Indications emerged on Tuesday that former President Olusegun Obasanjo has initiated moves to prevent the removal of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
A source, who spoke in confidence with one of our correspondents, said Obasanjo might meet with President Umaru Yar‘Adua on the matter anytime this week.
The source said, ”The former President is worried about the controversy over the course, especially the consequence of the compulsory training at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Plateau State, on the anti-corruption war.
”Obasanjo has sought an audience with the President to have a first-hand knowledge of the issue at stake, seek the mindset of Yar‘Adua and advise him on how to tackle it.
“The former President is also sad that the Economic Management Team he put in place is decimated and the ultimate objective of using the team as a pivot of economic reforms is being rapidly eroded.
“He could not also understand the new direction of the campaign against corruption.
”Obasanjo is also unhappy that some fifth columnists are trying to hijack the Presidency, contrary to the vision behind the choice of Yar‘Adua.”
The source added that Obasanjo preferred one-on-one discussion with Yar‘Adua than addressing the matter on the telephone.
“As soon as Yar‘Adua returns from vacation in Katsina, the two leaders will meet. We may not have heard the last word,” he said.
The source added that the ex-President might push for a stay of action on the study leave for Ribadu.
He said, ”I think that there are precedents in the police and the armed forces to support why Ribadu‘s course should be postponed.
”The norm, in the police and armed forces, is that once you are on a political appointment, you will complete your tenure before you go to NIPSS or for any course.
”The other method is to go for a course at NIPSS before you hold a political appointment. It is not a rigid system as the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, is trying to make the nation to believe.
”The same policy applied to some former military administrators whose promotions were deferred until they completed their terms in office.”
Fresh fact, however, emerged on Tuesday on why the Presidency approved the request by police authorities for Ribadu to proceed on study leave.
A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity in Abuja, said the Presidency acted based on petition that Ribadu’s reappointment by Obasanjo was not endorsed by the Senate as required by Section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act.
The Section provides that ‘the chairman and members of the commission other than the ex-officio members shall be appointed by the President subject to the confirmation of the Senate.’
The source said, “There is a petition against Ribadu’s appointment for another four- year term in office. The said petition claims that the Senate did not ratify it as required by the Act setting up the commission. It also argues that all the cases Ribadu had endorsed for trial since his controversial second term commenced amounted to a nullity.
“So, what the Presidency has tried to do is to provide a soft-landing for Ribadu because it does not want to announce his outright removal. That’s simply why the idea for him to go for a training at NIPSS came up.”
Six ex-governors have so far been arraigned by the EFCC since Ribadu’s re-appointment last year.
Meanwhile, a coalition of Northern pro-democracy and anti-corruption groups have said that sending Ribadu on study leave was part of a ploy by a cabal to hijack the government of Yar‘Adua.
The group, under the aegis of Coalition of Pro-Democracy Groups, told journalists at a news conference in Kaduna on Tuesday that the ‘plot to clip the wings of the EFCC and hijack Yar‘Adua‘s administration was hatched and perfected by the cabal in London in August 2007.’
It claimed that security agencies in Nigeria and abroad were aware of the activities of the cabal.
The Convener of the Northern Pro-democracy Coalition, Mallam Umar Farouk, who spoke for the groups, added that Okiro was ”part of the larger strategy to weaken the anti-corruption war in Nigeria.”
The group said, “We have established incontrovertible evidence that certain corrupt politicians, dubious businessmen and fifth columnists are now working to hijack this administration from the right path unknowingly to the President.
“They are desperate to establish an economic empire, protect looted wealth and take control of crude oil lifting business.
“It is the cabal that is after Ribadu so that they can have a field day. They are certain that with Ribadu as the head of the EFCC, they are not going to succeed and the law must take its full course. He has refused to compromise with them.
”Okiro is only trying to be pre-emptive by easing out Ribadu and by his planned replacement with a stooge who is going to receive a clear directive to compromise with perceived inner circle members of the rampaging cabal.
”We are expressing our reservation on the satanic plot made by the members of the cabal who are working to hijack the Yar‘Adua administration and by implication dismantle the anti-corruption machinery on ground.
“Since the inception of the Yar‘Adua administration, they made several failed attempts to extinguish the spirit and soul of the successful anti-corruption campaign recorded in Nigeria during the last six years of our democracy.
“We strongly condemn a meeting held in London last August by members of the cabal, where strategies were adopted on how to flush Ribadu out of the EFCC and disintegrate the anti-corruption campaign institution.
“A large sum of money was budgeted for this exercise. All relevant security agencies both in Nigeria and abroad have details of the meeting.
“Infact, even Nigerians in the Diaspora stumbled on the deliberations‘ minutes. There were several fraudulent attempts to curb prosecution powers of the EFCC. It was later upgraded to ensuring compliance with the rule of law and few days ago it was elevated to proposed merger before this latest assault.”
The coalition, therefore, called on Yar‘Adua to urgently move against the cabal.
It claimed that, ‘these same forces made several failed attempts in the past to deceive him on their intentions regarding the sustainability of the war against corruption.’
Others at the press conference were the Publicity Secretary of the Northern Coalition for Democracy and Justice, Mr. Yunana Shibkau; the Director of Information and Strategy of the Northern Youths Democratic Movement, Malam Abubakar Katsina, and the Secretary of the Movement for the Protection of People‘s Rights, Mr. Chidi Ogbuagu.
Also on Tuesday, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria said it was not in support of the decision to have the EFCC chairman attend the NIPSS training now.
The TUC, in a statement by its Secretary-General, Chief John Kolawole, said, “The TUC believes that Ribadu, who almost single handedly built the EFCC from the scratch into such a reputable national institution that it is today, should not be uprooted so suddenly.
“We insist that he should be given more time to further consolidate his work and make Government proud in its anti-corruption crusade.
“If anything, Ribadu should be given the opportunity to demonstrate to the world that he is truly neutral in the anti-corruption game by probing the former President and his daughter, Senator Iyabo Obansanjo-Bello.
“The TUC therefore calls on Yar’Adua to revisit the issue”
Yusuf Alli, Tobi Soniyi, Segun Olatunji, Olalekan Adetayo and Meshack Idehen
The Punch
Wednesday, December 2, 2008
