$28bn NNPC contracts: Another acid test for Buhari’s anti-graft war

In his 1983 treatise The Trouble with Nigeria, the late renowned novelist Chinua Achebe raised the alarm that “corruption in Nigeria has passed the alarming and entered the fatal stage; and Nigeria will die if we keep pretending that she is only slightly indisposed”.

This was during the Shehu Shagari civilian administration when official corruption was so pervasive that some federal buildings went into flames following investigations into the finances of the officials working in those buildings.

But Achebe had a word for Shagari, who also was making a show of fighting corruption while serious sleaze happened right under his nose.

Arguing that a president’s impeccable personal integrity cannot win the war against corruption when he is surrounded by sharks and crooks, Achebe said, “To initiate change the President of this country must take, and be seen to take, a decisive first step of ridding his administration of all persons on whom the slightest wind of corruption and scandal has blown. When he can summon up the courage to do that, he will find himself grown overnight to such stature and authority that he will become Nigeria’s leader, not just its president. Only then can he take on and conquer corruption in the nation.”

This is the challenge President Muhammadu Buhari faces as the integrity of his anti-graft war comes under fresh scrutiny following various corruption allegations against men he appointed into offices and the widespread perception that he is shielding them from investigation and possible prosecution.

For a man who rode to the presidency on the back of a much-touted personal integrity and incorruptibility and a promise to eliminate corruption in Nigeria, wowing the electorate with the assertion that “if we don’t kill corruption, this corruption will kill us”, many Nigerians had reposed high expectations on Buhari. Alas, the opposite seems to be the order of the day.

While no direct allegation of corruption has been brought against Mr President himself, Nigerians are alarmed at the way he has been seen to handle such allegations of graft against his appointees perceived to be his close allies or members of his inner caucus.

One of such appointees attracting corruption searchlight currently is Ibrahim Idris, Inspector General of Police (IGP), who is currently under investigation by an eight-man ad-hoc committee of the Senate for alleged corruption levelled against him by Isah Misau, a senator representing Bauchi Central.

The battle line between Misau, who is chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, and the Nigeria Police was drawn when the police alleged that Misau did not follow due process when he retired from the services of the police. This followed the senator’s allegation that the police authority was involved in massive corruption.

The senator, who also alleged that the police boss impregnated one Esther, a serving deputy superintendent of police (DSP), an act which he says contravenes the Police Act, told his colleagues in the Senate that he was having a running battle with the IGP for sounding corruption alarm.

“I am a retired police officer and served for 10 years; my father served the force for 34 years. In fact, he joined the police before I was born. Before raising alarm on the irregularities in the institution, I called three serving officers and they confirmed to me that people pay more than N500,000 to get promoted,” Misau alleged.

“Another thing I found out is that there is illegal diversion of funds. Under the 2016 Budget, there was a line item for purchase of Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), but instead of the APCs, luxury cars were purchased,” he added.

The Presidency is yet to comment on this issue.

While the dust is yet to settle on the IGP matter, an even weightier issue erupted. It was the leak of a memo written to President Buhari by Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum.

In the leaked memo, Kachikwu, who doubles as chairman of Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), alleged that the NNPC under Maikanti Baru as Group Managing Director (GMD) awarded contracts worth over $28 billion without following due process. Baru, a Buhari appointee, is said to be in the President’s inner circle.

These contracts, according to Kachikwu, include the Crude Term valued at over at $10 billion, the DSDP contracts valued at over $5 billion, the AKK pipeline contract valued at approximately $3 billion, various financing allocation funding contracts with the NOCs valued at over $3 billion, and various NPDC production service contracts valued at over $3-4 billion.

“There are many more, Your Excellency. In most of these activities, the explanation of the GMD is that you are the Minister of Petroleum and your approvals were obtained. However, the correct governance should be that the Minister of State and the Board review the transaction and give their concurrence prior to presentation to you.

“I learn of transactions only through publications in the media. The question is, why is it that the parastatals which I supervise as Minister of State or Chair of their Board are able to go through these contractual and mandatory governances processed and yet NNPC is exempt from these?

“I know that bravado management style runs contrary to the cleansing operations you engaged me to carry out at the inception of your administration. This is also not in consonance with your renowned standards of integrity,” Kachikwu protested in the memo,expressing disappointment that he was denied express access to the president.

