Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state has reinforced the position of the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with a declaration that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar is not a registered member of the party.
The governor while reacting to Atiku’s declaration yesterday to contest the 2011 presidential election under the PDP banner, said the former vice-president cannot run for the presidency in the 2011 general elections under the platform of the PDP because he was not a party member.
Governor Nyako, who spoke to journalists in Yola, shortly after participating in a live local radio programme, explained that the state chapter of the party is being cautious in admitting those defecting from other parties because of the fear that some of them are coming in to cause confusion in the party.
“I only read about Atiku’s activities on the pages of newspapers; even when he declared in 2007, he wasn’t a member of any party, so he is declaring today again with no party,” Nyako maintained.
Peoples Daily recalls that Atiku’s return to the PDP has met with stiff resistance from Governor Nyako and a state faction of the party loyal to the governor.
The Chairman of the governor’s faction, Alhaji Umaru Mijinyawa Kugama, had declared at the weekend that as far as the party is concerned, “Atiku Abubakar is not by any means a registered member of the PDP.”
“Atiku knows that he is not yet a PDP member. He knows that there is a process of admittance into the party, which he must obey if he really wants to return to the party,” he had emphasised.
He condemned the former vice president for registering with a faction of the party in the state that is rebellious to the administration of Governor Nyako.
But National Vice Chairman (North-East) of the party, Senator Paul Wampana, has affirmed that to the best of his knowledge and that of the PDP national working committee (NWC), Atiku is a member of the party.
“As a leader, I have access to some compendium which contains names of the executives of the party that were elected; honestly those that registered Atiku are the party authority in his ward which closes the case that he illegally registered,” Wampana is quoted to have said.
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