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Showing posts with label Aisha Buhari. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aisha Buhari. Show all posts

El-Rufai's Letter To Buhari: Your Govt. Has Made Nigeria Worst; You're a Nepotistic; Cabals; Kyari, Babachir, Destroying Your Govt.

El-Rufai's Letter To Buhari: Your Govt. Has Made Nigeria Worst; You're a Nepotistic; Cabals; Kyari, Babachir, Destroying Your Govt.

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Gov. Nasir El-rufai and Buhari
From an unusual quarter has come a warning that unless President Muhammadu Buhari does something urgent, the 18 months old All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government will not meet the aspiration of Nigerians.

In a damning and blunt letter to President Buhari, Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Refai, pointedly suggested a surgical operation on the entire gamut of government, to avoid the APC government  leaving Nigeria worse than it met it.

In the memo, dated September 22, 2016, but which went viral yesterday, El-Rufai,  a dye-in-the-wool loyalist of Buhari, noted that his warning became necessary because his political future was intrinsically tied to that of Buhari, adding that, “poll after poll in Kaduna State, before and after the 2015 elections, clearly shows that my fate, politically and otherwise, is uncannily tied to yours. If you do well, I stand to benefit immensely. If you do not do well Sir, whatever I try to do in Kaduna matters little to my present and any future political trajectory.”


Ironically, most of the issues raised by El-Rufai, in his memo, were issues that have been raised before by notable Nigerians, including the President’s wife, Aishat and Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

Specifically, the President’s wife had raised the alarm that her husband was not in charge, instead, persons who did not know how the elections were won and lost had taken control of government.  Whereas Aisha did not mention names, El-Rufai  was blunt, as he listed specifically, the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. David Babachir Lawal, as constituting a clog in the wheel of the progress of the APC-led administration.

“There is a perception that your ministers, some of whom are competent and willing to make real contributions, have no clear mandate, instructions and access to you. Ministers are constitutional creations, Mr. President, and it is an aberration that they are expected to report to the Chief of Staff on policy matters,” El-Rufai noted.

He also re-echoed the insinuation in some quarters that appointments into the Buhari’s government was lopsided, in favour a particular section of the country, saying: “There is a strong perception that your inner circle or kitchen cabinet is incapable, unproductive and sectional. The quality and the undue concentration of key appointments to the North-East and exclusion of South-East are mentioned as evidence of this.”

He went further to say: “Mr. President, Sir, your relationship with the national leadership of the party, both the formal (NWC) and informal (Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso), and former governors of ANPP, PDP (that joined us) and ACN, is perceived by most observers to be, at best, frosty. Many of them are aggrieved due to what they consider total absence of consultations with them on your part and those you have assigned such duties. This may not be your intention or outlook, but that is how it appears to those that watch from afar. This situation is compounded by the fact that some officials around you seem to believe and may have persuaded you that current APC State governors must have no say and must also be totally excluded from political consultations, key appointments and decision-making at federal level. These politically naive ‘advisers’ fail to realise that it is the current and former state governors that may, as members of NEC of the APC, serve as an alternative locus of power to check the excesses of the currently lopsided and, perhaps, ambivalent NWC. Alienating the governors, so clearly and deliberately, ensures that you have near-zero support of the party structure at both national and state levels.”

He said it was not too late to reverse the situation, stating: “You appear to have neither a political adviser nor a minder of your politics. The two officials whose titles may enable them function as such generally alienate those that contributed to our success. The SGF is not only inexperienced in public service, but is lacking in humility, insensitive and rude to virtually most of the party leaders, ministers and governors.

The chief of staff is totally clueless about the APC and its internal politics, at best, as he was neither part of its formation nor a participant in the primaries, campaign and elections. In summary, neither of them has the personality, experience and the reach to manage your politics nationally or even regionally.”

Explaining the implication of this, El-Rufai said: “Those of us that look forward to presenting you again to the electorate in 2019 are worried that we need to sort out the party’s membership register, review the primaries system to eliminate the impact of money in candidate selection, and reduce the reliance of the party on a few businessmen, a handful of major financiers and state governments for its operations and expenditures. A surgical operation is needed in party machinery, financing and electoral processes if the future political aspirations we desire for you will not be made more difficult, if not impossible, to actualise.”

Underlying need for cordial relationship with other arms of government, the Kaduna governor said: “ Mr. President, Sir, It is a constitutional reality that to succeed, the Federal Government must work harmoniously with two other arms of government; the National Assembly and the Judiciary.”

Assessing performance of the government, he said: “In very blunt terms, Mr. President, our APC administration has not only failed to manage expectations of a populace that expected overnight ‘change’ but has failed to deliver even mundane matters of governance outside of our successes in fighting Boko Haram insurgency and corruption.”

Like most Nigerians, El-Rufai, also believed that, going forward, the president must get someone, with the technical-know-how to function as his Economic Adviser.

“Appoint a high profile Economic Adviser and constitute a two-level economic team – political level chaired by the VP and technical level consisting of key economic agency heads to do the more detailed technical analysis and present options for decision and action,” El-Rufai, noted.

He was, however, quick to note that, bad as the situation may be, it was not beyond redemption, saying  that only the president could remedy the situation.

Hear him: “These troubling perceptions, whether accurate or not, must be addressed frontally by you, Mr. President, and no other person,” adding that the president has both a crisis and opportunity in his hands “to turn around our country in the right direction.”

He expressed hope that  God gives Buhari the “strength and good fortune to succeed,” insisting that his letter was “an honest, frank and objective view of an admirer, a mentee, and a loyalist.”
Gov. Nasir El-rufai and Buhari
From an unusual quarter has come a warning that unless President Muhammadu Buhari does something urgent, the 18 months old All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government will not meet the aspiration of Nigerians.

In a damning and blunt letter to President Buhari, Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Refai, pointedly suggested a surgical operation on the entire gamut of government, to avoid the APC government  leaving Nigeria worse than it met it.

In the memo, dated September 22, 2016, but which went viral yesterday, El-Rufai,  a dye-in-the-wool loyalist of Buhari, noted that his warning became necessary because his political future was intrinsically tied to that of Buhari, adding that, “poll after poll in Kaduna State, before and after the 2015 elections, clearly shows that my fate, politically and otherwise, is uncannily tied to yours. If you do well, I stand to benefit immensely. If you do not do well Sir, whatever I try to do in Kaduna matters little to my present and any future political trajectory.”


Ironically, most of the issues raised by El-Rufai, in his memo, were issues that have been raised before by notable Nigerians, including the President’s wife, Aishat and Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

Specifically, the President’s wife had raised the alarm that her husband was not in charge, instead, persons who did not know how the elections were won and lost had taken control of government.  Whereas Aisha did not mention names, El-Rufai  was blunt, as he listed specifically, the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. David Babachir Lawal, as constituting a clog in the wheel of the progress of the APC-led administration.

“There is a perception that your ministers, some of whom are competent and willing to make real contributions, have no clear mandate, instructions and access to you. Ministers are constitutional creations, Mr. President, and it is an aberration that they are expected to report to the Chief of Staff on policy matters,” El-Rufai noted.

He also re-echoed the insinuation in some quarters that appointments into the Buhari’s government was lopsided, in favour a particular section of the country, saying: “There is a strong perception that your inner circle or kitchen cabinet is incapable, unproductive and sectional. The quality and the undue concentration of key appointments to the North-East and exclusion of South-East are mentioned as evidence of this.”

He went further to say: “Mr. President, Sir, your relationship with the national leadership of the party, both the formal (NWC) and informal (Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso), and former governors of ANPP, PDP (that joined us) and ACN, is perceived by most observers to be, at best, frosty. Many of them are aggrieved due to what they consider total absence of consultations with them on your part and those you have assigned such duties. This may not be your intention or outlook, but that is how it appears to those that watch from afar. This situation is compounded by the fact that some officials around you seem to believe and may have persuaded you that current APC State governors must have no say and must also be totally excluded from political consultations, key appointments and decision-making at federal level. These politically naive ‘advisers’ fail to realise that it is the current and former state governors that may, as members of NEC of the APC, serve as an alternative locus of power to check the excesses of the currently lopsided and, perhaps, ambivalent NWC. Alienating the governors, so clearly and deliberately, ensures that you have near-zero support of the party structure at both national and state levels.”

