Nyako's Loyalists Shift Allegiance to PDP

Source: pointblanknews.com

Loyalists of the Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako, seem to have abandoned the governor as they have regrouped and retraced their steps back to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, following their fall out with the governor over his defection to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC.

The loyalists, under the aegis of Adamawa 21 at the weekend in Yola, publicly declared their loyalty to the PDP, saying that they were a political pressure group working to promote the principles and practice of internal democracy within the party.

Led by Kashim Njidda, the group paid a solidarity visit to the state secretariat of the PDP, where they were received by the state chairman, Chief Joel Madaki, the members of the group drawn from all the 21 local government areas of the state publicly declared their allegiance, support and loyalty to the PDP.

Among staunch Nyako loyalists and PDP faithful who joined in the Saturday solidarity visit were: Chief Felix Tangwami, Nyako's Campaign Director general in the last election; Kwamoti Laori, the deputy speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Crowther Seth, a former commissioner, Lawan Getona, Salihu Girei, Inna Bassey, and Solomon Obadiah.

Others were all former local government chairmen who served under the Nyako administration, former state legislators, retired permanent secretaries and technocrats who served in the Nyako administration.

Governor Nyako who has been embroiled in a game of wits to control the APC, now has to contend with his plummeting political base, seriously undercut by his loyalists who are daily leaving him to pitch their political tent with the PDP since his move to the opposition APC.

While pledging their loyalty to the Bamanga Tukurled leadership of the PDP, Kashim chided Nyako's leadership of the PDP for non-adherence to the tenets of internal democracy, until the coming on board of the Madaki-led leadership in the state, adding that things were already falling apart before the emergence of the Madaki-led state working committee.

Kashim explained that “candidates who bought forms for elections into various offices at various levels were forcefully denied the contest or rigged out by having some of the elections conducted outside their constituencies, contrary to what the laws demand. Results were falsified. People won elections and their certificates of return were denied even after the results were announced.”

Meanwhile commotion and uproar also greeted the solidarity visit by some PDP stalwart to the Adamawa State secretariat of the party when some PDP faithful tried to deny some alleged loyalist of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar entry into the secretariat.

The situation led to a free for all among the two contending camps, but the day was saved by the security agents.

Some of the former Vice President loyalists sighted by National Mirror during the melee were John Elias and Lawan Gitonan who were denied entry to the venue over accusations that both men were allegedly hobnobbing with the newly registered Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, linked to Abubakar.