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Tag: Adamawa State

  • Why Nigerians must support Army

    Why Nigerians must support Army

    I just watched the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Tukur Buratai on Television after he visited troops in Geidam Community of Yobe State, as a result of Wednesday’s attack by Boko Haram militants who over-ran the military.

    Tn the attack, the insurgents killed 3 soldiers, carted away many weapons and ammunition abandoned by the military on the run and looted mostly food and petroleum products from the popular Wednesday market.

    I was particularly touched by the honesty of General Buratai who was obviously angry with the troops who had run away from Geidam town.

    In his words, the General said “How can you allow these criminals over-run you? How can you run away from this rag-tag and untrained criminals? You allowed them to operate here for 12hours unchallenged. You refused to come back until they withdrew.”

    On the surface, the words of COAS Buratai are very hurtful to the image of the Nigerian Army but this is the painful reality today.

    The Nigerian Army seems to be overwhelmed and demoralized.

    The image of the Nigerian Army has suffered so much damages in the eyes of Nigerians and the international community mainly because of the way they have handled the war against Boko Haram in the past 3years.

    These insurgents have repeatedly, for over 2years, embarked upon massive propaganda using social media to demonize the Nigerian Army.

    They have through so many online propaganda and campaigns portrayed our army as a weak and a cowardly army that cannot stand to fight.

    Many online media and personalities helped the insurgents to achieve their propaganda campaigns either intentionally or otherwise.

    It is important for us to know that all wars are fought both on ground, air, sea, land and in the minds of all parties involved in the war and most importantly in the psyche of the citizens. To win this war against Boko Haram, we must conquer the minds of Boko Haram with fear, win over our allies and friends by convincing them our army is capable and reliable and also boost the confidence of our troops through citizenry support since the morale of our troops are boosted when they know the citizens of their country are solidly behind them.

    The Nigerian Army and our other security agencies are our last line of defense against these barbarians since we cannot defend ourselves against their satanic attacks. If not for the efforts of the Nigerian Military and our other security agencies, these barbarians would have taken over the entire nation, enforced their barbaric and misguided religious tenets on all of us, restricted us to their false Sambisa sharia law system, forced our Sisters into sex slavery like they have done to the Chibok Girls and make us live in perpetual fear of terror.

    [quote font_size=”18″ font_style=”italic” bgcolor=”#000000″ bcolor=”#e2e2e2″]We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.”  ― Winston S. Churchill[/quote]

    If not for the Nigerian Army and other security agencies, many Muslims and Christians across our country would not be able to go to the mosque on Fridays or the church on Sundays.

    Boko Haram seeks to destroy Christianity and Islam and do not wish any of us well, Nigerians, irrespective of religious consideration, party affiliation and tribal affinity, must realize that Boko Haram are our common enemies and not just the Nigerian Army’s.

    The Army means well and are doing their very best to protect us all despite the overwhelming odds, they need our support at all times.

    This was what the opposition party in the days of President Goodluck Jonathan was admonished with but they refused to listen. They politicized everything.

    Sadly, they politicized the attempt by the former president to list Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO); they politicized the procurement of arms to prosecute the war; they politicized appointments of service chiefs; they politicized State of Emergency in the North East; they politicized Chibok and turned it into a campaign tool against Jonathan.

    The PDP-led Federal Government and the Nigerian Army, for inexplicable reasons, chose to see issues as an appendage of the PDP rather than the federal government.

    Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, now governor of Kaduna State and many leading APC chieftains then referred to the Nigerian army as Jonathan’s army. They politicized everything as regards the fight against the deadly sect.

    At some point in time, their presidential candidate now President Muhammadu Buhari called an attack against Boko haram an attack against Northern Nigeria.

    If the political class and all Nigerians had supported the then Federal Government and our security agencies in the fight against Boko Haram, may be we would have long won the war.

    The politicization of the war against Boko Haram caused more damage than good on the whole nation. Those who saw the war against Boko Haram as an avenue for them to keep scoring needless and cheap political points in the North, sabotaged the efforts of our security agencies.

    They got the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) to issue endless press releases kicking against the ban on Boko Haram and the plan of the then FG to list Boko Haram as an FTO which was needed to get arms from our allies to effectively prosecute the war.

    And finally, when Boko Haram was listed as an FTO, they began another campaign against the army saying former Chief of Army staff, Lieutenant General Ihejirika was also a sponsor of Boko Haram and was the one supplying arms to Boko Haram on the orders of former president Jonathan.

