•As two ex-heads of state plead for gov
Governor Murtala Nyako may yet escape the consequences of his audacious gibes at President Goodluck Jonathan with the intervention of influential personalities Jonathan cannot refuse.
The Council of State meeting on Tuesday, July 8 did not just deliberate on national security, two former heads of state who attended took the opportunity to broker peace between Jonathan and Nyako, a marksman who had been firing sniper shots at Aso Rock from his domain in Adamawa State.
Those who attended the meeting included former Heads of State, Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida, Abdusalami Abubakar; and former Presidents Shehu Shagari and Olusegun Obasanjo.
Nyako is facing impeachment over 20 allegations made by the state House of Assembly, which is dominated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He was a member of the PDP until he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in November 2013.
Beyond the alleged offences, Nyako’s major undoing was moving against Jonathan during the PDP crisis that culminated in the defection of five members to the APC, including himself.
Nyako robbed salt on the injury when he accused Jonathan of spearheading a campaign of genocide against the North.
A source in Aso Rock told TheNiche that after the Council of State meeting, two former heads of state (names withheld) took Nyako to Jonathan and pleaded with him to forgive the governor.
According to the source, the peace brokers are among those highly respected by Jonathan, whose entreaties he could not refuse. It was one of them who had been awarded the contract to build the Centenary City in Abuja.
Nyako reportedly expressed remorse at the peace meeting, especially over the letter he wrote to his Northern colleagues alleging that Jonathan masterminded Boko Haram insurgency to destroy the North.
TheNiche learnt that Jonathan may have used the meeting to extract commitment from Nyako to help his electioneering in Adamawa next year.
It is feared that if Nyako is impeached the presidency may use the letter to prosecute him for treason.
However, Jonathan’s aides and leading members of the PDP are urging the president to be indifferent to the impeachment of Nyako or risk the man putting him off the rails in the election in 2015.
Jonathan’s men insisted that he would be shooting himself in the foot if he allows himself to be persuaded to spare Nyako of impeachment.
Their reason, according to the source, is that Nyako, unlike other politicians, is a former Chief of Naval Staff well versed in military tactics and strategy.
One cited his attempt to link Jonathan to the gruesome Boko Haram killings in the North.
Nyako had in a memo to the Northern Governors Forum, alleged among other things, that “the Administration (of Jonathan) has also hired militia from all across especially North Africa who have been deceived into accepting to come because they were made to believe that they would be fighting infidels.”
He alleged that the federal government was using mass murderers and cut-throats imbedded in the legitimate and traditional defence and security organisations to carry out the genocide.
The source, who is in the inner caucus of Jonathan, argued that if the president softens on Nyako based on sentiment, Nyako, being a military tactician, would launch a fatal attack against Jonathan’s re-election.
Nonetheless, Nyako is feeling confident that his nightmares are over following what he interprets as positive signals from Jonathan.
He was in the Villa twice last week, first for the Council of State meeting on July 8, then for the inauguration of the Safe School Initiative on July 10.
Before the meetings, Nyako’s Media Assistant, Ahmed Sajoh, had said that “resignation is just an option. That is, if the whole thing will lead to a crisis situation, there will be no option than to resign.”
But, expressing confidence after the peace deal, Nyako told journalists that resignation is not an option.
On Friday, July 11 Nyako and his Deputy, Bala Ngilari, refused to appear before the seven-member panel investigating the allegations levelled against them.
They were invited the previous day via notices pasted on the walls of the Government House, Yola and the deputy governor’s office. The two men had avoided been served properly.
But lawmakers appeared before the panel. They were represented by Duro Adeyede, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and 16 others.
They also sent Public Accounts Committee Chairman, Thelma Wafarinyi, as a witness.
Wafarinyi tendered 23 exhibits as evidence against Nyako, including a video tape, and submitted six exhibits against Ngilari.