He said it was not too late to reverse the situation, stating: “You appear to have neither a political adviser nor a minder of your politics. The two officials whose titles may enable them function as such generally alienate those that contributed to our success. The SGF is not only inexperienced in public service, but is lacking in humility, insensitive and rude to virtually most of the party leaders, ministers and governors.

The chief of staff is totally clueless about the APC and its internal politics, at best, as he was neither part of its formation nor a participant in the primaries, campaign and elections. In summary, neither of them has the personality, experience and the reach to manage your politics nationally or even regionally.”

Explaining the implication of this, El-Rufai said: “Those of us that look forward to presenting you again to the electorate in 2019 are worried that we need to sort out the party’s membership register, review the primaries system to eliminate the impact of money in candidate selection, and reduce the reliance of the party on a few businessmen, a handful of major financiers and state governments for its operations and expenditures. A surgical operation is needed in party machinery, financing and electoral processes if the future political aspirations we desire for you will not be made more difficult, if not impossible, to actualise.”

Underlying need for cordial relationship with other arms of government, the Kaduna governor said: “ Mr. President, Sir, It is a constitutional reality that to succeed, the Federal Government must work harmoniously with two other arms of government; the National Assembly and the Judiciary.”

Assessing performance of the government, he said: “In very blunt terms, Mr. President, our APC administration has not only failed to manage expectations of a populace that expected overnight ‘change’ but has failed to deliver even mundane matters of governance outside of our successes in fighting Boko Haram insurgency and corruption.”

Like most Nigerians, El-Rufai, also believed that, going forward, the president must get someone, with the technical-know-how to function as his Economic Adviser.

“Appoint a high profile Economic Adviser and constitute a two-level economic team – political level chaired by the VP and technical level consisting of key economic agency heads to do the more detailed technical analysis and present options for decision and action,” El-Rufai, noted.

He was, however, quick to note that, bad as the situation may be, it was not beyond redemption, saying  that only the president could remedy the situation.

Hear him: “These troubling perceptions, whether accurate or not, must be addressed frontally by you, Mr. President, and no other person,” adding that the president has both a crisis and opportunity in his hands “to turn around our country in the right direction.”

He expressed hope that  God gives Buhari the “strength and good fortune to succeed,” insisting that his letter was “an honest, frank and objective view of an admirer, a mentee, and a loyalist.”
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CABINET Shake-up: Buhari Stoops To Wife's Pressure, Shuns The So-called Technocrats; Tinubu, Atiku's Men On Radar As Kyari, Babachir Stay

CABINET Shake-up: Buhari Stoops To Wife's Pressure, Shuns The So-called Technocrats; Tinubu, Atiku's Men On Radar As Kyari, Babachir Stay

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Muhammadu Buhari and Wife
President Muhammadu Buhari is set to make major changes in his cabinet as the President has decided to favour politicians who assisted him during presidential election campaign,  a source told Nigerian NewsDirect.

The President who returned to the country last Friday after 49 days of medical vacation in London is under intense pressure from his party to compensate loyal party members who were victimized, harassed and spent heavily during the presidential election but had been left in the cold since the president assumed power while only few cliques had been enjoying “dividends of the victory”.

Findings by our correspondent revealed that the President might yield to the pressure by some powerful politicians in the party to compensate them for their roles in the last election.


Leading this campaign is the wife of the President, Mrs Aishat Buhari who had warned that her support for her husband for 2019 election rested on her husband’s readiness to shake up his government.

Aisha Buhari who spoke in a controversial interview with BBC Hausa service claimed then that Buhari’s government was hijacked by a cabal who is “behind presidential appointments”.

The First Lady had lamented that most of the officials of the government were known to the President and the first family, adding that they were usurpers who did nothing to help All Progressives Congress (APC) struggle in 2015.

Mrs Aisha Buhari posited “the President does not know 45 out of 50, for example, of the people he appointed and I don’t know them either despite being his wife for 27 years.”

She further revealed “some people are sitting down at their homes folding their arms only for them to be called to come and head an agency or ministerial position”.

Mrs Buhari claimed that “some of them don’t even have voter cards, and those who made sacrifice have been reduced to nothing and certainly not happy with the way things are going ’.

“None of the technocrats brought into the government has been spectacular so far, therefore it does not make real sense for all those who laboured and toiled to install the President to be left in the cold while those who did nothing and will do nothing to return the president to power in case he decides to recontest in 2019”

Furthermore, there is growing disquiet in the party about the President’s attitude to the welfare of the party members especially those who stood stoutly by him during the election” the source told Nigerian NewsDirect.

Nigerian NewsDirect learnt that the three major political blocks that formed APC will be considered in the cabinet reshuffle. They are, the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) led by Buhari , Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) led by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu  and New PDP led by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

In the meantime, credible sources in the presidency told Nigerian NewsDirect that speculation that the President would sack his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari and the Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachir Lawal is untrue.

“The President is happy with  role  played by the two men while he was away. They made the system to be working and  Prof Yemi Osinbajo who acted while the President was away did not have any confrontation with the two, they represented the President well and managed the situation well alongside Osinbajo”

“We know those peddling the rumour but it’s too petty for the President to consider” Nigerian NewsDirect learnt.

On the removal of one of the key ministries of Power, Housing and Works from portfolio of Mr Raji Fashola, a close aide of Fashola told Nigerian NewsDirect that we know those sponsoring the news, its nothing new, they have been saying that since October last year but we are not bothered. When the President returned, he praised Osinbajo, he praised Fashola as well.

Muhammadu Buhari and Wife
President Muhammadu Buhari is set to make major changes in his cabinet as the President has decided to favour politicians who assisted him during presidential election campaign,  a source told Nigerian NewsDirect.

The President who returned to the country last Friday after 49 days of medical vacation in London is under intense pressure from his party to compensate loyal party members who were victimized, harassed and spent heavily during the presidential election but had been left in the cold since the president assumed power while only few cliques had been enjoying “dividends of the victory”.

Findings by our correspondent revealed that the President might yield to the pressure by some powerful politicians in the party to compensate them for their roles in the last election.


Leading this campaign is the wife of the President, Mrs Aishat Buhari who had warned that her support for her husband for 2019 election rested on her husband’s readiness to shake up his government.

Aisha Buhari who spoke in a controversial interview with BBC Hausa service claimed then that Buhari’s government was hijacked by a cabal who is “behind presidential appointments”.

The First Lady had lamented that most of the officials of the government were known to the President and the first family, adding that they were usurpers who did nothing to help All Progressives Congress (APC) struggle in 2015.

Mrs Aisha Buhari posited “the President does not know 45 out of 50, for example, of the people he appointed and I don’t know them either despite being his wife for 27 years.”

She further revealed “some people are sitting down at their homes folding their arms only for them to be called to come and head an agency or ministerial position”.

Mrs Buhari claimed that “some of them don’t even have voter cards, and those who made sacrifice have been reduced to nothing and certainly not happy with the way things are going ’.

“None of the technocrats brought into the government has been spectacular so far, therefore it does not make real sense for all those who laboured and toiled to install the President to be left in the cold while those who did nothing and will do nothing to return the president to power in case he decides to recontest in 2019”

Furthermore, there is growing disquiet in the party about the President’s attitude to the welfare of the party members especially those who stood stoutly by him during the election” the source told Nigerian NewsDirect.

Nigerian NewsDirect learnt that the three major political blocks that formed APC will be considered in the cabinet reshuffle. They are, the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) led by Buhari , Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) led by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu  and New PDP led by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

In the meantime, credible sources in the presidency told Nigerian NewsDirect that speculation that the President would sack his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari and the Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachir Lawal is untrue.

“The President is happy with  role  played by the two men while he was away. They made the system to be working and  Prof Yemi Osinbajo who acted while the President was away did not have any confrontation with the two, they represented the President well and managed the situation well alongside Osinbajo”

“We know those peddling the rumour but it’s too petty for the President to consider” Nigerian NewsDirect learnt.

On the removal of one of the key ministries of Power, Housing and Works from portfolio of Mr Raji Fashola, a close aide of Fashola told Nigerian NewsDirect that we know those sponsoring the news, its nothing new, they have been saying that since October last year but we are not bothered. When the President returned, he praised Osinbajo, he praised Fashola as well.
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Again, Aisha Buhari Cries Out As 4 Aso Rock Cabals Seize Ailing Husband In UK; Block Ministers, Families Access To The President

Again, Aisha Buhari Cries Out As 4 Aso Rock Cabals Seize Ailing Husband In UK; Block Ministers, Families Access To The President

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AISHA BUHARI
Just as she raised alarm last year October that some cabals in Aso Rock have taken over governance from his husband, President Muhammadu Buhari, the first Lady, Aisha has again registered her displeasure how some named 4 Aso Rock Cabals have extended their influence on the President even at sick ben at the United Kingdom, fresh report according to Punch Newspaper suggests.