    Their allegations were so scary and consistent that our allies became skeptical of supplying us with arms, and the United States and Israel refused selling arms to us to fight the deadly sect.

    We had to turn to Russia for help. As if that was not enough, the former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako even did the unbelievable, accusing the FG of genocide against Northern Nigeria and suggested that federal troops were the ones dropping arms for Boko Haram with helicopters.

    Furthermore, it was Mallam El-Rufai that built a propaganda foundation which suggested that former President Jonathan was the one sponsoring Boko Haram against the North.

    He also tried to bring in the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Ex-Niger Delta Militants and others as possible sponsors of the terrorist group. El-rufai ensured he poisoned the minds of young people from the North and many of his followers on social media against the then president Jonathan by maintaining this lie. He further justified this lie when he spoke at Chatham House by presenting a table to justify his propaganda theory.

    The questions all Nigerians must now begin to ask those who refused to support the former administration of Goodluck Jonathan and our security agencies in their fight against Boko Haram then and who are suddenly supporting the Federal Government and the army now is, what has changed? Is Goodluck Jonathan still the one sponsoring Boko Haram with the help of his Niger Delta ex-militants? Is CAN still the one sponsoring Boko Haram? Explanations were offered to APC on why they should see the battle against the terrorists as a national issue rather than treated as a political one just for parochial and mundane reasons, that where national security is concerned, we must not play politics with it but they did not listen.

    They threw caution to the wind and were playing loudly to the gallery. Now see where that has gotten us to, in just 120 days of president Buhari taking over, the deadly group has killed more than 1,300 Nigerians and bombed Abuja twice.

    The message here is this, the enemy is Boko Haram, not the Federal Government, not president Buhari, and definitely not our ever caring Nigerian Army and the security agencies who daily spend their days in the heat and their nights in the cold while the rest of us spend times with families in the comfort of our homes.

    The military deserves our respect and support as they remain in the forefront in the fight against these barbarians.

     

    Deji Adeyanju is a Member of the PDP

    He writes from Abuja and can be contacted:

    Twitter: @adeyanjudeji

    Email: dejiadeyanju_1979@yahoo.co.uk

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  • Breaking News: Explosion hits Yola market

    Breaking News: Explosion hits Yola market

    An explosion has reportedly hit a major market in Yola, the capital of Adamawa state on Thursday evening.

    The explosion which occurred at about 7:00 p.m near the Jimeta main market,  eye witness reported, left scores injured.

    The Nation was unable to contact the security operatives concerning the cause of the blast, it was however suspected to be an activity of suicide bombers.

     

    Details later…

  • Adamawa legislative coup miscarries

    Adamawa legislative coup miscarries

    Adamawa State politicians are shameless, particularly their lawmakers. Last week, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ordered the dethronement of Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri. He had taken office after he masterminded, as Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, the impeachment of the governor, Murtala Nyako. It was all but clear Hon Fintiri plotted the impeachment for the sole purpose of becoming governor. He of course served as the public face and arrowhead of the many plots concocted by top Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) politicians of Adamawa origin and the Goodluck Jonathan presidency exasperated by Admiral Nyako’s strident denunciation of the president. Hon Fintiri did not pretend to any altruism, and perhaps could not. There is nothing in him to show that on any state matter, or political issue, he can be high-minded.

    But as Hon Fintiri was betraying his oath as a lawmaker and displaying his greed as a power broker, the then deputy governor to Admiral Nyako, Bala Ngilari, was reinforcing his appalling lack of principles. He did not support his boss during the impeachment process, for he preferred to stay aloof. He could theoretically reserve his support and still maintain his principles, if he had any. But everything he did showed he had no scintilla of principles. Hoping to profit from the misery of his former boss, he had joined the plot by acceding to the request of the legislature to turn in his resignation. It was clear to the plotters that they would make heavy weather of impeaching both Admiral Nyako and Mr Ngilari, so they asked the latter to resign in order to facilitate his enthronement once the admiral was got rid of. He quietly and unethically agreed, and gave his resignation, which he freely wrote, to the Speaker. There was nothing in that undignified step to show he meant his resignation as a red herring or as a contrivance to ambush the plotters, as he tried to make out in court during his battle to reclaim office.

