| Atiku locked out
of Yola Airport
By FRANCIS AWOWOLE-BROWNE, Abuja
Saturday, November 24, 2007
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•Atiku
Abubakar
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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The battle for the control of Adamawa politics took a dramatic
twist yesterday when former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar
was reportedly locked out of the Presidential and VIP lounges
of the Yola International Airport.
A statement from the Atiku Media Campaign Organization said
that the lock-out was on the instruction of the Adamawa State
Government.
The former Vice President, who arrived at Yola from Abuja
aboard a chartered aircraft, was forced to walk the distance
to the parking lot of the Airport when Federal Airport Authority
of Nigeria (FAAN) officials disclosed that they had been ordered
by the Adamawa State Government to deny his car access to
the air wing. He was also disallowed access to the Presidential
and VIP lounges of the Airport.
Atiku, who waited as some of his aides discussed with Airport
officials on the controversial orders of the state government
eventually walked through the departure lounge of the Airport
to join the retinue of cars brought by his supporters to welcome
him.
An aide to the former Vice President said it was a "tragic
irony" that Atiku would be denied the facilities at the
Airport which he personally laboured to upgrade from a local
airport to an international airport during his tenure as the
Vice President.
He wondered why such a restriction should be slammed on the
former Vice President at home, when such courtesies were extended
to all manner of people, including the governor and his four
(4) wives "But for Atiku, would the governor and his
four wives have a place to disembark from their international
flights in Yola?", the aide asked.
"The Atiku Campaign strongly condemns the growing hostility
of the unpopular Murtala Nyako caretaker government in Adamawa
State towards the former Vice President. The Nyako caretaker
government ought to realise the transience of power and desist
from pettiness and lowly conduct which are unbecoming of a
serious government", the statement said
The Atiku team recalled that the Airport drama is coming "on
the heels of an earlier onslaught on Atiku by the Adamawa
State Government since the Adamawa State Election Petition
Tribunal nullified the election of Governor Murtala Nyako".
The statement also recalled how the state authorities had
recently queried the Gangwari Ganye, the traditional ruler
of Ganye, Umar Adamu Sanda, for hosting the former Vice President
in his palace. Atiku, a chief of Ganye, had paid homage to
the traditional ruler during his recent visit home.
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