I expect Jonathan’s backing —Nyako •As impeachment panel resumes sitting •NJC extends acting CJ’s tenure

I expect Jonathan’s backing —Nyako •As impeachment panel resumes sitting •NJC extends acting CJ’s tenure

THE embattled Adamawa State governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako (retd), has hinted that he expects President Goodluck Jonathan to support him in this critical time.

The governor said having supported Jonathan all the way, he expected the president to back him should he require his support, but noted that he had not asked for his intervention because the problem in the state had not reached crisis point.

When asked to confirm if he had been trying to reach out to President Jonathan for his intervention, the governor replied: “Not yet. It has not reached that crisis point.”

He added that “we have supported him all this time; he has supported us and in situations like these when Mr President’s support is required, we will seek it.”

Speaking to State House correspondents after attending the inauguration of the Safe School Initiative by the president, at the Presidential Villa, on Wednesday, the governor, however, called on the state lawmakers to abide by the decision of the court in whatever they had decided to do.

“Well, it is in the court and the court said it was not well done. We are hoping that they will follow the normal process in whatever they want to do,” Nyako said.

He was confident that he would survive his present ordeal and remain in office.

On whether he had considered resigning from office as had been reported in the media, he said not yet, but admitted that some former heads of state had met Jonathan to plead on his behalf and thanked the former leaders for their effort.

Tracing the cause of the crisis in Adamawa, he said “the state is a very interesting place. If I tell you, we have 87 ethnic groups and the two religions are fairly balanced. It means that being sensitive to each and everyone of us is very important.

“It is a place of intellectualism; everybody has his own point of view and you have a group of people who share a certain point of view. And until it changes, they will maintain that point of view. But we have been peaceful somehow and we will remain peaceful.”

Speaking on his rumoured plan to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nyako said “quite frankly, you know how I joined the PDP and partisan politics in the first place. It is not really my field. My field is known. You know what I was before. We are straightforward; have two distinctions: loyalty and disloyalty; two separate pieces.

“But one of the interior politicians told me that there are a lot of things in between loyalty and disloyalty which, up till this moment, I have not appreciated.

“So, for me, with the disloyalty in Nigerian politics of today, you are likely to step on toes of a few,” adding that “I have crossed the rubicon.”

Nyako’s impeachment: Panel resumes sitting
From Jacob Segun Olatunji and Wake Akintunde

BARRING any last minute change, the seven-man panel probing Adamaawa State governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako and his deputy, Bala James Ngilari, would resume sitting today.

The panel was constituted by the acting Chief Judge of Adamawa State, Justice Ambrose Mamadi, to probe the allegation of impeachable offences levelled against the governor and his deputy.

It was gathered that arrangement to secure a venue for the sitting at one of the buildings at the popular Ribadu Square in Yola, the state capital, was at an advanced stage as of press time, on Wednesday.

The source, however, hinted that should in case the arrangement failed at the last minutes, the committee would have no option but to sit in any of the government’s building, preferably the state House of Assembly complex or on the premises of any court to conclude its assignment.

The committee had commenced sitting in one of the hotels in the state capital, on Monday, despite the public holiday declared by Governor Nyako for Monday and Tuesday, only to the locked out of the venue on Tuesday on the orders of the proprietor of the hotel.

Efforts to secure another venue for the sitting since then had failed.

According to the source, “we hope that the new venue being touted for the conclusion of the assignment will not be frustrated again, but if that happens, the committee will surely find an alternative.”

The source, however, confirmed that the lawmakers, who had since gone underground since weekend, would resume their normal sitting today, as all of them had been duly informed on the need to be present at the plenary.

...NJC extends acting CJ’s tenure
Lanre Adewole - Lagos

THE National Judicial Council (NJC), on Wednesday, re-appointed Justice Ambrose Mamadi as the acting Chief Judge of Adamawa State for another three-month term.

The council, at its meeting presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, approved the request of Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako, for acting tenure extension for Mamadi.

The governor’s request had been placed before the council before the impeachment saga broke out.

The previous three-month acting period for Justice Mamadi ended on Tuesday, while the state had been without a substantive CJ for about two and a half years.

It was learnt on Wednesday that the logjam over the substantive CJ would likely be sorted out before the expiration of Mamadi’s fresh three-month acting period.

Nigerian Tribune was told by a council member last night that the rejection of Justice Banu by the state legislature meant that the state Judicial Service Commission (JSC) would have to commence the process all over and names re-sent to the NJC.