Posted by By JACOB EDI, Abuja on
The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and political elders brokered a ceasefire between Adamawa State lawmakers and embattled Governor Murtala Nyako in Abuja after several hours of closed-door meeting on Tuesday.
• Impeachment bid dropped, but… - Speaker
The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and political elders brokered a ceasefire between Adamawa State lawmakers and embattled Governor Murtala Nyako in Abuja after several hours of closed-door meeting on Tuesday.
The party announced a resolution of the crisis that appears not to have completely freed Governor Nyako, who the lawmakers had planned to impeach over alleged financial misconduct.
Negotiations have been on at various levels since the political crisis in Adamawa that led to impeachment moves against Nyako broke out last week, with a view to resolving it.
Under the peace deal, at the instance of the PDP leadership, the impeachment moves against Governor Nyako would be dropped, all the congresses held at various levels would be cancelled, while the party would organize and monitor the congresses to be held.
But Speaker of the House of Assembly, James Barka, who confirmed the terms of settlement stated clearly that Nyako would still have to answer for all the fraud allegations preferred against him by the state Assembly.
'I will like also to say here that at this moment we are talking that the governor had not been served with impeachment notice and when the party came in, we decided that we were not going to serve the notice of impeachment. Therefore, the impeachment saga is over. I will also like to state here for the benefit of our country and for the benefit of people of Adamawa State that the allegations contained in the impeachment would be handled administratively between the House of Assembly and the governor.
But we resolved that the constitutional issues that were raised have to be replied by the governor," the Adamawa Speaker said in Abuja after the meeting.
Nyako, whose mood did not reflect the occasion admitted that things had gone wrong in his relationship with the lawmakers and promised strongly to address all the issues raised at the meeting that led to cessation of political hostilities.
'Nobody is saying the issues raised will not be addressed. I will address each item in the letter. I also promise that we will work together on all issues," Nyako announced with an unsmiling look.
Both Nyako and the Speaker praised the efforts of those who intervened in the crisis, especially the party leadership, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan and President Umaru Yar'Adua.
Earlier in his introductory remarks, National Chairman of the party, Vincent Ogbulafor, thanked all the parties in the Adamawa crisis 'for giving peace a chance." He charged them to go back to the state and deliver the dividends of democracy.
'You should all go back and make the party proud and deliver the dividends of democracy to your people. The situation we have here is a no victor, no vanquished one," Ogbulafor counseled.
'We are here today in continuation of the journey we started last week to round it up. We thank the almighty God who has made us to realize that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all brothers and sisters in Adamawa State and we are all brothers and sisters in PDP," said Ogbulafor.