Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently. The bone of contention being his open letter to the Northern Governors Forum through which he accused the Jonathan administration of supporting Boko Haram.
Fresh revelations have emerged indicating that Nyako was thoroughly embarassed at the Security Council meeting where sources say President Jonathan made him read the letter to the hearing of all the religious, military and political leaders present.
Sources say Nyako immediately about turned, not wanting to read the letter until he was practically forced to. He also began to shower praises on Jonathan which was different from the tone of his letter.
A source told Nation: “When President Goodluck Jonathan raised the matter on the agenda, Nyako said he holds the President in high esteem and would not do anything to undermine his office.
“The governor also said ‘Mr. President, you are a good man, but you have some people around you that are bad.’
“The President was not carried away by Nyako’s sentiments and he asked the governor to address the issues in the letter. He asked Nyako to read the letter to the council.
“Nyako owned up to the contents of the letter and read it without any remorse. Like a school boy, he stood up to read the letter.
“After the reading session, the President asked Nyako: What do you have to say? While still on his feet, Governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and Martin Elechi (Ebonyi) descended him.”
Another source said: “It was true that Nyako initially went cyclical praising the President who was unmoved by his U-turn.
“At a point, the President attempted to read the letter and when he was trying to shuffle through it.
“In a brave manner, the Adamawa State Governor sought the indulgence of the President to read the letter to the hearing of the council members.
“But Nyako could actually not defend the contents of the letter. Or, maybe as a former Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, he knew too much and he did not want to divulge it at the session.
“His reluctance led to some scathing remarks from some governors who took exception to certain information in the letter.
“At the end, Nyako had no regrets. He even created a mild sensation when he refused to sit besides a South-East governor. This was what happened. We were not happy, but I think we have successfully thrashed the issue.”