Alhaji Murtala Nyako, vowed not to appear before the seven-member investigative panel

The embattled Adamawa State Governor, Alhaji Murtala Nyako, on Wednesday, vowed not to appear before the seven-member investigative panel set up by the immediate-past Acting Chief Judge of Adamawa State, Justice Ambrose Mammadi.

Nyako spoke through his Director of Press and Public Relations, Ahmad Sajoh, via the telephone with one of our correspondents.

The governor spoke just as the panel set up to investigate allegations against him and his deputy, Mr. James Ngilari, secured a new venue for its sitting.

The panel was thrown out of its former venue, the J&J Holiday Villa by the owners who cited security concerns.

The hotel management was said to have rejected the panel on the grounds that a large presence of soldiers at the venue would scare away customers from the hotel.

The committee was also turned back at others hotels in Yola, which it contacted, after it was ejected from J & J Holiday Villa.

The panel was rebuffed at the Nigeria Labour Congress Club and Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Centre.

Members of the panel spent the better part of Tuesday, searching for alternative venues but failed to secure one after they were turned down by other organisations.

Reprieve came the way of the panel on Wednesday, after the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria agreed to allow the panel use its conference hall for its deliberations.

The decision of the union to allow the panel use its facility is also a subject of controversy as the state chairman of the union, Mr. Jeremiah Nkyekwar, told reporters he was not aware of any agreement to allow the panel the use of the facility.

The panel has, in continuation of its activities, announced Friday, July 11, 2014 as the date for its next sitting.

A notice to this effect was pasted on the gate of Government House Yola, at about 3: 45pm.

But armed riot policemen prevented journalists from approaching the gate to read the contents of the notice as of the time of filing this report.

Nyako, however, said he had no intention of honouring any invitation by the panel because “it is an illegal body which has no basis in law.”

Speaking through Sajoh, Nyako said, “They are not supposed to paste the notice. They are supposed to serve it. Besides, the panel was illegally constituted because those behind it ignored a subsisting court order.

“The composition of the committee itself is faulty indicted persons as well as card carrying members of the Peoples Democratic Party are among the panelists.”

Seemingly unperturbed by happenings at home, Nyako who was in Abuja to attend the inauguration of the Steering Committee of the Safe School Initiative at the Presidential Villa, told State House correspondent’s that the situation was under control.

He told reporters that the matter had not reached a point where he would call on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene.

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

The governor, however, said he would not hesitate to seek Jonathan’s assistance whenever he felt the need to do so.

“We have supported him (the President) all this time; he has supported us and in situations like these, when Mr. President’s support is required, we will seek it,” he said.

When confronted with media reports that two former leaders had approached the President on his behalf, Nyako simply said, “That will be excellent!”

He expressed the belief that the lawmakers would follow due process in their activities since issues bordering on the impeachment move were already in court.

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

SOURCE: PUNCH, UJMAGAZINE NEWS