Punch Newspaper detailed that family members, friends and senior government officials who attempted to call or pay visits to President Muhammadu Buhari in the United Kingdom are having a difficult time getting access.

The report specifically named four aides who are popularly known as CABALS of the president who are said to be in control access to President Buhari, who is on extended medical vacation in the United Kingdom. 


The CABALS  according to Punch Newspaper are the President’s nephew, Mamman Daura; the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Affairs, Sarki Aba; Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari; and Personal Assistant to the President; Tunde Sabiu.

Our source detailed that anyone who wants to telephone or see the president in London must get the approval of one or more of the four aides. The only two individuals who are exempted from seeking permission to visit Buhari or call him are Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and First Lady, Aisha Buhari.

It was gathered according to our source that the First Lady is said not to be happy with the way the aides have been managing access to her husband. The first lady’s relationship with the president’s aides has not always been cordial. In October last year, Aisha granted a highly controversial interview to the British Broadcasting Corporation, in which she alleged that a cabal had hijacked her husband’s government.

According to a source in government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Buhari’s wife had voiced her displeasure to close friends and associates that the cabal she complained about were still the ones in charge of her husband in London.

“The First Lady is not with him permanently in London, which should normally not be the case. She has had a few clashes with the cabal and she is not happy that they are also firmly in control in London. That’s why she goes and comes. She is not happy with the atmosphere over there.”

It was gathered that these individuals have turned down numerous requests from the President’s friends, associates and members of his cabinet to see him.

Since Buhari extended his medical vacation on February 19, those who have visited him in his Abuja House residence in London include the Senate President, Bukola Saraki;  Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan; Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun; Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Chief Bisi Akande; Ogun State Governor and Ibikunle Amosun.

It was gathered that the visits were initiated by the guests who made requests which had to be reviewed by the president’s aides. Daura was present during the Tinubu and Akande’s visit. Daura, who holds no political office in the present dispensation, has repeatedly been touted as the most powerful person in the present government, prompting Buhari to publicly declare late October 2016 that, “I’m in charge, not Mamman Daura.”

Daura travels with the president and is often seen with him. Daura is believed to belong to the legendary ‘Kaduna Mafia’, an influential group of young northern Nigerian intellectuals, civil servants, business tycoons and military officers residing or conducting business in the former northern capital city of Kaduna. The group reportedly influenced government policies during the military era and previous civilian administrations. Other famous members of the group were Adamu Ciroma, Ibrahim Tahir, Mahmud Tukur, and former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Adamu Ciroma; former Minister of Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Tahir; former Minister of Commerce and Industry during the Buhari-Idiagbon regime, Dr. Mahmud Tukur; former Sultan of Sokoto, Ibrahim Dasuki;  former Head of the Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Hamza Zayyad; a former minister, Umaru Mutallab; former presidential aspirant and number-two man, General Shehu Yar’Adua; a former Vice Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Professor Ango Abdullahi; Professor Jibril Aminu and others.

Kyari is known to be one of the President’s closest aides.  He plans Buhari’s schedules while ministers are said to queue in his office to see the President. Kyari’s influence became clear to many during a retreat organised by the presidency for the then ministers-designate. While declaring the retreat open on  November 5, 2015, Buhari said, “In addition, all communications and appointments from you (ministers) to the Presidency should be routed through the Office of the Chief of Staff as it is the normal (procedure) in this presidential system.”

While much is not known about Sabiu, who was appointed shortly after Buhari’s election, he is reportedly related to Daura. Sources in government told our correspondent that the President ‘feels relaxed’ around him and has a lot of trust in him. The same was said of Aba, who was described as ‘quiet but one of the few people that can make anyone see the President.”

Presented with the names of the aides controlling access to the president, a source in the presidency confirmed the list. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the subject, said, “The names you have are accurate and they are the ones controlling access to the President in London, even in Nigeria. Some ministers, aides and service chiefs tried to talk to the President on the phone, but they turned them down.

“The few people that have seen the President only saw him because they agreed to it. If they didn’t, it would never have happened, apart from Governor Amosun, who everyone knows is one of Buhari’s best friends.”

The source refused to give the names of those whose requests to see Buhari were turned down.

Meanwhile, Buhari on Saturday spoke with his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, on the telephone for the first time since he embarked on his extended medical vacation on January 19.

Adesina, who felt elated about the development, confirmed the conversation on his Facebook page and Twitter handle.

He had during previous interviews said he was only speaking with those around the President.

Giving details of his discussion with the President, Adesina said Sabiu called him at exactly 2.43pm and asked that he hold on for the President.

On recognition of the President’s voice, Adesina said he screamed and said, “Mr. President, I have missed you. How are you sir?”

He continued, “He (the President) first laughed. That familiar laugh. Then he said, ‘I am still resting. Thank you for holding out against mischief makers.’

“I said it was my duty, the very least I could do, adding how happy I was to speak with him. He asked, ‘How is your family?’

“I said we were fine, and he asked me to extend his greetings to them. ‘I hope to call you again,’ Mr. President said, and I bade him farewell, adding ‘Best wishes, sir.’”

Adesina described the telephone conversation as a defining moment for him.

He said, “It was a defining moment for me. For more than a month, I had always spoken with aides who are with the President in London.

“Not once did I ask them to take the phone to him, deliberately so, because I didn’t need to speak with him to validate the fact that he was alive. And since he is on vacation, he has a right to his privacy.

“Of his own volition, President Buhari spoke with me. It made my day. Even if he hadn’t done so, he would have remained my President, my leader, and my man. Any day.”

AISHA BUHARI
Just as she raised alarm last year October that some cabals in Aso Rock have taken over governance from his husband, President Muhammadu Buhari, the first Lady, Aisha has again registered her displeasure how some named 4 Aso Rock Cabals have extended their influence on the President even at sick ben at the United Kingdom, fresh report according to Punch Newspaper suggests.

Punch Newspaper detailed that family members, friends and senior government officials who attempted to call or pay visits to President Muhammadu Buhari in the United Kingdom are having a difficult time getting access.

The report specifically named four aides who are popularly known as CABALS of the president who are said to be in control access to President Buhari, who is on extended medical vacation in the United Kingdom. 


The CABALS  according to Punch Newspaper are the President’s nephew, Mamman Daura; the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Affairs, Sarki Aba; Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari; and Personal Assistant to the President; Tunde Sabiu.

Our source detailed that anyone who wants to telephone or see the president in London must get the approval of one or more of the four aides. The only two individuals who are exempted from seeking permission to visit Buhari or call him are Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and First Lady, Aisha Buhari.

It was gathered according to our source that the First Lady is said not to be happy with the way the aides have been managing access to her husband. The first lady’s relationship with the president’s aides has not always been cordial. In October last year, Aisha granted a highly controversial interview to the British Broadcasting Corporation, in which she alleged that a cabal had hijacked her husband’s government.

According to a source in government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Buhari’s wife had voiced her displeasure to close friends and associates that the cabal she complained about were still the ones in charge of her husband in London.

“The First Lady is not with him permanently in London, which should normally not be the case. She has had a few clashes with the cabal and she is not happy that they are also firmly in control in London. That’s why she goes and comes. She is not happy with the atmosphere over there.”

It was gathered that these individuals have turned down numerous requests from the President’s friends, associates and members of his cabinet to see him.

Since Buhari extended his medical vacation on February 19, those who have visited him in his Abuja House residence in London include the Senate President, Bukola Saraki;  Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan; Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun; Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Chief Bisi Akande; Ogun State Governor and Ibikunle Amosun.

It was gathered that the visits were initiated by the guests who made requests which had to be reviewed by the president’s aides. Daura was present during the Tinubu and Akande’s visit. Daura, who holds no political office in the present dispensation, has repeatedly been touted as the most powerful person in the present government, prompting Buhari to publicly declare late October 2016 that, “I’m in charge, not Mamman Daura.”