As the drama continues to unfold, and as Nigerians are waiting to see how the Presidency handles the issue, many are already of the view that nothing will come out of it given the antecedents of this administration.

Anti-graft war is selective

Femi Aborisade, Lagos-based human right activist, in an interview with BDSUNDAY said the antecedents of the Buhari administration and the Kachikwu episode have again reinforced the strongly-held view of many Nigerians that the government’s anti-corruption drive is not only selective but is also being pursued in a manner that real corrupt practices cannot be unearthed.

According to him, if Buhari is to take detailed stock of assets belonging to both former and serving government officials, including Minister of Information Lai Mohammed, many of them may end up behind bar for acquiring assets far beyond the reach of their legal wages.

“The development in NNPC is a reflection of the fact that the APC-led Federal Government has lost its fight against corruption. It appears that those who are members of the APC or who are close to Aso Rock are immune from arrest, detention and prosecution. It is obvious that some people are above the law under the APC-led government,” Aborisade said.

“Apart from what has just been revealed at NNPC, you will recall that the Osinbajo Committee’s report has not been made public. No action has been taken on it yet because those involved are persons close to the government of the federation.

“Don’t forget the N13 billion linked to the Director of the NIA (Nigeria Intelligence Agency); nothing has been heard about it and several others. It is only so because the APC fight against corruption is limited to those who are not in the ruling party or close to Aso Rock. But the government is doing more talks than work,” he said.

In April this year, President Buhari had set up a three-man committee comprising Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as chairman, National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno, and Minister of Justice and Attorney-General Abubakar Malami to investigate the allegations of violations of law and due process made against Babachir Lawal, erstwhile Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE) worth N500 million to a company in which he had interests, and Ayo Oke, Director-General, NIA, over the discovery of $43.4 million in a residential apartment in Ikoyi by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) linked to him.

The committee has since completed its work, with sources saying it found the duo culpable and recommended they should be sacked.

Prior to the setting up of the panel, the Senate ad-hoc committee headed by Shehu Sani(Kaduna Central), which investigated the mounting humanitarian crisis in the northeast, had asked the relevant agencies to prosecute the suspended SGF for alleged contract fraud.But the President would not heed the call of the senior lawmakers. Instead, he wrote letters to the Senate where he picked holes in the allegations and protested that the embattled SGF was not given fair hearing.

“The signing of the interim report by three out of nine members of the committee makes it a minority report of the Senate committee and not a committee report, being an interim report, thus presenting a challenge for the Presidency to determine the weight to attach to the report as currently presented,” he stated in the letter.

President Buhari’s letter attempting to exonerate the SGF attracted fury from Sani, who minced no words when he accused the President of applying deodorant while handing corruption allegations within the Presidency.

“It is shocking to me that such a letter can come from the Presidency with such misinformation and outright distortions. They lied by saying that the committee didn’t invite the SGF: the committee invited the SGF and the letter was acknowledged by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the SGF. If they have the intention of simply reaching a pre-determined conclusion by covering up on the issues raised by the committee, that is one thing.

“Corruption in the Senate, the Judiciary and others is treated with insecticide while corruption in the Presidency is treated with deodorant. I will say this clearly: this letter is a funeral service for the anti-corruption fight,” Sani had said on the floor of the Senate.

Following public pressure, Habibat Lawal, the most senior permanent secretary in the Office of the SGF, and Arab Yadam, Oke’s senior deputy, are currently acting as SGF and director-general of the NIA, respectively, in accordance with the President’s directive.

Circle of power

But reacting to Kachikwu’s letter to the President in a television programme monitored in Lagos, Sani again maintained his position that the development is an indication that there is a “circle of power within the President’s government”.

“If a minister of state can say outright it’s been difficult for him to access channels through which he can present his issues, I think there is a system disconnect there. The content of that letter and the allegations raised also raise a number of issues, not only about the NNPC but about the whole structure of governance that exists today.

“And it is simply giving credence to the fact there exists a government within the government. There are individuals that have formed a shield, a circle. And I think the issue that it raised in every possible way is pointing to the fact that there is a circle of powers within powers itself.

“This is about some persons who have surrounded the president and are exercising powers to themselves and to their advantage and also manipulating power for their own personal interest,” he said.