    As soon as Admiral Nyako was unhorsed, however, Hon Fintiri greedily claimed the governor’s office, clawed his opponents, including Mr Ngilari, and elbowed the PDP hierarchs who realised too late they had been upstaged in a state now seething with betrayal and plots. Recognising late in the day that he also had been betrayed, Mr Ngilari headed to court. There were enough grounds in his petition to undo Hon Fintiri, a conclusion even the most pro-establishment judge in the land would be hard put to ignore. Last week, the chickens came home to roost for Hon Fintiri, who is now struggling to reclaim his former position in the legislature. It is not certain he would succeed. But even if he does, it would not detract from his desensitised heart, nor from his execrable politics.

    Mr Ngilari is doing his best to convince the PDP top hats in Abuja, perhaps especially Dr Jonathan, that he would be their Man Friday during the 2015 presidential poll. He means it, for after all, he did not accompany his former boss into the All Progressives Congress (APC), hoping perhaps to profit from the doom Adimral Nyako was certain to come to on account of his unrelenting opposition to the president. The PDP leaders in Abuja, who had other plans for the State House in Yola outside of Hon Fintiri, came to grief but recovered their wits fast enough to throw in their lot with Mr Ngilari whom they think would be easy to beat in 2015. If Mr Ngilari is able to reconcile the warring and contentious elements in the state PDP, and is able to ingratiate himself temporarily with Abuja, he will lead the party to the next polls and await his fate in a state riven by feverish plots, betrayal and unethical politics.

    The legislative coup may have failed, so to say, but it has nonetheless introduced too many contending elements into the state’s political crucible to the point that stability may elude it for a while to come. While they were plotting against Admiral Nyako, ambitious governorship hopefuls in the state abandoned principles, remorselessly crossed party lines, and formed temporary alliances so tenuous that they defy reason. Buba Marwa, a former Lagos State governor, and a man who won reputation as a sound administrator, proved his frailty by oscillating recklessly between parties; Bamanga Tukur and Jibril Aminu, veritable party leaders with monarchical tendencies, joined the plots not to serve the state or help it fulfill lofty goals, but to enthrone their own children; and Nuhu Ribadu, hitherto recognised as one of the most implacable exponents of ethics in politics, also joined the plot from a somewhat aloof standpoint and has all but ruined his reputation.

    The media celebrate the political quirkiness unfolding in Adamawa State. They have not passed judgement on those who midwife the political and social maelstrom convulsing the state, and really do not need to. History will more competently pass judgement, and do it with such delicate aplomb that cannot be equalled, let alone surpassed. Mr Ngilari beamed expansively as he took his oath of office, an oath that means nothing to them in Adamawa, as it means nothing to Dr Jonathan and his co-conspirators in the presidency and PDP headquarters. Hon Fintiri is angrily plotting his way back into reckoning in the state legislature while training his guns on his Madagali local government area compatriot, Mr Ngilari. The pampered sons of the high and mighty in Adamawa, the scions of Alhaji Tukur and Professor Aminu, are for now ensconced in obscurity until they can decipher the shape of the warfare that is certain to break upon the state soon. And Mallam Ribadu, as this column predicted weeks ago should he fail to get the PDP ticket or even win the by-election, sits in rueful meditation, wondering what the gods have in stock for him.

    For now, development has come to a grinding halt in Adamawa. In the few short weeks Hon Fintiri usurped power, he dispensed largess copiously rather than govern, and would have continued to do so had the by-election held and had he won. The ingratiating and unprincipled Mr Ngilari can be trusted to open the barn and let all the foxes feed in the few months remaining of the Nyako mandate, assuming the former governor does not come back to reclaim his mandate. Between the rampaging behemoths in Abuja and the pugnacious monoliths in Adamawa, the fate of the state seems sealed. The patriot and the judicious in Adamawa will pray that after 2015, sensible and diligent leaders can attain office and give the state the leadership required to ennoble its politics and develop its economy. But given the crop of politicians swarming around everywhere in that infested region, the chances of a turnabout are not as bright as the mind can envision.

  • Disquiet in Adamawa PDP

    Disquiet in Adamawa PDP

    A crisis of confidence has broken out in the Adamawa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    At the centre of the storm is Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri and the party chairman, Joel Madaki.

    The party stakeholders, including some of the 14 aspirants in the run-off to the October 11 governorship by-election, have accused Fintiri and Madaki of entering into an unholy political alliance for mutual benefit.

    The aggrieved party chieftains cried out yesterday that Fintiri and Madaki might have struck a deal; for the latter to use his position to tilt the balance in favour of the former in the party’s coming primary election, for a deputy governorship slot.

