Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, explained in Abuja on Wednesday why he and some other Governors were opposed to Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF).
He said Jang is too pliable to be entrusted with the leadership of the NGF.
Jang had garnered 16 votes against the 19 of his Rivers State counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, at the contentious May 21 election of the NGF.
But in spite of his minority votes, President Goodluck Jonathan has accorded Jang recognition as chairman of the NGF.
Jonathan has instead turned his back at Amaechi who has been having a running battle with the Presidency ever since.
Nyako, who surfaced at the Presidential Villa to meet one-on-one with Jonathan for the first time since the NGF crisis started, insisted that majority of his colleagues do not want a ‘yes-man’ to the President to lead them.
Emerging from the meeting with the President, Nyako was accosted by reporters to explain why the NGF leadership crisis had persisted and the way forward.
“In democracy when you have an issue you discuss it. The election in the Governors’ Forum has become an issue. It shouldn’t be an issue.
“When you say 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, even someone who is in elementary school knows which is higher. If one group got 19 votes the one got 16, in democracy, even in the eyes of the people in elementary school, they know that 19 is higher than 16.
“It should not be turned into controversy. We could all agree that whoever got the highest figure won the election. We have already in the Governors Forum established certain criteria for leadership within us.
“He must be somebody we trust. I would like to have a leader of the forum who, when he is with the President in a small room talking about Adamawa State, can put in a good word for Adamawa State.
“It should not be someone who will aggravate issues in the eyes of Mr. President. That element of trust must be there. So, if I vote for somebody, he must be somebody I can trust.
“We also said it should be somebody who has some degree of chemistry with the President, that the President will be comfortable with.
“Now if we find that the President is not comfortable with him, can we do a little bit of psychological work to get the two of them having the same chemistry?
“The other one we feel is that he should add some value to Mr. President. If you have a forum leader who is seen to be part of the President that has become a yes-man of Mr. President, then the Governors will say he is not representing our interests.
“If he is not representing the interest of the Governors, he is not representing the interests of the ordinary Nigerians. These are areas we have sorted out.
“Obviously, if the chemistry is not still right we should discuss it and find a way of adjusting the tempo, the countenance, the language of the subordinate,” the Governor told newsmen.
On whether both Jang and Amaechi should step down for the crisis to abate for the emergence of another Governor to lead the group, Nyako retorted: “You are saying Jang should step down, step down for what. Did he win the election?”
“What you are saying here is if he is going to step down because he is second winner, then that is their business; it is not the business of others or the winner to tell you step down.
“He is number two, he got the second highest votes and that is it. But step down? From what; from number two to where? Number three or number four?” Nyako asked rhetorically.
He confirmed that the NGF crisis was part of issues over which he and four other northern Governors had been meeting with former leaders of the country and other stakeholders.
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