The Presidency on Saturday rebuked the Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako over the letter he wrote to the leadership of Northern States Governors Forum, describing it as “an unmitigated leadership disaster and a sad betrayal of trust by a major beneficiary of the Nigerian nation”.
Nyako had in the letter he wrote to Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, accused the Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan’s watch of carrying out genocide against northern states with impunity.
But in a sharp response, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in a statement said the content of Nyako’s letter exposed him as lacking a sense of history.
Okupe said the letter further portrayed the governor as being incapable of rising above “parochial sentiments and possessing a morbid hatred for facts and truth in public discourse”.
While describing the letter as extremely divisive, the presidential aide said it was calculated move to incite one section of the country against the other.
The statement read, “Governor Nyako claims that President Goodluck Jonathan is from the Eastern region which, according to him, is responsible for the killing of Northern political elites on the 15th of January 1966
“This is a very disgraceful remark by the governor and a pathetic embarrassment to the Nigerian Military from where Nyako derives his career antecedents. It is certainly a reflection of the governor’s ignorance and unpatriotic inclinations.
“Similarly, the Adamawa State Governor referred to the Boko Haram terrorist group as a ‘phantom organisation’ which he believes does not exist! How hypocritical!?
“In his unwise and desperate attempt to demonise the Federal Government, Governor Nyako likened the military operations against insurgents to the activities of German dictator, Adolf Hitler!
“In his befuddled mind and apparent hallucination, the Federal Government should be held responsible for the activities of insurgents in the North-East and the sad killings, wanton destruction, murder and kidnapping of school children as well as other horrendous activities of Boko Haram should be hung on the neck of the Federal Government!
“He therefore invited his colleague northern governors to join him to sue the Federal Government. This definitely defies common sense and portrays Mr. Nyako as unfit for the hallowed position of a state governor”.
The statement further reads in part: “We also wish to remind Nigerians that this same Governor Nyako was recently quoted as having boasted openly that now that the Fulani herdsman can assemble the AK47 gun,”the security equilibrium in the country is now balanced”. The same man was reported to have imported some fulanis from outside the country and spent millions of Naira in rehabilitating,feeding,housing and catering for their welfare.
Okupe, therefore, advised Nigerians to ignore the letter which he described as senseless letter.
“It is obvious that Governor Nyako’s opposition to the declaration of a state of emergency in three affected states of the North East as well as his repeated calls for the withdrawal of the Military from troubled states without any credible alternative or security road map, is an open endorsement of the activities of the insurgents which is meant to provide them unrestricted opportunity to further unleash terror on innocent citizens in order to precipitate chaos, further instability, mayhem and anarchy; a situation which they intend to exploit to undermine the administration and truncate our growing democracy. This, Nigerians will surely not allow to happen.
“The Federal Government assures Nigerians of its continuos determination to defeat terror and restore peace to every part of northern Nigeria so that every law abiding Nigerian citizen can go about with his/her socio economic pursuit without let or hindrance in all parts of the country”.