Daura travels with the president and is often seen with him. Daura is believed to belong to the legendary ‘Kaduna Mafia’, an influential group of young northern Nigerian intellectuals, civil servants, business tycoons and military officers residing or conducting business in the former northern capital city of Kaduna. The group reportedly influenced government policies during the military era and previous civilian administrations. Other famous members of the group were Adamu Ciroma, Ibrahim Tahir, Mahmud Tukur, and former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Adamu Ciroma; former Minister of Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Tahir; former Minister of Commerce and Industry during the Buhari-Idiagbon regime, Dr. Mahmud Tukur; former Sultan of Sokoto, Ibrahim Dasuki;  former Head of the Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Hamza Zayyad; a former minister, Umaru Mutallab; former presidential aspirant and number-two man, General Shehu Yar’Adua; a former Vice Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Professor Ango Abdullahi; Professor Jibril Aminu and others.

Kyari is known to be one of the President’s closest aides.  He plans Buhari’s schedules while ministers are said to queue in his office to see the President. Kyari’s influence became clear to many during a retreat organised by the presidency for the then ministers-designate. While declaring the retreat open on  November 5, 2015, Buhari said, “In addition, all communications and appointments from you (ministers) to the Presidency should be routed through the Office of the Chief of Staff as it is the normal (procedure) in this presidential system.”

While much is not known about Sabiu, who was appointed shortly after Buhari’s election, he is reportedly related to Daura. Sources in government told our correspondent that the President ‘feels relaxed’ around him and has a lot of trust in him. The same was said of Aba, who was described as ‘quiet but one of the few people that can make anyone see the President.”

Presented with the names of the aides controlling access to the president, a source in the presidency confirmed the list. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the subject, said, “The names you have are accurate and they are the ones controlling access to the President in London, even in Nigeria. Some ministers, aides and service chiefs tried to talk to the President on the phone, but they turned them down.

“The few people that have seen the President only saw him because they agreed to it. If they didn’t, it would never have happened, apart from Governor Amosun, who everyone knows is one of Buhari’s best friends.”

The source refused to give the names of those whose requests to see Buhari were turned down.

Meanwhile, Buhari on Saturday spoke with his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, on the telephone for the first time since he embarked on his extended medical vacation on January 19.

Adesina, who felt elated about the development, confirmed the conversation on his Facebook page and Twitter handle.

He had during previous interviews said he was only speaking with those around the President.

Giving details of his discussion with the President, Adesina said Sabiu called him at exactly 2.43pm and asked that he hold on for the President.

On recognition of the President’s voice, Adesina said he screamed and said, “Mr. President, I have missed you. How are you sir?”

He continued, “He (the President) first laughed. That familiar laugh. Then he said, ‘I am still resting. Thank you for holding out against mischief makers.’

“I said it was my duty, the very least I could do, adding how happy I was to speak with him. He asked, ‘How is your family?’

“I said we were fine, and he asked me to extend his greetings to them. ‘I hope to call you again,’ Mr. President said, and I bade him farewell, adding ‘Best wishes, sir.’”

Adesina described the telephone conversation as a defining moment for him.

He said, “It was a defining moment for me. For more than a month, I had always spoken with aides who are with the President in London.

“Not once did I ask them to take the phone to him, deliberately so, because I didn’t need to speak with him to validate the fact that he was alive. And since he is on vacation, he has a right to his privacy.

“Of his own volition, President Buhari spoke with me. It made my day. Even if he hadn’t done so, he would have remained my President, my leader, and my man. Any day.”

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Buhari's Health: The UNTOLD; What His UK Doctor Said, Why His Wife, Aisha Jets Out To Saudi REVEALED

Buhari's Health: The UNTOLD; What His UK Doctor Said, Why His Wife, Aisha Jets Out To Saudi REVEALED

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BUHARI AND AISHA
President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his vacation. It is “open-ended” because his return can be anytime, a Presidency source said last night.

“The President can return home any time. It can be in a few days; it can be later but he does not want any leadership vacuum, “the source added.

The President, who was expected to return from his vacation and routine medical examinations in the United Kingdom (UK) after 10 days,  left the country on January 19.


A statement by Special Adviser (Media) to the President Mr. Femi Adesina titled:  ”President Buhari extends vacation, writes National Assembly”, said:

“President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the National Assembly today, February 5, 2017, informing of his desire to extend his leave in order to complete and receive the results of a series of tests recommended by his doctors.

“The President had planned to return to Abuja this evening, but was advised to complete the test CYCLE before returning.

“The notice has since been dispatched to the Senate President, AND SPEAKER, House of Representatives.

“Mr. President expresses his sincere gratitude to Nigerians for their concern, prayers and kind wishes.”

‘He’s not in hospital’

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media Mallam Garba Shehu said the president is not “seriously ill and not in the hospital. He is in the residence at the Nigeria Nigerian High Commission in London”

He added: “I just spoke to the president’s personal doctor, and he told me President Buhari is not in any serious condition as to worry about

“He and his delegation were ready to come home today (yesterday) but for the delayed test result which came in today which necessitated that he delays his return.

“There is nothing to worry about as far as his condition is concerned”.

Section 145: “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and THE SPEAKERof the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.”

A source in Senate President Bukola Saraki’s office said the leave extension letter had been received.

The source noted that although the letter had not been officially handed over to Saraki, the Senate President had been informed.

He said Saraki was BRIEFED by a top presidential aide in a telephone conversation.

The President’s wife, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has left Nigeria for Saudi Arabia to perform the Lesser hajj.

She earlier deferred the trip to Saudi Arabia to visit London to see her husband last week.

A source in the Presidency said: “The First Lady has gone for lesser hajj to pray. She initially deferred her trip to see the President in London. Having been satisfied with the state of the health of the President, she opted to perform the lesser hajj to pray.

“This should prove to Nigerians that Buhari’s health is not as critical as being portrayed. If he has a major health problem, the family will not hide it at all.”

Another TOP government official said: “The vacation is now open-ended because all he is doing is to run some tests which only doctors can determine their timelines. Instead of asking for one or two more weeks, he left it open-ended because he can come back sooner than expected.

“I think Nigerians should appreciate that President Buhari is a honest and committed leader, who believes in the constitution, which he has sworn to uphold. There is no cause for anxiety at all.”

Also yesterday, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed denied a report credited to him on the President’s delayed return.

A statement by his Special Assistant Mr. Segun Adeyemi  said:  ”Our attention has been drawn to a report quoting the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, as saying the President’s return to Nigeria may be hampered by a faulty aircraft.

”The minister has not spoken to anyone on the issue of the President’s return, hence this report is another from the stable of the purveyors of fake news and should be disregarded.”

BUHARI AND AISHA
President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his vacation. It is “open-ended” because his return can be anytime, a Presidency source said last night.

“The President can return home any time. It can be in a few days; it can be later but he does not want any leadership vacuum, “the source added.

The President, who was expected to return from his vacation and routine medical examinations in the United Kingdom (UK) after 10 days,  left the country on January 19.


A statement by Special Adviser (Media) to the President Mr. Femi Adesina titled:  ”President Buhari extends vacation, writes National Assembly”, said:

“President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the National Assembly today, February 5, 2017, informing of his desire to extend his leave in order to complete and receive the results of a series of tests recommended by his doctors.

“The President had planned to return to Abuja this evening, but was advised to complete the test CYCLE before returning.

“The notice has since been dispatched to the Senate President, AND SPEAKER, House of Representatives.

“Mr. President expresses his sincere gratitude to Nigerians for their concern, prayers and kind wishes.”

‘He’s not in hospital’

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media Mallam Garba Shehu said the president is not “seriously ill and not in the hospital. He is in the residence at the Nigeria Nigerian High Commission in London”

He added: “I just spoke to the president’s personal doctor, and he told me President Buhari is not in any serious condition as to worry about

“He and his delegation were ready to come home today (yesterday) but for the delayed test result which came in today which necessitated that he delays his return.

“There is nothing to worry about as far as his condition is concerned”.

Section 145: “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and THE SPEAKERof the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.”

A source in Senate President Bukola Saraki’s office said the leave extension letter had been received.

The source noted that although the letter had not been officially handed over to Saraki, the Senate President had been informed.

He said Saraki was BRIEFED by a top presidential aide in a telephone conversation.

The President’s wife, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has left Nigeria for Saudi Arabia to perform the Lesser hajj.

She earlier deferred the trip to Saudi Arabia to visit London to see her husband last week.

A source in the Presidency said: “The First Lady has gone for lesser hajj to pray. She initially deferred her trip to see the President in London. Having been satisfied with the state of the health of the President, she opted to perform the lesser hajj to pray.

