From SUNDAY ODE, Abuja
ADAMAWA Governor, Murtala Nyako, has insisted that the outcome of last week local government election in the state stands.
This declaration appears to have deepen the dispute between the embattled governor and the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Nyako has been having a running battle with the PDP national leadership over the conduct of PDP primaries in Adamawa state which led to the sack of the state PDP executive committee and the suspension of the National Vice Chairman, North East, Alhaji Girigiri Lawal by the National Working Committee, NWC.
In spite of directives by the PDP to Nyako to harmonize the list of PDP candidates for the Adamawa local government election, the government last week gave a nod to the State Independent Electoral Commission, SIEC, to conduct the election with the list of candidates earlier cancelled by the NWC.
The controversial election was won by PDP with a landslide.
Angered by the governor’s recalcitrance, the NWC last week summoned Nyako to appear before it to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for the affront on the authority of the national leadership of the party.
The governor, who was drilled by NWC members for more than two hours, maintained that the issue of the local government election would not be revisited as the result of the election was not determine by the party.
Answering questions from newsman on the outcome of the election, Nyako said: “Of course, the election stands. The result of the election is not determined by the party. It is determined by the State Independent Electoral Commission.”
On the harmonized list which is at the centre of the controversy between him and the party, Nyako said, “Whatever we had to do was done in the best interest of the party. I can assure you that it will not become problem when we want to do it, because whatever we had to do have to be in the best interest of the party and our state.”
Asked why he was at the party national secretariat, the governor questioned: “is it any thing wrong in attending a family meeting. The big family of PDP will like to put their heads together.”
PDP national chairman, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, did not participate in the yesterday’s meeting between Nyako and PDP national working committee members.
