Nyako insists on Kugama-led faction - PDP may appoint acting secretary

Category: Lead stories Published on Monday, 14 January 2013 15:40

Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako has restated his support for the Umaru Kugama-led factional PDP state executive, which is at the centre of the crisis rocking the national leadership of the party.

Last week, a group in the Peoples Democratic Party’s national working committee reversed an earlier decision that sacked the Kugama-led executive and ordered for fresh congresses.

On the same day, the committee set up by the NWC held a state congress that led to the emergence of a new executive.

But on Friday, Nyako told Daily Trust in an exclusive interview that the Umaru Kugama-led Adamawa state PDP executive “is back on stream”.

Nyako spoke when he received a delegation led by Managing Director of Media Trust, Alhaji Isiaq Ajibola, in Abuja.
“Since the national secretariat which had earlier dissolved the Kugama-led executives has now come out in unequivocal terms to reinstate them, the Kugama led exco in Adamawa State is back on stream,” he said.

Defending his support for the Kugama-led executive, Nyako said: “This is the team that gave President Jonathan his heartfelt happiness in Eagle Square by giving him a resounding victory in the PDP presidential primaries. This is a team that returned three senators in two elections. This is a team that returned 20 members of the state Assembly. This is a team that won 21 local government chairmanship seats in the state.”

He added: “As far as the congress palaver is concerned, it is all over.”

Nyako said contrary to opinion of some critics, there is no provision in the PDP constitution that says a state governor must not come from the same zone with the state party chairman, as is the case with him and Kugama.

He said, “There are so many governors whose cousins have been party chairmen in their states for over twelve years; some state governors also have brothers who are party chairmen. Would you say because I and the current PDP national chairman are from the same federal constituency then he (referring to Bamanga Tukur) should not be the party’s national chairman?”

The Adamawa PDP crisis, which started as a battle for the control of the party in the state between Nyako and national chairman Bamanga Tukur, has snowballed and created a chasm between President Goodluck Jonathan and state governors.

Daily Trust learnt yesterday that the PDP is planning to appoint an acting national secretary to replace embattled Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola who was ousted by a court ruling on Friday.

The court judgement declared Oyinlola’s continued stay in office as illegal, further fuelling the discontent in the party.
Daily Trust learnt that some party leaders are pushing for the appointment of the deputy national secretary Solomon Onwe as acting national secretary.

Oyinlola has said he is seeking a stay of execution and will appeal the judgement that sacked him.

A source in PDP said the attempt to appoint an acting national secretary may be aimed at frustrating Oyinlola’s bid to remain in office by preempting his moves to obtain a stay of execution.

When contacted for comments yesterday, Tukur’s political adviser Alhaji Ahmed Gusau said he was not aware of moves to appoint an acting scribe as he has been out of Abuja and was just arriving back.

Attempts to reach the PDP national publicity secretary Olisa Metuh failed as his telephones lines were not reachable.

The court judgement ousting Oyinlola came just three days after he teamed up with some members of the NWC to upturn an earlier decision that sacked the Adamawa PDP state executive. Tukur described this action, which was taken behind his back, as betrayal of trust.