“This should prove to Nigerians that Buhari’s health is not as critical as being portrayed. If he has a major health problem, the family will not hide it at all.”

Another TOP government official said: “The vacation is now open-ended because all he is doing is to run some tests which only doctors can determine their timelines. Instead of asking for one or two more weeks, he left it open-ended because he can come back sooner than expected.

“I think Nigerians should appreciate that President Buhari is a honest and committed leader, who believes in the constitution, which he has sworn to uphold. There is no cause for anxiety at all.”

Also yesterday, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed denied a report credited to him on the President’s delayed return.

A statement by his Special Assistant Mr. Segun Adeyemi  said:  ”Our attention has been drawn to a report quoting the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, as saying the President’s return to Nigeria may be hampered by a faulty aircraft.

”The minister has not spoken to anyone on the issue of the President’s return, hence this report is another from the stable of the purveyors of fake news and should be disregarded.”

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Another Photos Of 'Dead' Buhari Holidaying With Wife, Aisha In UK Set The Internet Ablaze

Another Photos Of 'Dead' Buhari Holidaying With Wife, Aisha In UK Set The Internet Ablaze

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Buhari and Wife Photos In London
Two different of President Muhammadu Buhari as he poses with his beautiful wife Aisha Buhari holidaying in  the United Kingdom again surfaced online, and currently generating comment online.

The photos were posted again all in a bid to quash the death and deteriorating health rumours peddling online, especially the Nigeria cyberspace/

The photographs showing Buhari and his wife came after an earlier one released on Friday showing Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun and some persons with the President.

The two photographs were released by the Special Assistant to the President’s Wife on Media, Adebisi Olumide-Ajayi.


The President and his wife were standing in one while they were sitting down in the second photograph.

Buhari wore a brown pair of trousers, a sweater and a white skull cap in the pictures.

Buhari and Wife Photos In London
The photographs were released amid increasing rumour over the state of health of the President since he announced his decision to embark on a short vacation during which he is also scheduled to carry out medical check-up.
Buhari and Wife Photos In London
Two different of President Muhammadu Buhari as he poses with his beautiful wife Aisha Buhari holidaying in  the United Kingdom again surfaced online, and currently generating comment online.

The photos were posted again all in a bid to quash the death and deteriorating health rumours peddling online, especially the Nigeria cyberspace/

The photographs showing Buhari and his wife came after an earlier one released on Friday showing Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun and some persons with the President.

The two photographs were released by the Special Assistant to the President’s Wife on Media, Adebisi Olumide-Ajayi.


The President and his wife were standing in one while they were sitting down in the second photograph.

Buhari wore a brown pair of trousers, a sweater and a white skull cap in the pictures.

Buhari and Wife Photos In London
The photographs were released amid increasing rumour over the state of health of the President since he announced his decision to embark on a short vacation during which he is also scheduled to carry out medical check-up.
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As The President' Wife, The Presidency Don't Often Feed Me, I Feed My Children Either - Angry Aisha Buhari Breaks Silence

As The President' Wife, The Presidency Don't Often Feed Me, I Feed My Children Either - Angry Aisha Buhari Breaks Silence

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Aisha buhari
Daily Trust - The president's wife also stated that "other healthy food or variety" needed by her children are her personal responsibilities. 

She disclosed this Friday while dismissing a media report linking her to conniving with some top government officials to fleece the Nigerian High Commission in London each time she travels there.

In a statement, Mrs Buhari's Special Assistant on Media, Adebisi Olumide Ajayi, said: The State House in Abuja caters for her meal when necessary, and other healthy food or variety needed by her children are her personal responsibility." 

She described the report which accused her of abuse of privileges at the Nigerian High Commission in London as a travesty of investigative journalism.

An online news portal, Sahara Reporters, had Thursday reported that Mrs Buhari visited the UK at least seven times last year and that each time she travels there, the High Commission spends a minimum of £7,000 on her hospitality.

But Mrs Buhari denied ever travelling to London with a large entourage as was carried in the report, saying the highest number of people on a trip involves her three kids, ADC and her personal physician.

The president's wife also said the Nigerian Commission in London had never offered any favour either "monetarily or materially" to her or her so-called entourage on any of her trips to the UK.

The statement partly read: "It is on record that the Nigerian Commission in London does not receive Aisha Buhari at the airport with any official distinction or privileges as was accorded other first ladies before her

"Her drivers are privately arranged without any recourse to the embassy for staff. She has never complained or raised dust about any of these acts  by the High Commission because of the understanding, as clearly spelt out and practised by her husband that public office must be separated from the private lives of the occupants.

"She has always been an advocate of good governance where officials of government are responsive and appealing to their constituents. It therefore baffles the imagination that one could believe she would corroborate with any government official however highly placed either at home or abroad to short-change the Nigerian people.

"These records are not hidden for a non-mischievous reporter who really intends to inform the people and not to disparage the family of the President just to add weight to a report.


Aisha buhari
Daily Trust - The president's wife also stated that "other healthy food or variety" needed by her children are her personal responsibilities. 

She disclosed this Friday while dismissing a media report linking her to conniving with some top government officials to fleece the Nigerian High Commission in London each time she travels there.

In a statement, Mrs Buhari's Special Assistant on Media, Adebisi Olumide Ajayi, said: The State House in Abuja caters for her meal when necessary, and other healthy food or variety needed by her children are her personal responsibility." 

She described the report which accused her of abuse of privileges at the Nigerian High Commission in London as a travesty of investigative journalism.

An online news portal, Sahara Reporters, had Thursday reported that Mrs Buhari visited the UK at least seven times last year and that each time she travels there, the High Commission spends a minimum of £7,000 on her hospitality.

But Mrs Buhari denied ever travelling to London with a large entourage as was carried in the report, saying the highest number of people on a trip involves her three kids, ADC and her personal physician.

The president's wife also said the Nigerian Commission in London had never offered any favour either "monetarily or materially" to her or her so-called entourage on any of her trips to the UK.

The statement partly read: "It is on record that the Nigerian Commission in London does not receive Aisha Buhari at the airport with any official distinction or privileges as was accorded other first ladies before her

"Her drivers are privately arranged without any recourse to the embassy for staff. She has never complained or raised dust about any of these acts  by the High Commission because of the understanding, as clearly spelt out and practised by her husband that public office must be separated from the private lives of the occupants.

"She has always been an advocate of good governance where officials of government are responsive and appealing to their constituents. It therefore baffles the imagination that one could believe she would corroborate with any government official however highly placed either at home or abroad to short-change the Nigerian people.

"These records are not hidden for a non-mischievous reporter who really intends to inform the people and not to disparage the family of the President just to add weight to a report.


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CORRUPTION: Secret Documents Expose Massive FRAUD At Nigeria's UK High Commission, Kyari, Aisha Buhari Dirtily Enmeshed

CORRUPTION: Secret Documents Expose Massive FRAUD At Nigeria's UK High Commission, Kyari, Aisha Buhari Dirtily Enmeshed

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CORRUPTION: Secret Documents Expose Massive FRAUD At Nigeria's UK High Commission, Kyari, Aisha Buhari Dirtily Enmeshed
SAHARA REPORTERS - Abba Kyari, the increasingly controversial Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, is at the center of another unwholesome saga that is likely to reinforce further the view that the Buhari administration’s anti-corruption stance is a ruse. 

This time, an investigation by SaharaReporters found that Mr. Kyari has been fiddling with the finances of the Nigeria High Commission, London, where the country’s resources are being dubiously deployed for questionable or illicit purposes. 


Also involved in the costly financial mess are Adah Simon Ogah, Nigeria’s acting High Commissioner, and Omolayo Akinfala, a special assistant to Aisha Buhari, the president’s wife.

Our investigators found that the High Commission, under Mr. Ogah, frequently authorized payments from revenue generated by the High Commission for medical treatment of senior political officials visiting the United Kingdom. 

The funds disbursed for such medical payments come from revenues the High Commission generates through fees for passports, visas and other consular services. The use of such funds for medical payments is an anomaly as medical bills for government officials are already provided for in the Presidency budget.

Nigerians resident in the UK are unaware that they paid Mr. Kyari’s medical bill when the president’s chief aide was treated at Wellington Hospital, St. John’s Wood, London, in December 2016. This happened at a time the government blamed its failure to issue passports to UK-resident Nigerians on a lack of funds.