    They alleged that the acting governor might have induced the chairman to buy over delegates and induce key stakeholders into compliance.

    “Their plan is to block other contenders from having their own people emerge as delegates at the congress scheduled for Monday and subsequently deny the aspirants the opportunity to meet the elected delegates.

    “The majority of the members of the party executive do not support what is happening, but the acting governor and the chairman are intimidating them with threats of exclusion or expulsion.

    “The way they are going about this is really dangerous not only for the PDP in Adamawa, but also democracy in the country. If Fintiri is allowed to go with his plans, it will set a terrible precedent that may see speakers impeaching governors and foisting themselves on everybody.

    “We cannot allow this to stand. You cannot come in mufti and stage a kind of military coup. The activities of Fintiri and his cronies signify the height of desperation and lawlessness to satisfy myopic interest.”

    “We are submitting a petition to the national leadership of the party to do something about this because the way it is, no aspirant can be comfortable to go into the primaries when the process is already skewed in favour of one person,” the complainants said.

  • Will Speaker’s death end Taraba impasse?

    Will Speaker’s death end Taraba impasse?

    A key factor in  resolving  the political conundrum in Taraba State,Haruna  Tsokwa ,unexpectedly died  last week, upsetting  calculations  about the  conflict.He was Speaker of the State Assembly  and a strong ally of Acting Governor Garba Umar. Senior Correspondent FANEN IHYONGO writes that  Tsokwa’s death could  turn out to be  an opportunity for the other players in the stalemate to reach a truce.

    Haruna Tsokwa ,47,had the state House of Assembly effectively under his control.With 15 of the 24 members on his side, and by extension, on the side of Acting Governor Garba Umar, he had the ability to tilt the scale in whatever direction he chose in the struggle for power between  recuperating Governor  Danbaba Suntai and the acting governor.

    However,last Monday,he slumped and died of  a “heart-related ailment”. Some people attribute his death to the crisis.Maybe.

    The deceased had led 15 of the 24-member Assembly to stop Governor Danbaba Suntai from resuming duty on his return from medical treatment abroad.

    The governor had been  critically injured on October 25, last year when a plane he flew crashed in Yola, Adamawa State. The state lapsed into confusion upon his return in August after   the late Speaker pronounced  him  unfit to author a letter in which he sought the permission of the legislature to resume work.

    Instead,Tsokwa with the support of the majority members of the assembly,mandated  Umar to continue to act as governor  and  insisted    that Suntai should return to the United States  of America for further treatment.The governor replied  that he was well and fit to function.His supporters would not hear of any move to stop him from returning to office immediately.Courtesy calls on him followed in quick succession to debunk claims that he could neither  recognise people and nor speak coherently.

    The PDP, of which all the players in the crisis are members, dispatched  a fact-finding team led by Senator Hope Uzodinma as part of the efforts to find a solution to the logjam. The team recommended that power  be ceded to Umar in an  acting capacity  but said he must take instructions from Suntai on “major decisions.”

    The  pro-Umar  state legislators   rejected the decision and  accused  the Uzodinma committee of taking sides and acting a script prepared by the PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur.

    The pro-Suntai legislators led by the House  Majority Leader, Joseph Albasu  called for  “strict compliance with the provisions of the constitution.”

    Suntai sued the late Speaker and some of the lawmakers. He urged the court to interpret Section 190(2) of the Constitution which deals  with transmission of letter and resumption of work by a governor after prolonged absence.

    Justice Ali Ibrahim Andeyangtso, who is handling the matter referred  it  to the Appeal Court, on the grounds that the interpretation of Section 190(2) has never attracted any judicial pronouncement. This followed the inability of the parties to settle out of court.

    Before the court’s ruling on the application by the defendants for referral, lead counsel to the governor, Alex Izinyon, SAN, had applied that the ruling be adjourned for three weeks, because the parties in the suit were exploring “possible and amicable ways of resolving the dispute out of court”.

    But no deal was struck. It was gathered that truce was not reached because the acting  governor refused to comply with the conditions given him by Suntai loyalists. Although,technically  the legal battle is between Suntai and the late Speaker, it is in reality a confrontation  between Suntai and Umar, who is accused of scheming to consolidate his hold on power and possible edge out his boss.

    After all,    victory in the suit  for the late Speaker would mean  victory for Umar  to continue to run the affairs of Taraba as acting governor.

