BY UMAR YUSUF

Once mutual political foes, Governor Murtala Nyako and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have teamed up together to fight the mounting challenge against Nyako’s re-election.

WITH barely few weeks to the January 14th 2012 governorship election in Adamawa State, opposition political parties are turning up the heat through the formation of alliances to challenge Governor Murtala Nyako of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP.

The two notable challengers to the incumbent Governor and on the point around whom a possible alliance could be formed are Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd) the candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC and Engineer Markus Gundiri who is flying the banner of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN. So far internal intrigues and self motivation are believed to have stopped any agreement among the two major candidates.

The PDP candidate on his part is not left out as he is also has been in alliance talks with friends, foes and any one possible.

The most conspicuous alliance on Nyako’s part is the new found love between him and erstwhile Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Atiku who is unarguably still the most influential politician in almost single handedly formed the Action Congress of Nigeria, then Action Congress in Adamawa State when his relationship with former President Olusegun Obasanjo went sour during their second tenure.

Former Vice President Abubakar and Gov Nyako

After Atiku returned to the PDP and vainly sought the party’s ticket for the 2011 presidential election he allegedly sponsored Adamu Mu’azu Moddibo on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria for the aborted April 2011 governorship election in Adamawa State.

However between then and now, Atiku has made some challenges and reconciled with Nyako. He has now directed his teeming supporters spread across all political parties in Adamawa state to support the candidature of Governor Nyako in the January 14th 2012 governorship elections. He followed up his directive by physically being present at the launch of Nyako’s campaign in Yola last week.

He has also directed that the Labour Party, which he formed and nurtured should cease to exist in Adamawa state.

Atiku affirmed that the collapse of the political structure of the labour party, LP in support of the ruling party signals the death of opposition in the state.

The former VP stated in Yola, while addressing the executive officers and members of the Labour Party who paid him a courtesy call, that merging of the Labour Party with the PDP is a healthy political development that would pave way for a more formidable and united PDP.

“Since almost all the aggrieved members and the entire Labour Party have made a u_turn to declare support for Governor Murtala Nyako and our great party, the PDP, there is no more opposition in Adamawa state. Opposition is dead because the people that matter in Adamawa politics have reunited for the sake of our party’s growth” Atiku maintained.

He stated that those who left the PDP to the best of his knowledge were aggrieved and had no option than to go and form the Labour Party to pursue their various aspirations.

“Those that left the PDP and formed the Labour Party were founding fathers of the Adamawa PDP. They have decided to return to the PDP fold in order to rebuild the once vibrant house they left in protest” he added.

The former Vice President expressed happiness that the clarion call he made to all aggrieved founding fathers of the PDP is yielding positive results following the collapse of the entire Labour Party structure to re-join with the PDP.

“I have been communicating and appealing to all aggrieved PDP members who left the party for obvious reasons to forget the past and return to the party in order to give full support to Governor Murtala Nyako’s return bid. What we are seeing today is a good development” Atiku stated.

The good thing about the renewed call for support and encouragement for Nyako to be re_elected, according to Atiku is based on the fact that the Governor has been doing exceptionally well in governing the state.

“Those that are returning to the PDP from Labour Party are coming with good intentions which I believe will not only bring unity of purpose, progress and intra party discipline to the PDP but to the people of Adamawa state” the former Vice President declared.

He recalled that Governor Nyako had good intention for people of Adamawa state and was doing well when he started but argued that at some point “his attention was diverted due to the nagging intra party crisis that rocked the party in recent past.

Atiku submitted further that “If majority of the people of Adamawa State are benefitting from the Nyako led administration, I see no reason why we should not join hands to give him the much needed encouragement and support to forge ahead instead of ganging up to pull him down.”

He therefore urged the people of the state to beware of those hiding under the party to pursue ethno religious sentiments, saying the PDP has come to stay in Adamawa and “All those with selfish interests and are hiding under various sentiments do not mean well for Adamawa people.

Earlier, Chairman of the Labour Party in Adamawa, Medan Teneke said their decision to collapse the party and return to the PDP; a party they left in protest was informed by Atiku’s plea that all aggrieved founding members should return with the sole aim of working for the re-election of Governor Nyako.

“We left to form the Labour Party because we felt aggrieved with the way things were managed in the PDP then; in politics there is no permanent enemy but permanent interest. Now we are back to rebuild the PDP, and this is good. Like the former Vice President said, with us back into the PDP, opposition is dead in Adamawa state” Teneke said.