A letter signed by Mr. Ogah and addressed to Professor Paul of Wellington Hospital provides a confirmation of the role of the High Commission in Mr. Kyari’s treatment. Dated December 1, 2016 and titled “Letter of Guarantee In Respect Of Alhaji Abba Kyari,” 

Mr. Ogah’s letter stated: “I write to confirm that the Nigeria High Commission, London, United Kingdom, will guarantee the payment of all medical bills of Alhaji Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Mr. Kyari’s case, however, is just a tip of a massive iceberg of seedy financial and administrative practices at the Nigerian High Commission in the UK. Our investigators discovered the equally improper case of Mr. Akinfala, a special assistant to Mrs. Buhari, whose employment contract with the Mission was recently renewed by the Acting High Commissioner. 

Curiously, Mr. Akinfala remains on the High Commission’s payroll despite being based in Nigeria and paid by the State House. He also receives financial perks whenever he visits the UK with Mrs. Buhari.

On August 3, 2016, Ibrahim Sule Dan’Agundi, the Head of Chancery (HOC), signed a letter approving Mr. Akinfala’s application for contract renewal with the High Commission. A day earlier, on August 2, an originating letter had recommended that Mr. Akinfala be considered for a one-year contract extension.

Protocol documents dated December 19, 2016, and obtained by SaharaReporters showed arrangements for the arrival of Mr. Akinfala and one other person from Lagos to London. The document revealed that the High Commission spent its financial resources on foreign travel allowances for which there are budget allocations for the Presidency covering the President, his household, and staff. 

Our inside sources in the UK, and Abuja revealed that the High Commission spends a minimum of £7,000 for hospitality on each of Mrs. Buhari’s trips to the United Kingdom. Last year alone, Mrs. Buhari visited the UK at least seven times. The finding was confirmed by a High Commission document dated July 28, 2016, and signed by Ibrahim Sule, Minister Counselor/Head of Chancery. 

“The Mission was also informed that Her Excellency and members of her entourage would be staying at the vacant house/official residence of High Commissioner. In this regard, given the above scenario, there is the need for the Mission to provide hospitality to the First Lady and members of her entourage. To this end, I wish to kindly recommend to His Excellency to consider and approve the sum of £7,000 to carry out the hospitality expenditure for the wife of the President, members of her family and entourage,” stated the latter. The request was approved the same day.

Apart from feting Mrs. Buhari and aides as well as treating officials like Mr. Kyari like royalty, the High Commission also engaged in a variety of contract scams, notably through payments to contractors for jobs not executed or those executed at grotesquely inflated costs. Documents exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters show that the sum of £14,100.80 was paid to a company, Savanna Construction Limited, for what was described as “call out report on 31 air-conditioning units in the High Commission building”. 

The curious transaction was captured in a letter dated July 19, 2016, and signed by S.U. Kpohraro, Chief Security Officer (Admin). The Head of Chancery (HOC) signed the approval, which was granted the same day.

Despite the substantial payment, our investigators discovered that there was no work executed at the building that matched the quoted job. Nigerians who work in or visit, the building, told our investigators that the high numbers of air-conditioning units do not exist and that none of the existing units were ever serviced. They spoke about the unbearable heat in the High Commission building during summer periods.

Savanna Construction Company also got the contract for the supply and erection of new scaffolding as well as the dismantling of an older one. The contract, which cost £9,600, was detailed on July 15, 2016, document signed by Mr. Kpohraror. Savanna also got paid £7,440 for another bogus job, taking care of the High Commission’s blocked toilets. Our sources revealed that similar scams were used to pay for the provision of cleaning, security and other services by dubious suppliers hired by the High Commission and top officials of the Nigerian Mission hire. 

Our sources disclosed that Mr. Dan’Agundi, Head of Chancery, has been the beneficiary of regular and unlawful cash payments from locally recruited High Commission staff, who are either due to retire or should have been retired long ago. 

Our investigators found that some of the employees in this category were employed in the 1980s. Many of them are stuck in the old, inefficient and corrupt ways of providing services, a development that is blamed for the frustration of Nigerians who require consular services.

One source pointed to the case of one Mr. Salihi, a local staff in the Education and Welfare section. The Mission fired Mr. Salihi on account of his poor communication ability and general inefficiency. Strangely, Mr. Ogah reversed the decision, re-hiring Mr. Salihi without explanation. 

“It is a depressing and horrifying experience for Nigerians who have cause to interact with the Nigerian High Commission in the UK, either when approaching the High Commission for consular services such as immigration queries (visa passport issuance/renewal, travel certificates) or other services such as trade and investments enquiries as well as tourism and general business information for Nigeria,” a Nigerian entrepreneur in London said. He added, 

“The inept staff are never interested in offering services without monetary inducement. As a matter of fact, they purposely make the official process cumbersome and frustrating so as to increase the possibility of financial and other types of inducement.”  

Some disaffected staff told SaharaReporters that the rogue employees operate with the full knowledge and approval of the acting High Commissioner Mr. Ogah, who reportedly runs his own individual racket. They accused Mr. Ogah of running the High Commission’s cash and petty cash payments like his personal Automated Teller Machine (ATM). They said Mr. Ogah uses the guise of “contingency allowance” to embezzle funds. 

Mr. Ogah is officially entitled to £3,000 monthly for domestic servants in his personal residence, £1,000 monthly for the upkeep and maintenance of his office, £200 per trip for contingency, while all his utility and medical bills, as well as living costs, are borne by the Federal Government. He also pays no rent. 

In spite of the generous perks, Mr. Ogah regularly inflates entitlements and, in many cases, fails to provide receipts or to retire most of his supposed expenditures in violation of rules. On September 2, 2016, acting Finance Attaché, R.E. Otiode, wrote a memo regarding Mr. Ogah’s regular failure to retire expenses. 

“I am directed to inform you that available records show that you are yet to retire the following advances granted you in the course of official assignments,” stated the memo, which added that retirement of expenses should not take longer than three months. In each of the said cases, Mr. Ogah took the sum of £500 as contingency allowance for trips to Manchester and Northampton on June 28 and July 15, 2016. The sums he took were more than the £200 of local contingency allowance he was entitled to.

Other top officials of the Mission were accused of practicing another strain of financial stunt by overstating invoice payments. For example, the High Commission manually generated an invoice of £10,000 for the use of a VIP suite at London’s Heathrow Airport. The amount represented six times the actual cost of £1,750 per use. 

A confirmation of the actual cost could be gleaned from a letter signed by E.A. Agom and dated July 11, 2016. The letter stated that the cancellation of the booking of a VIP suite for Mrs. Buhari’s proposed visit to London on July 10, 2016, meant that the High Commission lost £1,750 for the slot, while an additional £200 was charged as penalty for an undeclared passenger on her entourage.

Several sources also disclosed to SaharaReporters that the current leadership of the High Commission only approves the use of High Commission facilities like the Banking Hall, an event venue, for use by Nigerian organizations it deems less critical of the poor service and poor representation of the interest and welfare of Nigerians in the United Kingdom. 

This development has led to the mushrooming of dubious organizations, operating as rackets, which claim to represent Nigerians in the UK. Nigerian government officials routinely invite these dubious organizations to the High Commission during visits. The groups are silent about the poor representation and services provided by the High Commission.

A clear instance of the administrative decrepitude afflicting the High Commission could be seen in the leadership vacuum created by the acting High Commissioner, Mr. Ogah. Mr. Ogah left London for Abuja between December 12 and 22, 2016, leaving Mr. Hassan M. Hassan to run the Commission as Acting High Commissioner. 

Mr. Hassan was already scheduled to leave the Mission on December 14, 2016, to undergo ambassadorial screening and subsequent ambassadorial posting. In the end, for the duration of Mr. Ogah’s absence and with the departure of Mr. Hassan, there was no officer duly authorized to run the Mission. More bizarrely, there was no circular to the effect that Mr. Hassan had been appointed acting High Commissioner, a clear contravention of Foreign Affairs rules and regulations, which state that a mission must not be left without a properly designated head at any time.

CORRUPTION: Secret Documents Expose Massive FRAUD At Nigeria's UK High Commission, Kyari, Aisha Buhari Dirtily Enmeshed

CORRUPTION: Secret Documents Expose Massive FRAUD At Nigeria's UK High Commission, Kyari, Aisha Buhari Dirtily Enmeshed

Culled From Sahara Reporters
CORRUPTION: Secret Documents Expose Massive FRAUD At Nigeria's UK High Commission, Kyari, Aisha Buhari Dirtily Enmeshed
SAHARA REPORTERS - Abba Kyari, the increasingly controversial Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, is at the center of another unwholesome saga that is likely to reinforce further the view that the Buhari administration’s anti-corruption stance is a ruse. 