    One of the conditions  opposed by Umar is that he should  drop the title of acting governor and answer only deputy governor.

    Another is that he should  remove Ahmed Yusuf as Chief of Staff, an appointment he made before the governor returned from abroad.

    In defiance, the acting  governor sent a list of commissioner-nominees to the Assembly for a new State Executive Council (Exco).Only  the court stopped the deceased Speaker from proceeding to  take action on ratifying the list.

    The court also rejected an affidavit sworn to by Governor Suntai’s wife,Hauwa ,and his younger brother,Babangida Suntai,in which they sought to withdraw ,on behalf of the Suntai larger family, the suit between the governor and the state assembly.

    With Tsokwa’s death coming as  a shock  to both factions in the political crisis,all seems quiet for now in the two camps.And the situation is likely to remain so until the burial of the Speaker slated for November 28.

    But there are suggestions in the state that the various actors are reflecting on the crisis and may soon reach out for each other  without a view to striking  a deal in the interest of the state and its people.

    Tsokwa’s successor as Speaker ,in particular,will have a huge role to play in bringing the two camps together because the only victims of the current power play have been the ordinary people of Taraba.

    Perhaps,he needs to  reflect  on the admonition  of the acting governor  on the situation in the state that in politics there is no permanent ally or foe, what is permanent is interest, and  that in life what is more permanent is death.

  • Agric experts visit Adamawa

    Agric experts visit Adamawa

    The Consultant on Agricultural Matters to Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) Prof Abba Gambo, yesterday said agricultural experts and analysts were visiting Adamawa State to study the agricultural programmes of Governor Murtala Nyako.

    He told reporters in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, that Nyako’s agricultural policy should be shown to other governors to emulate.

    He said his team would organise a five-day seminar on agriculture.

    “I am a consultant to the 36 governors on Agricultural Matters. Honestly, Governor Nyako’s giant stride in agriculture marvelled us. We need to tell the whole world that Nyako is a role model when it comes to agricultural matters,” he said.

    He noted that agriculture was synonymous with peace, stressing that an empty hand always ended up in the devil’s workshop.

    Gambo explained that the reason behind peaceful coexistence among the 89 nationalities in the state was because of Nyako’s leadership style for engaging youths in jobs, noting that it has transformed them.

    Among the scientists were Prof Abdullahi Abba, a rice specialist from the University of Maduguri; Silas Okoli, Prof.B. G. J. Kabir, Dr. Celestine Ayok,Imam Sidi,Alhaji Yahaya Mohammed Yakassai, Prof. Hauwa Biu,Dr.Abubakar Abba Aji and Bulama Dauda.

  • Genesis of Adamawa’s political feud

    Genesis of Adamawa’s political feud

    Barnabas Manyam in Yola traces the roots of the current political crisis in Adamawa State and reports that the embattled governor may join a vibrant opposition party ahead of 2015 if his reconciliation efforts fail

     

    The internal feud rocking the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa State may not abate for now until a meaningful dialogue with the emergent forces of the two combatant factions is held. Investigation shows that if this is not done, PDP’s continuous control of the state in 2015 will not be certain, as Governor Murtala Nyako’s political strategists are already making alternative plans to join a vibrant opposition party ahead of 2015.

    The state governor, Murtala Nyako, since his inauguration in 2007, has employed various tactics to contain rampaging forces from outside, and even within his cabinet and his party, the PDP.

    Although skirmishes are normal features in any democratic practice, the Adamawa case study has, however, lingered to a worrisome dimension in the past, due largely to the hate campaign that characterised the last governorship election in the state.

    Interestingly, Nyako happens to be the only governor in recent history to have contested for the same office three times and winning same without incumbency advantage, having been a victim of judicial pronouncements on his seat many times over. This, according to sources, was the genesis of the political feud, because the judicial fireworks were handiworks of anti-Nyako elements in the PDP.

    Fascinatingly, a deliberate political scenario was created by top echelons, which has pitched one ethnic group against the other, all for political gains. The self-serving intrigues remotely guiding the hate campaign against Nyako and his government are, however, glaring for those who see with prescient and lucid views.

    To a large extent, there appears to be some kind of advantage that accrues to those bent on perpetrating the dissensions, not taking into cognisance the collateral damage the entire state is facing or its citizenry stands to incur as a result of their actions.  It is hoped that peace will subsist in Adamawa State, at least before the next round of elections. But, right now, the PDP remains a house in disarray, judging by many internal battles and high profile sabotage being masterminded by some of its chieftains. To say the least, the PDP under Nyako has had to contend more with fifth columnists from within its fold than defending itself from opposition parties in the state.

