus Gundiri, and his running mate, Alhaji Abdulrazak Namdas, the state chairman and some top stakeholders of party were still in the party.
He alleged that Haruna was a confused person, stating that he had taken a decision that he would regret in the future.
“Iam one of Haruna’s loyalists. The last time we spoke, he complained to me that there were certain people who I will not mention their names, who wanted him to join the party but who he said he wouldn’t because they were still in the PDP and have not left the party” he said.
Yohana said Haruna as a person had the constitutional right to move to any political party of his choice but should not deceive the PDP that he had returned to the PDP with key players in ACN, adding that his party was waiting for the proposed (APC) registration of merger of opposition political parties going on. He said there were formidable structures on ground to wrestle power from the PDP come 2015.
However, the state PDP Secretary in the Kugama led-faction, Mr. PP Elisha, said Madaki was instrumental in dragging the structures of the PDP from Haruna and Atiku, when he was the governor of the state with Madaki as the chairman of the party.
He added that he didn’t know why Haruna decided to join the party through the same Madaki faction who was against him in 2007
Because Nyako was not satisfied with the political permutation in the state, he therefore opted to decamp to another platform as his Director of Press, Ahmed Sajoh, has said the governor’s principal political associates and stakeholders would soon defect from PDP to another platform to realise their political ambition.
Sajoh also said his principal loyalists have finally made up their mind to dump the PDP to other platforms.
However, the state Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Umar Minijiyawa Kugama, which is loyal to Nyako, denied such arrangements, saying they would not leave PDP.
“These people talking are not member of our party and lack authority to speak for us we will not leave PDP but to work for the victory of the party in the coming polls,” Kugama claimed.
But, Sajoh insisted that the stakeholders of PDP in the state, especially those loyal to the governor have agreed to dump the party.
According to him, the stakeholders loyal to his boss met the Sarki Matasa of the state and the governor’s first son, Commander Abdulaziz Nyako (rtd), to brainstorm and come out with solutions to the present political squabbles as Nyako camp have a formidable political structure in the state.
He also told them that even though he (Abdulaziz) was not a fully fledged politician but a senior stakeholder that is interested in the state enterprise (project) so, he told them that all options are widely open to ensure peace and harmony is maintain in the state.
According to Sajoh the stakeholders from all nook and crannies in the state in the meeting observed that, when the national secretariat of the PDP directed that all delegates names from Adamawa PDP should be forwarded but to their greatest surprise those that are termed to be loyal to Nyako were rejected so they decided to approach a senior stakeholder for direction in their present quack mare.
Sajoh explained that, in the meeting chaired by one of the most senior stakeholder in the state had political appointees including commissioners, Special Advisers, Special Assistants, local government chairmen, Ward Executives where they agreed unanimously that wider consultation should commence with a view to addressing the ongoing factionalisation in the PDP in the state.
“We have elected our delegates at the last concluded Nassarwo Binyeri state assembly bye election seat but to our greatest dismay to national chairman and his cohort of turn it. So we decided in other to maintain our formidable political structure to allow it go for posterity to judge us,” a stakeholder lamented.
ThisDay
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