This time, an investigation by SaharaReporters found that Mr. Kyari has been fiddling with the finances of the Nigeria High Commission, London, where the country’s resources are being dubiously deployed for questionable or illicit purposes. 


Also involved in the costly financial mess are Adah Simon Ogah, Nigeria’s acting High Commissioner, and Omolayo Akinfala, a special assistant to Aisha Buhari, the president’s wife.

Our investigators found that the High Commission, under Mr. Ogah, frequently authorized payments from revenue generated by the High Commission for medical treatment of senior political officials visiting the United Kingdom. 

The funds disbursed for such medical payments come from revenues the High Commission generates through fees for passports, visas and other consular services. The use of such funds for medical payments is an anomaly as medical bills for government officials are already provided for in the Presidency budget.

Nigerians resident in the UK are unaware that they paid Mr. Kyari’s medical bill when the president’s chief aide was treated at Wellington Hospital, St. John’s Wood, London, in December 2016. This happened at a time the government blamed its failure to issue passports to UK-resident Nigerians on a lack of funds.

A letter signed by Mr. Ogah and addressed to Professor Paul of Wellington Hospital provides a confirmation of the role of the High Commission in Mr. Kyari’s treatment. Dated December 1, 2016 and titled “Letter of Guarantee In Respect Of Alhaji Abba Kyari,” 

Mr. Ogah’s letter stated: “I write to confirm that the Nigeria High Commission, London, United Kingdom, will guarantee the payment of all medical bills of Alhaji Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Mr. Kyari’s case, however, is just a tip of a massive iceberg of seedy financial and administrative practices at the Nigerian High Commission in the UK. Our investigators discovered the equally improper case of Mr. Akinfala, a special assistant to Mrs. Buhari, whose employment contract with the Mission was recently renewed by the Acting High Commissioner. 

Curiously, Mr. Akinfala remains on the High Commission’s payroll despite being based in Nigeria and paid by the State House. He also receives financial perks whenever he visits the UK with Mrs. Buhari.

On August 3, 2016, Ibrahim Sule Dan’Agundi, the Head of Chancery (HOC), signed a letter approving Mr. Akinfala’s application for contract renewal with the High Commission. A day earlier, on August 2, an originating letter had recommended that Mr. Akinfala be considered for a one-year contract extension.

Protocol documents dated December 19, 2016, and obtained by SaharaReporters showed arrangements for the arrival of Mr. Akinfala and one other person from Lagos to London. The document revealed that the High Commission spent its financial resources on foreign travel allowances for which there are budget allocations for the Presidency covering the President, his household, and staff. 

Our inside sources in the UK, and Abuja revealed that the High Commission spends a minimum of £7,000 for hospitality on each of Mrs. Buhari’s trips to the United Kingdom. Last year alone, Mrs. Buhari visited the UK at least seven times. The finding was confirmed by a High Commission document dated July 28, 2016, and signed by Ibrahim Sule, Minister Counselor/Head of Chancery. 

“The Mission was also informed that Her Excellency and members of her entourage would be staying at the vacant house/official residence of High Commissioner. In this regard, given the above scenario, there is the need for the Mission to provide hospitality to the First Lady and members of her entourage. To this end, I wish to kindly recommend to His Excellency to consider and approve the sum of £7,000 to carry out the hospitality expenditure for the wife of the President, members of her family and entourage,” stated the latter. The request was approved the same day.

Apart from feting Mrs. Buhari and aides as well as treating officials like Mr. Kyari like royalty, the High Commission also engaged in a variety of contract scams, notably through payments to contractors for jobs not executed or those executed at grotesquely inflated costs. Documents exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters show that the sum of £14,100.80 was paid to a company, Savanna Construction Limited, for what was described as “call out report on 31 air-conditioning units in the High Commission building”. 

The curious transaction was captured in a letter dated July 19, 2016, and signed by S.U. Kpohraro, Chief Security Officer (Admin). The Head of Chancery (HOC) signed the approval, which was granted the same day.

Despite the substantial payment, our investigators discovered that there was no work executed at the building that matched the quoted job. Nigerians who work in or visit, the building, told our investigators that the high numbers of air-conditioning units do not exist and that none of the existing units were ever serviced. They spoke about the unbearable heat in the High Commission building during summer periods.

Savanna Construction Company also got the contract for the supply and erection of new scaffolding as well as the dismantling of an older one. The contract, which cost £9,600, was detailed on July 15, 2016, document signed by Mr. Kpohraror. Savanna also got paid £7,440 for another bogus job, taking care of the High Commission’s blocked toilets. Our sources revealed that similar scams were used to pay for the provision of cleaning, security and other services by dubious suppliers hired by the High Commission and top officials of the Nigerian Mission hire. 

Our sources disclosed that Mr. Dan’Agundi, Head of Chancery, has been the beneficiary of regular and unlawful cash payments from locally recruited High Commission staff, who are either due to retire or should have been retired long ago. 

Our investigators found that some of the employees in this category were employed in the 1980s. Many of them are stuck in the old, inefficient and corrupt ways of providing services, a development that is blamed for the frustration of Nigerians who require consular services.

One source pointed to the case of one Mr. Salihi, a local staff in the Education and Welfare section. The Mission fired Mr. Salihi on account of his poor communication ability and general inefficiency. Strangely, Mr. Ogah reversed the decision, re-hiring Mr. Salihi without explanation. 

“It is a depressing and horrifying experience for Nigerians who have cause to interact with the Nigerian High Commission in the UK, either when approaching the High Commission for consular services such as immigration queries (visa passport issuance/renewal, travel certificates) or other services such as trade and investments enquiries as well as tourism and general business information for Nigeria,” a Nigerian entrepreneur in London said. He added, 

“The inept staff are never interested in offering services without monetary inducement. As a matter of fact, they purposely make the official process cumbersome and frustrating so as to increase the possibility of financial and other types of inducement.”  

Some disaffected staff told SaharaReporters that the rogue employees operate with the full knowledge and approval of the acting High Commissioner Mr. Ogah, who reportedly runs his own individual racket. They accused Mr. Ogah of running the High Commission’s cash and petty cash payments like his personal Automated Teller Machine (ATM). They said Mr. Ogah uses the guise of “contingency allowance” to embezzle funds. 

Mr. Ogah is officially entitled to £3,000 monthly for domestic servants in his personal residence, £1,000 monthly for the upkeep and maintenance of his office, £200 per trip for contingency, while all his utility and medical bills, as well as living costs, are borne by the Federal Government. He also pays no rent. 

In spite of the generous perks, Mr. Ogah regularly inflates entitlements and, in many cases, fails to provide receipts or to retire most of his supposed expenditures in violation of rules. On September 2, 2016, acting Finance Attaché, R.E. Otiode, wrote a memo regarding Mr. Ogah’s regular failure to retire expenses. 

“I am directed to inform you that available records show that you are yet to retire the following advances granted you in the course of official assignments,” stated the memo, which added that retirement of expenses should not take longer than three months. In each of the said cases, Mr. Ogah took the sum of £500 as contingency allowance for trips to Manchester and Northampton on June 28 and July 15, 2016. The sums he took were more than the £200 of local contingency allowance he was entitled to.

Other top officials of the Mission were accused of practicing another strain of financial stunt by overstating invoice payments. For example, the High Commission manually generated an invoice of £10,000 for the use of a VIP suite at London’s Heathrow Airport. The amount represented six times the actual cost of £1,750 per use. 

A confirmation of the actual cost could be gleaned from a letter signed by E.A. Agom and dated July 11, 2016. The letter stated that the cancellation of the booking of a VIP suite for Mrs. Buhari’s proposed visit to London on July 10, 2016, meant that the High Commission lost £1,750 for the slot, while an additional £200 was charged as penalty for an undeclared passenger on her entourage.

Several sources also disclosed to SaharaReporters that the current leadership of the High Commission only approves the use of High Commission facilities like the Banking Hall, an event venue, for use by Nigerian organizations it deems less critical of the poor service and poor representation of the interest and welfare of Nigerians in the United Kingdom. 

