HE IS ON HIS OWN – NYAKO

Governor Murtala Nyako, of Adamawa State, has said that even though as his kinsman, and former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar had declared his interest in the presidency of the country, on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he remains a non-member of the party.

Nyako, who fielded questions from newsmen shortly after a live programme on Adamawa Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio on Sunday, also stated that the state decided to skip the payment of workers' salaries for the month of June but paid the July, salaries because the workers didn't work for the month of June but were paid July salary because they worked for the month.

On Sunday's presidential declaration bid of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar in Abuja, Nyako declared that Atiku was not declaring for the presidency under any registered political platform as the party hierarchy in the state and at the national levels have not given recognition to his declaration as he was yet to be a registered member of the party.

According to him, it has been Atiku's style of politics not to declare under any party platform just as he did in 2007 because he decamped to another party that he was not even accepted under that platform and equally denounced the Peoples Democratic Party.

'Even in 2007, Atiku declared under no political party and he is declaring today under no political party.

However, a number of defectors from the Action Congress of Nigeria to the People's Democratic Party found their ways to Abuja to grace the declaration of the former Vice president Atiku's presidential bid. As at press time on Sunday, a number of Atiku's loyalists in the state have been mobilizing political support for his 2011 presidential bid on the platform of the People\s Democratic Party.

He said Atiku was on his own and described the said declaration as a gimmick as it had been his antecedent since 2007 when he declared for the presidency without a political platform, Nyako urged him to sort himself out politically as what he did was not recognised by the party hierarchy in the state and at the national levels.

The Governor also declared that he would not pay his workers their June Salaries and allowances because they never worked for the month.

According to him, the International Labour Law stipulates that 'No Work, No Pay' and that Adamawa workers were on strike during the month of June, hence they were not entitled to salaries for that month. But when contacted on phone, the states chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Dauda Buba, insisted that the organized labour was adamant of receiving their June Salaries because during the month, workers were involved in negotiation with the state government to agitate for their rights after series of warnings to the state government.