The embattled Adamawa State Governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd), has said that the situation in his home state which borders on his impending impeachment and that of his deputy, James Nigilari, was not enough to seek help from President Goodluck Jonathan.
Fielding questions from State House Correspondents after the inauguration of the steering committee of the Safe School Initiative in the Villa, Nyako claimed the state was calm, noting that since the issue was before the court, he expected the lawmakers to obey the rules of law in anything they do.
“Well, it is in the court and the court said it was not well done. We are hoping that if they want to do it, they will do it following the normal process in whatever they want to do.
“We have supported him all this time; he has supported us and in situations like these when Mr. President’s support is required, we will seek it,” he said.
On the issue of resignation, Nyako also said he was not considering that yet.
Asked to confirm if some former Heads of State had spoken to the President on his behalf, Nyako simply said: ” That will be excellent”.
On the root cause of the crisis, he said:” Adamawa is a very interesting place. If I tell you we have 87 ethnic groups and the two religions are fairly balanced, It means that being sensitive to each and everyone of us is very important. It is a place of intellectualism; everybody has his own point of view and you have a group of people who share a certain point of view. And until it changes, they will maintain that point of view. But we have been peaceful somehow and we will remain peaceful.”
On rumored plans to defect back to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Nyako noted that: “Quite frankly, you know how I joined the PDP and partisan politics in the first place. It is not really my field. My field is known. You know what I was before. We are straightforward; have two distinctions: loyalty and disloyalty; two separate pieces. But one of the interior politicians told me that there are a lot of things in between loyalty and disloyalty which up till this moment I have not appreciated. So, for me, disloyalty with this type of attitude with Nigerian politics of today you are likely to step on toes of a few. ”
Meanwhile, it was learnt that the two former Heads of Statethatwent with the governor to plead with President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday night, after the National Council of State meeting, to save the governor from being disgraced out of office could not secure Jonathan’s commitment to the plea.
It was said that at the meeting, the former leaders drew the attention of the presidency to the heightening ethno-religious tension that was building in Adamawa as a result of the move to oust the governor and the implications for the worsening security crisis in the North-East.
The two former leaders, who were in Abuja ahead of the Council of States meeting, which took place yesterday, reportedly impressed it upon President Jonathan that nothing should be done to escalate the violence in the region.
But a source close to the meeting told Vanguard last night that the President explained to the two leaders that he had no hand in the move to impeach the governor.
A source close to the president said the president upbraided Nyako for the insults he heaped on him in an offensive letter the governor wrote two months ago to his northern states counterparts, accusing the president of committing genocide in the north in the name of fighting Boko Haram.
But apparently to appease the former leaders, the Presidency was said to have told them that Nyako must first withdraw the inciting letter he wrote to the northern governors early this year and publicly apologise to Jonathan and Nigerians as a condition for intervening in the impeachment process.
However, an unrepentant Nyako was said to have stood his ground that he would rather go down than recant on the contents of the said letter, which sparked outrage when it was made public.
A source close to Nyako confirmed, yesterday, that the peace parley was deadlocked as a result of the governor’s refusal to disown the controversial letter and apologise to Jonathan.
“At that point, the governor is willing to step down rather than recant the content of the letter in question,” a loyalist of Nyako told Vanguard.
“It is true that the meeting got deadlocked at that point but another round of discussions was slated for Tuesday night (last night) but we cannot say whether the outcome will change anything,” the governor’s friend added. Additional report culled from Vanguard.
