Confusion in PDP as officials demand ‘proper recognition’
By Baba Yusuf, Abuja, and Ibrahim Abdul’Aziz, Yola
Acting Governor of Adamawa state, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, yesterday approved the sacking of commissioners and senior special assistants who were appointed by ousted Governor Murtala Nyako.
Announcing this in a press statement, the Secretary to the Adamawa State Government, Prof. Liman Tukur, directed all permanent secretaries to take over the running of the ministries and other offices, pending further instructions.
The SSG also directed relieved officers to hand over to the highest ranking officer.
Meanwhile, commissioners and other top government appointees sacked by Fintiri yesterday stormed the Yola Government House to intensify lobby for re-appointment into government’s top positions. At the Government House, most of the commissioners and special assistants, who had served under Nyako, were seen reaching out to offices in the government in a bid to pull strings for re-appointment.
A source said: “Most of the commissioners and special assistants have not ceased to mount pressure on the acting governor to re-appoint them into key positions. It is obvious that since he was sworn in to take charge of the state on Wednesday, he has been under tremendous pressure.”
In a related development, hours after Acting Governor Fintiri assumed duty, a serious crisis has begun to brew between the state executives of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), members of the state House of Assembly and local government council chairmen.
Reports indicated that the three bodies are poised for war over which of them played the most significant role in the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako and the subsequent emergence of Fintiri as acting governor.
The power of supremacy between the three bodies was let loose yesterday at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Abdullah Liman Tukur, at the council chambers of Government House on Wednesday.
Government House protocol officers had a hectic time in controlling themselves as seats meant for the commissioners of the dissolved executive council were taken over by party executives, while they awaited the arrival of the acting governor.
Our correspondent observed that the first officials to be seated were the state PDP executives led by party chairman Chief Joel Madaki.
However, confusion crept in when the House of Assembly members and the council chairmen demanded to be properly seated.
Protocol officials were invited to organise the sitting arrangement, and when the PDP exco members were beckoned on to give the legislators seats, they remained adamant.
Serious confusion then enveloped the hall as the legislators and the PDP exco started trading words, claiming superiority in the fight that ousted Nyako’s government.
The confusion delayed the swearing-in ceremony for close to an hour as the protocol officials were left helpless as the two groups continued to exchange harsh words.
The intervention of top security personnel and other government officials prevented the situation from degenerating into a fiscuff before normalcy returned.
Local government council chairmen, who were put in an obscure corner, equally complained that they were not properly accorded their rightful position in the scheme of things.
During the rowdy session, the council chairmen were told that they did not deserve any recognition, and were accused of being loyalty to the previous regime.
Already, the Majority Leader of the state House of Assembly, Ishaq Bala, had been removed.
Bala, a member representing Yola North constituency, was removed for not supporting Nyako’s impeachment.
He had been replaced by Salihu Kabilo from Verre constituency.