From the blues came Murtala Nyako, a former Chief of Naval Staff as the candidate of the party. He was not exactly unknown in the party, but he was known more as a kingmaker than a king aspirant. His candidacy was, therefore, a huge shock. And it instantly threw the PDP in the state into turmoil.

It has never been without one. The many aspirants from among whom a candidate would have emerged rejected the choice of Nyako, rather quietly. But the presidency insisted, and had its way. On May 29 last year, Nyako was sworn in as the executive governor of Adamawa State. Opposition to Nyako was never voiced again. Those who printed posters and, in fact, ran full course campaigns had accepted his governorship.

But Nyako’s governorship which was terminated late last month and which ran for only nine months of the four-year tenure has not been without its problems. Due process, on request for funds, was observed more in the breach. Powerful officials of the government at the Government House Yola and in some ministries virtually made indiscriminate requests for funds that seemed to have never been scrutinized by the governor before approval.

Incidentally, Nyako’s was an administration allegedly designed to raise the moral tone of a much criticized past administration. But it turned out, from the documents available to SATURDAY SUN, to have bled the state even more. And the state is benumbed.

The triumvirate
As soon as Nyako was sworn in, he appointed Alhaji Bello Tukur, former Governor Boni Haruna’s deputy, his Chief of Staff. He followed suit by appointing John Manasa as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG). Nyako reconstituted the State Executive Council and made Emmanuel T. Vahyala finance commissioner. Between the Council members and close officials of government, the trio of Alhaji Bello Tukar, Emmanuel Vahyala and John Manasa wielded more influence on the governor.

They engaged in influence peddling with such arrogance that appeared to lend an air of bravado to it all. The manner they allegedly went about their duties seemed to convince many that the secret of their influence must lie outside their legitimate functions as government officials. Indeed, they appeared larger than life the way they conducted the affairs of state. They acted accordingly. The road to these influences by the trio is a mind-boggling saga of introducing confusion in the request system.

SSG’s Christmas, Sallah and New Year moves
On the 17th December, John Manasa, the Secretary to the state government raised a memo to then Governor Nyako reminding him that members of the State House of Assembly would soon proceed on recess. For this reason, he recommended that “there is need to pay off their Constituency Allowances.”
In the same memo, the SSG informed the governor that “in addition to the normal allowances at the end of the year, assistance is given to them for Wardrobe Allowances.”

He continued in the same memo. That, “this time around, the Sallah, Christmas and New year celebrations are in sequence” and recommended for the release of the sum of N130 million for the purposes stated.
It was a one paragraph memo which did not tabulate what would be given for Sallah, Christmas, New year, constituency Allowance and Wardrobe Allowance. However, the request received instant approval that day as the governor directed the Commissioner of Finance to release N130 million in line with the approval.

Curiously, the same government scribe got approval for additional N5 million “as a token welfare assistance to some organized group to help cushion some of their needs in respect of Sallah, Xmas and New year.” He acknowledged the fact that although “some of these occasions (Sallah and Xmas) have come and gone; all the same, it is still in order to assist them.” This memo was submitted for approval to the governor on the 27th of December 2007. It was approved that same day.
If this deal about Christmas and Sallah gifts and entertainments were limited to the SSG alone, it would have been swept under the carpet. What is probably raising dust in government circle now is the bazaar made out of the two occasions.

Commisioner for Finance makes his pitch
On the 8th December, a day after the SSG made his request, the Commissioner of Finance, Emmanuel T. Vahyala, also sent in his request to the governor. “Your Excellency, the end of the year 2007 has come. It is customary to have celebrations of both the Eid-El-Kabir for Muslims community and Christmas for all the Christians,” the Finance Commissioner wrote in his memo.

“At each of the occasions, His Excellency would need to play host to Government dignitaries from in and outside the state as well as members of the public.” This content in the memo was followed by a request for N30 million. In his own case, there was a breakdown. According to Vahyala, the Ed-El-Kabir celebration would gulp N10 million, Christmas N10 million and contingencies and other unforeseen expenses would consume another N10 million. Quickly, Governor Nyako approved the request on the day it was written and ordered the N30 million to be released.

Chief of Staff weighs in
What aroused suspicion was that in spite of these two memos on the same subject matter, the Chief of Staff, Bello Tukur, who was the deputy to former Governor Boni Haruna also laid claim to the need for welfare package for prominent personalities and Non-Governmental Organizations in the state to mark the Christmas and Sallah celebrations. On the 17th of December, he made a request for N23.3 million for the Christmas celebration and N25.9 million for the Sallah festivities. These sums were approved without qualms from any quarter.
The manner the three government officials made their request as enunciated in the memos sent to the governor must be the envy of Accountants.

A farmer-governor and his farm
But the governor was not left out in this unofficial bazaar. On the 3rd of July last year Hajiya Ladi Sa’adatu Atiku, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, wrote to the governor about the need to purchase 60 metric tones of “Admiral “A” Improved Maize seeds and 40,000 bags of Cassava Cuttings from Sebore (Export processing) farms.

This request had earlier been turned down by the Boni Haruna administration. But former governor Nyako is a farmer and was expected to show more sympathy to the cause of the farmers, especially when he is the farmer from whom the items are to be bought. Sebore farms is owned by Admiral Murtala Nyako and is located in Mayo-Belwa, his home town. It is not so much the cost of N42 million approved for the purchase of the maize seeds, bags of cassava cuttings, transportation to seven locations and training of farmers that worries critics of the deal than the timing.
Nyako was accused of selling his stock of old maize in July when the people are supposed to be harvesting; which also means that the comparative price would have been far less than the price quoted by Sebore farms for old maize.

Bello Tukur’s Reaction
Saturday Sun asked the Chief of Staff, Bello Tukur, whether the allegations are mere fabrications or fiction? Tukur at first denied knowledge of any additional N3 million made for Sallah entertainment for the teeming population. Reminded by Saturday Sun that there is a document to that effect which showed he applied for the money, the Chief of Staff said; “well, if there was any request for anything like that it must have been genuine and okay,” adding “so what is the big deal about it?”
When Saturday Sun told him that the big deal was the duplication of request for the same Christmas and Sallah celebration, he said “these are annual rituals that have been happening in the last eight to nine years; so what is the big deal about it?

“How can I explain to you something that has been done and is on records? You just phoned me like that. How can I be remembering the transaction that took place off head (off hand)? If you want any clarification, go to the office and speak to relevant officers. We have Accountants; we have Secretary One in that office who has been responsible for raising memos. I cannot speak to you on this matter please. If you want details, go to the Commissioner of Finance.”

We got nothing -Lawmaker
A member of the Adamawa State House of Assembly representing Song Local Government Area, Alhaji Abdullahi Abubakar, told Saturday Sun in a telephone interview that there was nothing like Sallah or Christmas gifts from government to the lawmakers last year.
“The only money I know that I collected was Constituency Allowance. Even that one was half of the total amount due to me. I never received any wardrobe allowance or anything apart from what I have told you”, he said.
Sounding very frantic, Abdullahi asked: “You mean wardrobe allowance was given? To whom? Who collected the money?”
From Abdullahi’s tone, the end of the matter is not yet in sight. A Controversy that may lead to serious investigations has just begun.