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Tag: Umaru Fintiri

  • Adamawa poll: Two aspirants step down for Fintiri

    Adamawa poll: Two aspirants step down for Fintiri

    Two of the aspirants gunning for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket to run in the October 11 governorship by-election yesterday stepped down for Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri.

    Fintiri, who got his disqualification from the race by the screening panel upturned on Sunday, said his ambition is an Adamawa project.

    A former Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, James Barka and Alhaji Sabo Mohammed Jimeta, yesterday announced their withdrawal from the race.

    Barka, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Tunisia, told reporters that with Fintiri in the race, he saw no reason why he should contest saying they shared similar ideas on how to develop the state.

    “When I heard that Fintiri was disqualified, I was sad and felt I could give him my clearance to run on behalf of all well-meaning citizens of Adamawa State.

    “ But when the appeal committee cleared him, I was overwhelmed with joy and decided that since Fintiri is in the race, I should put my weight behind him by withdrawing in his favour”, Barka said.

    Barka hinted that other aspirants might soon withdraw to support Fintiri.

    Jimeta defended his decision to back Fintiri, saying: “The recent changes have increasingly impressed the good people of Adamawa State. Fintiri is a young man, vibrant and a patriotic leader with an enviable record of service. He is ready to take the state out of its current woes to a new level that will adequately cater for the well being of her citizens.”

    Fintiri told reporters in Yola that his clearance was an act of God.

    “The reaction of the people when I was initially disqualified showed that the people of Adamawa are with me; therefore, my ambition is an Adamawa project to make a new state from the old one.

    “ I feel happy and have cause to thank God that the Appeal Committee cleared me to contest. I want to assure the people of Adamawa who trooped out to welcome me back from Abuja that we must all team up and work for the total liberation of the state”, he said.

    The acting governor urged all the PDP aspirants to join hands with him and make him an unopposed candidate. He added that plans were afoot to present a consensus PDP candidate.

     

  • Adamawa: Ribadu, Fintiri, Tukur, others beat PDP deadline

    Adamawa: Ribadu, Fintiri, Tukur, others beat PDP deadline

    It was a flurry of activities at the Abuja national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party on Monday, as 12 of the party’s 14 governorship aspirants scrambled to return their nomination forms to beat the deadline.

    The aspirants, who took turns to speak with reporters after submitting their forms, described the contest as “serious business,” saying they were not leaving anything to chance.

    Adamawa Acting Governor, Umaru Fintiri, insisted that the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, is not a threat to his aspiration.

    Fintiri said rather, Ribadu should be the one to be afraid of him. “I am the one that is a threat to Ribadu. Why should I be afraid of Ribadu when he does not have a structure and support base.

    “I am the leader of the rescue team in Adamawa because I have been laying the foundation for good governance, equity and fairness since I assumed office as Acting Governor,” Fintiri stated.

    Ribadu on his part, said he has been working hard for the party’s ticket, saying his last minute defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP would not affect his chances.

    He said: “I am prepared to serve the people at any level I find myself, even if I am called upon to serve as a street sweeper. I am working hard to win the party’s ticket. You should get it right that I am not new in partisan politics.”

    Also at the secretariat was the son of the immediate past national chairman of the PDP, Auwal Tukur, who came with a large number of supporters on his entourage.

    In an apparent reference to Ribadu, Tukur decried what he called a situation where a stranger would join the PDP at the eleventh hour and expect to get leverage over older members of the party.

    “A situation like this kills the initiative of existing members who have worked hard for the progress and development of the party over the years. It is not fair and such things should not be encouraged in the party,” Tukur said.

    Shortly after returning his form, former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Mohammed Modibbo, challenged other aspirants to test their popularity at the grassroots instead of seeking undue leverage from the powers that be.

    Former Lagos State military administrator, Buba Marwa and former Political Adviser to the President, Ahmed Gulak, had submitted their forms on Friday.

  • Nyako: Succession battle tears Acting Gov, PDP leaders apart

    Nyako: Succession battle tears Acting Gov, PDP leaders apart

    • Acting governor’s posters flood Yola

    Adamawa State Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri who, stormed the PDP National Secretariat, Abuja last week beating his chest for  ‘delivering’ on the impeachment of Admiral Murtala Nyako as governor, now wants the job full time.

    The State House of Assembly under Fintiri as the Speaker initiated impeachment proceeding against Nyako and sacked him subsequently.

    His posters have now flooded Yola proclaiming his interest in the race to succeed Nyako.

    The PDP of which Fintiri is a member is gripped by tension over who succeeds Nyako with several other top members also showing interest.

    Each of the aspirants claims to enjoy the support of prominent leaders.

    Stakeholders who masterminded the ouster of the former governor say the plan was never intended to make Fintiri substantive governor.

    One of the stakeholders said they might return to the trenches against the Acting Governor if he tries to impose himself on the state.

    Fintiri, The Nation gathered, has already put machinery in place to hijack the PDP structure to fulfill his ambition.

    It was learnt that he does not want to return to the House of Assembly as its Speaker.

