The Presidency on Saturday reacted sharply to a memo written by Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State to his colleague Northern governors,described the memo as extremely divisive, intentionally meant to incite one section of the country against the other.
Nyako had in the memo written to Northern governors accused the Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan’s watch as carrying out genocide against northern states with impunity.
But the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in a statement said the content of the governor’s letter exposed him as lacking a sense of history.
Okupe said the memo further portrayed the governor as incapable of rising above parochial sentiments and possessing a morbid hatred for facts and truth in public discourse.
The statement read, “Governor Nyako claims that President Goodluck Jonathan is from the Eastern region which according to him was responsible for the killing of Northern political elites on the 15th of January 1966!
“This is a very disgraceful remark by the governor and a pathetic embarrassment to the Nigerian Military from where Nyako derives his career antecedents. It is certainly a reflection of the Governors ignorance and unpatriotic inclinations.
“Similarly, the Adamawa state governor referred to the Boko Haram terrorist group as a ‘phantom organization’ which he believes does not exist! How hypocritical!?
“In his unwise and desperate attempt to demonise the Federal Government, Governor Nyako likened the military
operations against insurgents to the activities of German dictator, Adolf Hitler!
“In his befuddled mind and apparent hallucination, the Federal Government should be held responsible for the activities of insurgents in the North East and the sad killings,wanton destruction, murder and kidnapping of
school children as well as other horrendous activities of Boko Haram should be hung on the neck of the Federal Government!
“He therefore invited his colleague northern governors to join him to sue the Federal Government. This
definitely defies common sense and portrays Mr Nyako as unfit for the hallowed position of a State Governor.”
Okupe requested Nyako to publish his yearly budget for the past five years and disclose how much has been voted or
spent to support the war on terror or assist victims of insurgents activities in his state.
He recalled that the governor was publicly attacked recently by a group of angry youths who accused him of nonchalance and failure to support victims of Boko Haram’s murderous onslaught on innocent citizens of the state.
He also recalled that the same governor was recently quoted as having boasted openly that now that the Fulani herdsman can assemble the AK47 gun, the security equilibrium in the country is now balanced.
He claimed that the same man was reported to have imported some fulanis from outside the country and spent millions of naira in rehabilitating, feeding, housing and catering for their welfare.
Okupe therefore urged Nigerians to ignore the letter which he described as senseless letter.
He said the ignoble aim of the letter was to create disaffection among Nigerians, polarise the country
along ethnic lines and unkindly disparage the present administration which continues to work hard to fully eliminate insurgency and destroy their support base.
“It is obvious that Governor Nyako’s opposition to the declaration of a State of Emergency in three affected states of the North East as well as his repeated calls for the withdrawal of the Military from troubled states
without any credible alternative or security road map, is an open endorsement of the activities of the insurgents which is meant to provide them unrestricted opportunity to further unleash terror on innocent citizens in order to
precipitate chaos, further instability, mayhem and anarchy ; a situation which they intend to exploit to undermine the administration and truncate our growing democracy. This, Nigerians will surely not allow to happen.
“The Federal Government assures Nigerians of its continuos determination to defeat terror and restore peace to every part of northern Nigeria so that every law abiding Nigerian citizen can go about with his/her socio economic pursuit without let or hindrance in all parts of the country,” the statement added.