    Looking back, soon after election in 2007 and later after the elections in 2008 due to a tribunal ruling, Nyako had to draw more from his military experience to survive and to remain the landlord of the Dougirei Government House.

    As the state continues to grapple with the intense fighting within the party, the reasons for the deep-seated in-fighting remains a mirage, at least, to the common people of the state. To the masses, the feud could be on account of anything but service delivery. This is because Nyako’s new government is held in high esteem by the masses on the premise of infrastructural development; water supply, health care delivery and education development, which led the Nyako government to win prestigious prizes as the overall best performing state in Nigeria in the educational sector.

    Despite that, some PDP top echelon, said to be Abuja-based, insisted that the government is a misnomer. They accused Nyako of selective empowerment and of running an exclusive government, with social services and development programmes not equitably distributed. Thus, to these critics, his administration was designated as government of “family and friends.”

    However, Nyako’s admirers and the teeming populace have always queried the allegation that any social service or development programme was not equitably distributed. “Are there some people who were denied the use of roads constructed by this government, or are there those who were denied access to hospitals, schools or pipe-borne water that runs through homes across the state,” an associate of the governor asked?

    He further cited Nyako’ s many feats to include what he described as “the first of its kind,” in area of skills acquisition programme in Nigeria, where young people drawn from the 21 local government areas of the state are imparted with technical skills in strict compliance with German technical standard to boost technology transfer and special skills resource of the state.

     

    Fate of the opposition

    While the in-house battle rages within the PDP, the opposition could best be described as docile, as they are rarely heard coming hard on any government policy, which prompted a conclusion by supporters of “Baba Mai Mangoro”, as vice Admiral Nyako is fondly called, that the ship of state is in the capable hands of a competent navigator who happens to be an experienced seaman.

    The passivity of the opposition, argues Nyako supporters, speaks volume of their endorsement of this government. This view has to a reasonable extent been corroborated by political commentators in the state who hold that in a few cases where a row ensued between the government and any of the opposition parties in the state, one or some PDP characters were fingered as masterminds.

    In the past, a socio-cultural group, Adamawa United Forum (AUF), came hard on the way and manner Nyako was running the state. AUF accused the retired seaman of nepotism, accusing the governor of hoisting himself up as the alpha and omega in the state.

     

    Nyako’s sins

    The question many observers are asking today is, what are Nyako’s sins that most of those who fought for his victory have turned around to cripple his government?

    This question is what the cabal that was formed as soon as Tukur became the national chairman of the PDP could not find answers to, but now appears the public may need to wear its thinking cap to get to the root of the matter as what we gathered may not be palatable to all.

    Alhaji Umaru Mijinyawa Kugama, state chairman of the PDP, once described the internal wrangling within the party as a fight over bounties of a political victory.”Believe me, Governor Nyako is just grappling with an age-long tradition of sharing state resources among the upper echelon after a political victory like this. What he met on ground was a ‘come, let us chop’ kind of a situation, but he said ‘no, it must not continue.’ That is all I can tell you,”  Kugama stated.

    While this argument seems to douse curiosity, Dr Umar Ardo, governorship aspirant with a vibrant opposition voice, on the other hand, has grabbed the judiciary by the jugular to chase the Kugama-led Exco of the PDP out. Ardo argued that the Kugama-led Executive Committee was constituted in breach of the party’s constitution.

    However, political commentators say Kugama, having been duly elected to serve for a period, should be allowed to complete his tenure. This argument is premised on the fact that Kugama should not suffer for a wrong he has no hands in, seeing he was elected state chairman of the party by delegates of the party.

    While the battle rages on, the Tukur-led National Working Committee (NWC) suspended Kugama and a caretaker chairman in the person of Damagun, who was appointed soon after a controversial state congress was conducted, leaving out the Nyako-led PDP in the cold. It was that congress that produced Chief Joel Hammanjoda Madaki.

    Soon after Madaki’s emergence, the litmus test of who becomes the member representing Jereng constituency in the State Assembly was hovering on the blink menacingly. Two congresses were conducted by Madaki and Kugama, but later the INEC, which had supervised the two congresses, rejected that of Kugama and accepted that of Madaki.