    A highly-placed source privy to the plot said: “The acting governor of Adamawa State is moving fast and clearly will slip very fast on banana peels on his path. His posters have been posted in strategic places all over the state capital urging him to move on to complete the tenure of Nyako. This is coming barely two weeks after the ouster of Nyako and resignation of the Deputy Gov Bala Ngilari.

    “Those urging the acting governor on are obviously playing the script of his close friends without recourse to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.”

    Fintiri’s supporters want him to remain in office in view of the security challenge in the state and on the excuse that it will be too costly to run two elections in Adamawa within six months.

    They are advocating the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’.

    But a source in the state said:”They totally forget that a state assembly cannot apply the Doctrine of Necessity to suit its wishes. Alternatively, Fintiri’s colleagues in Adamawa State House of Assembly are touting the idea that what the acting governor needs to do is to get all PDP governorship candidates in the state to agree and present him as a consensus candidate in elections within the stipulated 90 days with the understanding that the governor will then not contest in Feb 2015 elections.

    “Fintiri seems to have bought the idea. He has not only mobilised his colleagues in the Assembly for the project who are already canvassing same but he also has wooed chairmen of local governments who had gone to the All Progressives Congress (APC) back to PDP and promised full release of local government funds.

    “He promised to take them to Abuja where they in turn would request President Jonathan as the Leader of PDP to ensure Fintiri completes Nyakos term.”

    But another source asked the PDP to watch it because it might lose the state to the opposition if Fintiri is fielded.

    He said the electorate in the state cannot be taken for granted by the PDP.

    The second source added: “All these permutations are assuming that Adamawa electorate are ignorant because the acting governor  had actually toyed with the idea of moving to the  APC at  the height of Nyako’s reign.

    “As the Speaker of the Assembly, he was at Lamido Cinema all night with Nyako at the venue of APC state Congress in Adamawa where a deal was reached between Nyako, ex-Vice- President Atiku Abubakar and the ex-Speaker on the leadership of APC in the state.

    “It was when Nyako outsmarted both Atiku and the ex-Speaker that the Speaker vowed to return to PDP with all his members to deal with Nyako. He got the Assembly to dust up Nyako’s sins and get him out . This they did.”

    A pro-Fintiri stakeholder said: “Does it make sense for PDP to have another candidate to complete Nyako’s tenure? Why can’t we allow Fintiri to lead the state till February 2015 when we will be due for another election?

    “If by October a new candidate is elected as the PDP governor in Adamawa State, he won’t be able to settle down till February and he won’t achieve anything. This state needs to be stabilised after Nyako’s exit. A few of us are supporting Fintiri’s aspiration as substantive governor because of the need for stability and continuity.”

     

  • Gloating in Adamawa

    If there was any lingering doubt about the identities of the power-hungry schemers, who determined the untidy removal of the former Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako, it was certainly laid to rest by the triumphalism of the former Speaker of the House of Assembly and Acting Governor, Umaru Fintiri.

    The Acting Governor’s fourth day in office was dramatically and significantly marked by a revealing closed-door meeting he had with some high-profile officials of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja. There was no question about his gloating as he spoke with reporters afterwards.  “As a loyal and obedient party member,” he said, “I came on a courtesy call to my party and the National Working Committee as my first assignment after the battle to remove Governor Nyako who had stolen the mandate of the PDP under which he was elected.”  Fintiri added: “I came here to bring back the mandate and I have handed over to them the mandate. I promise that I will work together with the party, its leadership and the people of Adamawa to ensure that our party is restored to the people.”

    A content analysis of Fintiri’s remarks indicates that Nyako’s impeachment and subsequent removal were most likely inspired more by his defection from the PDP to the rival All Progressives Congress (APC) than by his alleged “gross misconduct.”  This reasoning, of course, is based on the fact that the definition of the critical phrase should not reasonably include an individual’s voluntary movement from one party to another. In other words, irrespective of the veracity or invalidity of the charges against Nyako, the mission of the apparently teleguided legislators was to get rid of him by all means, including nauseatingly indecent and dishonourable methods, not to say legally-deficient processes.

    It is worth observing that the accusations that fuelled the eventual removal of Nyako were not unveiled while he remained a member of the PDP, but were suddenly unearthed after his exit from the party. To a large extent, this fact colours the allegations even if they could be proved; and the conveniently delayed pursuit of punishment is itself a strong indictment of the integrity of the self-righteous accusers.

    Expectedly, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, echoed Fintiri’s remarks, and was quoted as saying that the treatment Nyako got would restore the party’s dignity and roll back the rot caused by him.  Metuh’s choice of words is amazing because it suggests that he may not be conscious of the meaning they convey.  If undignified conduct is seen as having restored the party’s dignity, it is food for thought and should prompt a deeper examination, even a questioning, of the party’s values. Also, speaking of rot, what could be more rotten than the celebration of evil, which this big excitement represents?

    Regrettably, this episode has once again demonstrated that the politically- powerful in the country are usually less guided by the spirit of the law and often more interested in how they can manipulate the letter of the law for narrow and short-sighted self-aggrandisement.