President should rise to the challenge

Babatunde Oluajo, public policy manager, Integrity, and former secretary, Zero Corruption Coalition, told BDSUNDAY that the President certainly has a lot of work to do to convince many Nigerians that his anti-graft war is not selective, adding that one of the ways he can do that is by dealing decisively with his officials involved in corrupt practices.

“There is definitely a lot more that the President needs to do to win the confidence of the people; and one of the ways he could do it is start from his own kitchen, from his bedroom, from his own party. The President needs to make a very bold statement to those around him.

“It is quite clear that Baba is a lone ranger in the fight against corruption. Many of his party members don’t share his vision of fighting corruption. If they do, the issue of Babachir would not have come up in the first place,” he said.

He, however, noted that Nigerians should not lose sleep over the alleged corrupt officials who are currently taking cover under the President’s wings, saying that sooner or later the long arm of the law will still catch up with such individuals when the life of the administration comes to an end and another takes over power.

“When Obasanjo was accused of using the EFCC to fight opposition, his reply was, ‘When you take power, you use it to fight your opponents too’. That was a landmark statement as far as I am concerned. He said those who felt he was fighting opposition should wait until they take power and also should use it to fight his own party members,” Oluajo said.

“Obasanjo made that statement at a time when nobody ever thought that the PDP would lose power. But in our own very eyes PDP lost power. Who tells you that in 2019 this government cannot be kicked out of power? Those who are not being asked questions will have their turn one day; this government will not last forever. Those who are being shielded, their day will come,” he said.

Buhari’s untouchables

President Buhari had also attracted fierce criticism soon after his administration marked one year in office when he ordered further investigation of past Defence Administration which stretched to that of Azubuike Ihejirika and Kenneth Minimah, ex-chiefs of Army Staff (COAS), over equipment procurement scandal, but left observers dismayed that similar attention was not given to Abdulrahman Dambazau, current Minister of Interior, and Tukur Buratai, current COAS, who were both indicted in an arms report. Burutai was even alleged to have bought two properties worth $1.5m in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, respectively. Dambazau also allegedly bought homes worth millions of dollars in Boston, United States.

The Air Vice Marshal Jon Ode-led team which submitted its third interim report to President Buhari recommended further investigations.
Those indicted in the report include Alex Badeh, Chief of Defence Staff; Adesola Amosu, Chief of Air Staff at the time the alleged offence was committed; Azubuike Ihejirika; Kenneth Minimah; Abdulrahman Dambazau, who was Director of Procurement at the time; Tukur Buratai, amongst others.

“According to the Nigerian Army law, high ranking military officers are not permitted by law to buy property abroad, operate foreign account, or marry foreign woman while still in service, and this is the law Buratai primarily violated before the question of where he got the money to buy the properties,” a highly placed source told BDSUNDAY.

“The only officers that can operate foreign accounts are officers who are on special assignment abroad and must close such account immediately the purpose is served. This is the primary issue hanging on the neck of Buratai,” said the source.

Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to the President, was also at a time engulfed in a corruption scandal of N500 million with South African telecom giant, MTN. He was allegedly to have solicited to help the company mitigate the N1.8 billion fine imposed on it by the FG for flouting industry rules at the detriment of national security.

Media, civil society must keep the pressure

Adeleye Adewole, chairman, Centre for Organizational and Professional Ethics (COPEAFRICA), said Burutai’s buying of a house in Dubai is an offence, adding that some civil society persons are still working on how to get the properties back from him and return them to the FG.

“We are working on the issue of Burutai. We held a meeting last week on it. Another thing we need to do is ensure that some of our anti-graft laws are strengthened and we have a system that works in order to reduce the tendencies for corruption. Go and read the laws guiding the operations of EFCC and ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission); it is very ridiculous. When you have a strong law, people will be afraid to engage in corrupt practices.

“The President alone cannot do it. The media and the civil society have a major role to play, by continually putting the issue of corruption on the front burner of national discourse, in order to put more pressure on the government. The media must continue to ask questions. The Nigerian people should rise and ask questions. The fight against corruption is a collective fight.

“The people around the President do not share his vision to fight corruption. But the President must wake up because we are lucky to have Mr. President with integrity capital. But I can tell you that there are several members of his cabinet I cannot vouch for. Corruption in Nigeria is very strong. Seventy percent of government’s money goes to private individuals. Nigeria needs a benevolent dictator to successfully fight corruption,” he said.

 

NATHANIEL AKHIGBE