As PDP faces a seemingly endless crisis, some people are holding the governor of the state, Murtala Nyako and the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),? Bamanga Tukur responsible writes MOHAMMED ISMA’IL
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As 2015 inches closer, the political clime in Adamawa State has already began to tense up following maneuvers by various political leanings, groups and persons to occupy the coveted plum office in the state. Although many persons from different political leanings are expected to participate in the contest, it is believed that the contest will be fierce within the ruling party which has already been fragmented along two parallel lines i.e Kugama faction loyal to governor Nyako and the Joel Madaki faction loyal to the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.
Many political pundits in the state are of the opinion that what brought the fierce battle for the control of the party’s soul in the state between Nyako and Bamanga may not be unconnected with the desire of the two personalities to make their children heirs to the coveted throne in the state.
It has been speculated in many quarters in the state that the intention of Bamanga Tukur to make his son the governor of the state come 2015 and who has contested the gubernatorial election and failed on two different occasions, was responsible for the desire of Bamanga Tukur to contest the position of the national chairman of the ruling party in the first place.
However, it was the same thinking that made Governor Nyako to fiercely contest the election of Bamanga Tukur, knowing that it has the tendency to scuttle or to make his desire to anoint a candidate to the coveted seat difficult.
It may be worthy to note that Governor Nyako is also accused of working subtly to promote the candidacy of his eldest son, Abdulaziz Nyako, a naval officer who surreptitiously, though allegedly at the imprimatur of Governor Nyako, came back to the state following the assumption of Nyako as the governor of the State presumably to assist him in running the affairs of the state.
But as the days passed by, it became crystal clear that there is more to the coming of Abdulaziz back to the State than the mere insinuation that he came to assist his father following his exploits in the governance of the state to the point he was said to be more influential than all the commissioners of the state put together. As if that was not enough, Abdulaziz was said to have become so influential to the extent of awarding important contracts in the state.
But what promoted the insinuation that Nyako was interested in his son’s gubernatorial ambition was the coronation of his son as the Sarkin Matasan Adamawa by His Royal Highness, Lamido of Adamawa, Dr. Barkindo Aliyu Mustapha, which is seen as a leverage that gave him unmitigated political control over the affairs of youths in the state who are mostly seen as the backbone of any electioneering process.
Although Governor Nyako has neither denied or confirmed his desire to anoint his son to succeed him, pundits are of the opinion that his desire to cover his misdemeanors while in office may not be unconnected with his choice to make his son the next governor against all odds following the lackluster performance of his regime which many say performed dismally considering the allocation it receives? since inception in juxtaposition of the actual projects on ground.
Another reason why the insinuation of Abdulaziz governorship quest refuses to die down is the belief that since his coronation as the Sarkin Matasa, he has been making subtle subterranean moves to establish a solid structure at the grassroot level by deploying his powers as Sarkin Matasan Adamawa to put his own structure through the appointment of Sarkin Matasa at the Local Government and ward levels across the length and breadth of the Adamawa emirate council.
The belief in many quarters that Abdulaziz is nursing a gubernatorial ambition was engendered by the fact that since his coronation as Sarkin Matasa, he has indulged in intensive visits and consultations to all nooks and crannies of the emirate council interacting with the who-is-who among the youths and has since been networking with a wide range of youth groups as a measure to strengthen his support base at the grassroot level.
Also, Abdulaziz was said to have capitalized on the SA Programme and other empowerment programmes of the government to warm his way into the hearts of many youths across the emirate council for obvious reasons and he was said to have deployed substantial resources in his quest at engendering enduring structures at the grassroot level.
A political analyst in the state says the deployment of vast resources during the coronation of Abdulazeez Nyako is a pointer to the fact that the governor is interested in establishing a platform for his son which may later be used as a political structure to get political leverage over other contenders in the state.
The pundit noted that during the turbaning of the governor’s son as Sarkin Matasan Adamawa, the state came to a standstill because all political appointees of the governor, including commissioners and advisers, virtually relocated to the Lamido’s palace, the venue of the coronation to register their solidarity with the son of the governor.
Another pointer to the fact that the whole show has received the blessing of the governor, according to the pundit, was the fact that vast resources have been