Gov Murtala Nyako

•Insists he won’t resign


•Investigative panel invites governor, deputy

By Jaiyeola Andrews   and Daji Sani
 
The embattled Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd), yesterday said if it became necessary, he would seek the assistance of President Goodluck Jonathan over the impeachment noose hanging around his neck.

His statement coincided with the invitation by the investigative panel constituted by the former acting Chief Judge of Adamawa State, Justice Ambrose Mammadi, whose tenure elapsed on Tuesday, asking the governor and his deputy, Bala Ngillari, to appear before it tomorrow.
Nyako, who was at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he attended the inauguration of the steering committee on the Safe Schools Initiative, informed State House correspondents that he remained unruffled over the move by the state House of Assembly to impeach him.

While saying his state was calm, the governor who said he would not resign, also stated that since the case was before a court of competent jurisdiction, the lawmakers should adhere to the rule of law.

“Well, it is in the court and the court said the impeachment process 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,” Nyako said.
On whether he had reached out to Jonathan to wade in, he said, “Not yet. It has not reached that crisis point.”

He added, however, that should the need arise to reach out to the president he would not rule out the possibility.

“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,” the governor stressed.

On if he was contemplating resigning, he said that option was not on the table yet.

His statement was a deviation from that of his close aides and media adviser, Ahmed Sajoh, who had informed THISDAY that the governor might resign if the current political quagmire in the state snowballed into a crisis that might involve the loss of lives and property.

Asked to confirm if some former heads of state had spoken to the president on his behalf, Nyako said, “That will be excellent.”

On the synopsis of the crisis, the governor pointed out that Adamawa was a very interesting place, adding, “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 his rumored plan to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nyako said: “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 politician 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, with disloyalty and this type of attitude with Nigerian politics of today, you are likely to step on the toes of a few.”
Meanwhile, the seven man investigative panel constituted by Mammadi has invited the governor and his deputy to appear before it tomorrow.
The investigative panel, as part of its proceedings, decided to notify the two principal officers by pasting their notice of hearing at the entrance of both the Government House and the deputy governor’s office in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.
The notice of the hearing was signed by Mr. Binanu R. Esthon, the secretary of the investigative panel, and read in part: “The panel upon hearing AK Jingi, Esq, counsel to the panel, and upon reading the provision of the order 6th Rule 4(1) of the Adamawa State High court (Civil Procedure) rules 2013 and order 9th Rule 1 of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, the panel of investigation rules of procedure, the oral application for substituted service on the respondent with the hearing notice and all other processes of this panel is granted:
“1. That the hearing notice and all other processes of the panel on the respondent, Murtala Nyako, GCON, the Executive Governor of Adamawa State shall be served by pasting on the main entrance of the Adamawa State, Government House, Yola.

“2. That the photograph(s) of the hearing notice or any other processes on the main entrance of the Adamawa State Government shall be taken and filed in the Registry of the panel of investigation
“3. That the return date for the matter shall be Friday the 11th day of July 2014.

“Take notice that this matter will be heard by this panel at Usman A. Iya Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, Adamawa State chapel, along Army Barracks Road.”

From the notice, it was apparent that the investigative panel had overcome the challenge it encountered on Tuesday over a venue where to hold its sitting by securing a new venue at the Adamawa State Medical and Health Workers Union chapel in Yola.

However, officials of the state branch of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, including its chairman, Mr. Jeremiah Nkyekwar, said they were not aware that their secretariat had been leased to the panel.
In another development, the suit filed by Nyako and the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the impeachment process embarked upon by the state’s lawmakers ran into a hitch yesterday due to the absence of a substantive chief judge in the state.

Nyako had challenged the legality of the impeachment notice served on him in some national dailies, which the former acting chief judge had deferred the hearing to yesterday, a day after the expiration of his tenure.

The former Attorney General of Adamawa State, Professor Maxwell Gidado, speaking on the development, said once the Office of the acting Chief Judge becomes function officio, no case can be assigned to the court.

He said it is for this reason that governors of states should always appoint substantive chief judges, adding, however, that Nyako under the present circumstances was not statute barred from nominating the most senior judge in the state to the National Judicial Commission (NJC) to occupy the position.

Gidado explained that he had earlier advised Nyako to make sure that there was no vacuum in the Office of the Chief Judge.
“If they took my counsel this thing should have been remedied,” he said.

He pointed out the legal system in the state was imperiled by the absence of a chief judge who ought to assign cases to various courts for dispensation, adding that if the situation persists it could undermine the whole impeachment proceedings.

He however called on all stakeholders of the state to intervene in the political tussle between Nyako and the lawmakers, noting that Adamawa was on the brink of a breakdown and the lawmakers and Nyako need to sheathe their swords for the interest of the common man.
“My advice to Nyako and the lawmakers is that they should sheathe their swords. The state is under emergency rule; the governor has only ten months to end his tenure and already they are deadlocked,” Gidado said.

Gidado added that the members of the assembly were breaching the constitution by their action, stating, “As a stakeholder in the Adamawa project, I am baffled by political development in the state. We are in a state of emergency, we should not do anything that will lead to the breakdown of law and order because of our selfish interests.”


Source: ThisDay