    The election was allegedly conducted in the sitting governor’s home local government area of Mayo Belwa and PDP won, but the victory left a bitter test in the mouth of the two PDP factions.

    Today, the relationship between these two factions has become so irreconcilable that it is certain the state and the citizenry would be the worse for it.

    The stakeholders of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa State, especially those loyal to Governor Murtala Nyako, have finally resolved to dump the party in Adamawa State.

    This fresh development, we exclusively uncovered, will be implemented if all the current efforts by Nyako at reconciliation fail.

  • Education: Adamawa goes for UBEC star price

    Education: Adamawa goes for UBEC star price

    Adamawa State government is not leaving things to chance in its quest to clinch the overall best performing state’s price tag in Nigeria in educational development. The state no doubt has an enviable record of upgrading educational facilities to standard level since 2007 when Governor Murtala Nyako took office.

    The state was awarded overall best Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) performing state in Nigeria three times under Nyako. This year again the governor is aiming high for the star price to place Adamawa high among its peers.

    Forgetting the turbulent politics of the state, the governor has not forgotten to reposition the educational sector as the state in the North and, of course, the nation.

    Beginning from 2007 to date, all primary schools and secondary schools have been upgraded with standard classrooms and text books to improve the learning ability of the child. Most of these schools are one-storey buildings or two-storey types. Furnishing has remains among the best in the country – including in the area of horticulture.

    Before the current administration in Yola most schools in Jimeta – especially Capital School and Gwadabawa were dilapidated until Nyako visited these schools around 2009. Presently, if you go there now you may think these are universities because of the sheer transformation with decent and convenient environment for learning.

    That is the same picture all over the state that made UBEC award the number one position to Adamawa State in terms of educational achievement.

    In addition to the total turnaround in primary and secondary, Governor Nyako has also established ten functional new junior secondary schools across the state and ten new girls-only secondary schools.

    The government has equally established 14 skills acquisition centers with state of art  facilities while technicians across the world with relevant technological knowhow have been brought to these centers to transfer technology to students who are willing to imbibe skills. Additionally, 38 secondary schools – along with one technical and one science institution have been established, while 21 junior secondary schools have been upgraded to senior secondary school status.

    Six new boarding junior girls-only schools have been established under the Adamawa State Education Master Plan. Governor Nyako recruited 10,000 new teachers for secondary schools recently and they are dominated by non-indigenes as he gave orders that whoever was qualified should be employed. The Adamawa Education Master Plan (AEMP) has seen to the rapid development of the state.

    Improved salary structure and feeding pattern have been adopted to encourage teachers and students to learn more and teach more. He also approved some 13 newly-completed JSS as offshoot of the primary schools. KOICA model primary school was established in Mayo-Belwa and Yola South.

    Prompt payment of the UBE counterpart funds has led to massive transformation in education in Adamawa – including construction of VIP toilets across primary and secondary schools.

    Payment of annual SSCE fees for students to write their examinations is prompt for all school-age pupils. They have also been given free uniforms to encourage parents who cannot take their wards to schools because of lack of uniforms. Nyako has also established library and computer centers in all primary and secondary schools.

    Government has constructed access roads to primary and secondary schools to enable teachers and students move feely while in GMMC 88 large structures were renovated. In GSS Yola, a state-of-the-art library and computer center have been provided while renovation of structures has also been completed. Every year the government purchases science equipment for SSCE practicals.

    On account of these achievements, many eminent personalities have been pouring accolades on Nyako for his strides in the educational sector – especially when the state began to score first in UBEC. Among such personalities, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said this during his visit to Adamawa  State: “I have seen the success recorded by the Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako in the area of education and I’m impressed that education has been turned around in the state with more that 40% of the state budget going to education.

    “I want to particularly command Admiral Nyako for his vision in locating 40% percent of the revenue to education sector. I have seen modest, laudable and ambitious development in education that I cannot see anywhere in the North. This lofty transformation of education in Adamawa Sate is quite impressive”.

    Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State during his visit to Adamawa State said: “I have to copy the skills acquisition programmes of Governor Murtala Nyako so that I will implement it in Bauchi State. I am happy with what I have seen what Governor Nyako doing for the people of Adamawa State”.

    Another person who poured encomiums on the governor is the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, who said: “Adamawa State is the best performing state in the country in terms of education because of what I have seen on ground. No wonder the state has been winning the number one position every year from UBEC and I believe that Adamawa State under the governor is healthy in the area of education.”