All is not well between the executive and the legislature in Adamawa State. Before now, the relationship between Governor Murtala Nyako and the legislature led by Honourable Ahmadu Fintri was so cordial, that the members were perceived as stooges of the governor because whatever he demanded from the assembly was granted.
But penultimate week, and less than a week after the defection of the entire 25 members of the house from APC to PDP, the relationship nose-dived considerably. This was because of the ultimatum given to Nyako to pay the civil servants in the state their two months’ salaries which the governor withheld owing to the prolonged strike by the civil servants as ordered by the Nigeria Labour Congress to press for the full implementation of the minimum wage and the pay cut in the salaries of civil servants from grade levels 07 and above in May, 2014.
The amity between Nyako and legislators is at its lowest ebb. There are insinuations in some quarters that the presidency is behind the ongoing impeachment processes against the governor by the assembly.
The leadership of PDP in the state led by its Chairman, Chief Joel Madaki, commended the bold step by the legislators in giving the ultimatum to the governor to pay the two months’ salaries and pay cut. The chairman said though civil servants constitute only 20% of the population in the state, they are the backbone of the development of the state and society.
With less than six months to the general election, the executive needs to soft- pedal in its approach to the legislature in order to have a soft landing in 2015. The civil servants as the backbone of development should not be neglected and their dues should be paid promptly.
By Usman Santuraki,
No2 Santuraki Close,
Jambutu Ward, Jimeta, Yola.