This development has led to the mushrooming of dubious organizations, operating as rackets, which claim to represent Nigerians in the UK. Nigerian government officials routinely invite these dubious organizations to the High Commission during visits. The groups are silent about the poor representation and services provided by the High Commission.

A clear instance of the administrative decrepitude afflicting the High Commission could be seen in the leadership vacuum created by the acting High Commissioner, Mr. Ogah. Mr. Ogah left London for Abuja between December 12 and 22, 2016, leaving Mr. Hassan M. Hassan to run the Commission as Acting High Commissioner. 

Mr. Hassan was already scheduled to leave the Mission on December 14, 2016, to undergo ambassadorial screening and subsequent ambassadorial posting. In the end, for the duration of Mr. Ogah’s absence and with the departure of Mr. Hassan, there was no officer duly authorized to run the Mission. More bizarrely, there was no circular to the effect that Mr. Hassan had been appointed acting High Commissioner, a clear contravention of Foreign Affairs rules and regulations, which state that a mission must not be left without a properly designated head at any time.

CORRUPTION: Secret Documents Expose Massive FRAUD At Nigeria's UK High Commission, Kyari, Aisha Buhari Dirtily Enmeshed

CORRUPTION: Secret Documents Expose Massive FRAUD At Nigeria's UK High Commission, Kyari, Aisha Buhari Dirtily Enmeshed

Culled From Sahara Reporters
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Indeed, Women Belong To Kitchen And The Other Room - Obasanjo Backs Buhari

Indeed, Women Belong To Kitchen And The Other Room - Obasanjo Backs Buhari

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Mrs. Taiwo Obasanjo, ex-wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo has backed President Muhammadu Buhari on his recent statement that his wife, Aisha belongs to the kitchen and the other room.

According to her, the major duty of a woman was to take care of her husband and the family.

President Muhammadu Buhari had, recently in Germany, declared that his Aisha belonged to the kitchen and the other room in reply to his her protest that some unknown politicians had hijacked his government.


The statement triggered nationwide condemnation with many Nigerians attacking the president for relegating his wife to the kitchen.

Reacting, Mrs. Obasanjo, who is set to roll out a new political platform on which she plans to actualise her dream of “rebuilding Nigeria”, said there was nothing in Buhari’s statement.

Her words, “I think the statement attributed to President Muhammadu Buhari has been misconstrued to another thing entirely and interpreted out of context.

“But you must appreciate that a woman’s obligation, to her husband, is to look after him, cook for him, which is in the kitchen, look after the family and the household and also take care of him in the bedroom. So, Buhari was in order when he said that.


“If you are a wife of the president, your job is primarily to look after him and I’m supporting that. If you are a married woman, your basic responsibility is to take care of the man and the home,” she told Vanguard.

Asked why she didn’t not join APC despite her undying support for the president, Mrs. Obasanjo said, “I cannot join him. I’m not part of him. My mission is different. I’m all out for something that has a voice.

“Right now, people are complaining, talking negatively about him; but that is not the solution.”

Mrs. Taiwo Obasanjo, ex-wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo has backed President Muhammadu Buhari on his recent statement that his wife, Aisha belongs to the kitchen and the other room.

According to her, the major duty of a woman was to take care of her husband and the family.

President Muhammadu Buhari had, recently in Germany, declared that his Aisha belonged to the kitchen and the other room in reply to his her protest that some unknown politicians had hijacked his government.


The statement triggered nationwide condemnation with many Nigerians attacking the president for relegating his wife to the kitchen.

Reacting, Mrs. Obasanjo, who is set to roll out a new political platform on which she plans to actualise her dream of “rebuilding Nigeria”, said there was nothing in Buhari’s statement.

Her words, “I think the statement attributed to President Muhammadu Buhari has been misconstrued to another thing entirely and interpreted out of context.

“But you must appreciate that a woman’s obligation, to her husband, is to look after him, cook for him, which is in the kitchen, look after the family and the household and also take care of him in the bedroom. So, Buhari was in order when he said that.


“If you are a wife of the president, your job is primarily to look after him and I’m supporting that. If you are a married woman, your basic responsibility is to take care of the man and the home,” she told Vanguard.

Asked why she didn’t not join APC despite her undying support for the president, Mrs. Obasanjo said, “I cannot join him. I’m not part of him. My mission is different. I’m all out for something that has a voice.

“Right now, people are complaining, talking negatively about him; but that is not the solution.”

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2019: Presidency Cabals Shop For Buhari's Successor, Woos Dangote; Offers Him The President's Daughter As Bait, El-Rufai DROPPED

2019: Presidency Cabals Shop For Buhari's Successor, Woos Dangote; Offers Him The President's Daughter As Bait, El-Rufai DROPPED

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Buhari dangote el-rufai
The Authority - With President Muhammadu Buhari barely two years in of­fice, members of his kitchen cabinet, who have constituted themselves into a cabal, are al­ready looking for his successor.

Their actions are prompt­ed by growing questions over alleged governance deficits of President Buhari’s tenure.

The AUTHORITY learnt that members of the cabal run­ning Aso Rock are no longer comfortable with Buhari’s per­formance and are worried that the North could lose the Pres­idency in 2019 if nothing was urgently done.
Leading members of the ca­bal are largely from Adamawa, Borno and Katsina States.

Sources also confirmed to The AUTHORITY that the high-stake game is borne out of the deep knowledge of the Pres­ident’s health, which has fuelled speculations that Buhari may not run for a second term on health grounds.

Age is also not on his side. Born on December 17, 1942, President Buhari would be close to 77 years old by 2019.

Consequently, the North, which fought tooth and nail to re­trieve power from the South, has started looking beyond Buhari.

The AUTHORITY fur­ther gathered that Africa’s rich­est man Aliko Dangote, who like the United States President-elect, Donald Trump, lacks any prior experience in government, has been fingered by the cabal as a worthy replacement for Buha­ri, come 2019.

To give more teeth to this quirky plot, some match-mak­ing by the cabal between Dangote and Buhari’s daughter, Fatima, was fine-tuned but ran into stormy waters.

Dangote, according to sourc­es, was already warming up for the marriage and for a shot at the Presidency.

But Fatima, who, like her stepmother Aisha Buhari, has scant regard for the cabal’s ar­rowhead, “out-rightly” re­jected the choice of Dangote.

She equally rejected the per­suasive pressure of another influ­ential member of the infamous cabal.
The AUTHORITY further learned that as 2017 draws near and in connection with crowning a successor to Buhari, key politi­cal realignments are expected to start taking shape.

A serving minister in the Bu­hari administration had recently shown how fluid the situation is by reportedly sending a text mes­sage to a member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), asking about a “post-Buhari” scenario.

Today, Buhari has become very unpopular in the North due to the inability of his government to deliver governance that direct­ly impacts the people.

On the other hand, the na­ture of the appointments he has made, defined by lack of consul­tation and inclusiveness, has al­ienated many.

The wife of the president had recently in a British Broadcast­ing Corporation (BBC) Hausa Service interview lamented that most officials of the government are not known to the President and the first family, adding that they are usurpers who did noth­ing to help the All Progressives Congress (APC) struggle in 2015.

The usurpers she was refer­ring to in that controversial in­terview are the core members of the cabal that call the shots in Aso Rock, notwithstanding Buhari’s claims to the contrary.

The core four-member pres­idency cabal under reference re­portedly didn’t vote in 2015 be­cause they didn’t register to vote.
As the opposition carefully watches the unfolding develop­ment and fine-tunes its plot, the emerging poser is how the cabal hopes to pull off the audacious gamble.

This remains a subject of speculation considering that they lack political skills and are very unpopular.
The AUTHORITY recalls that in her famous interview, Ai­sha Buhari, when asked to name those who had hijacked the gov­ernment, declared: “You will know them if you watch televi­sion.”

One of the key cabal arrow­heads has to-date allegedly cor­nered more than N5 billion school furniture contracts from Kaduna, Katsina and Sokoto States.

The Kaduna State contract has however been terminat­ed over “non-performance” by Governor Nasir el-Rufai, who unilaterally awarded it to Kadu­na Furniture and Construction Company (KFCC) without due process.

The initial sum for the Ka­duna furniture contract was N1 billion.

El-Rufai has never hidden the fact that his ultimate goal is the presidency. He has consist­ently told Kaduna State people that he is a one-term governor. The bad blood between a key member of the cabal, the chair­man of KFCC and El-Rufai, is re­portedly linked to the cabal of­fering the presidency to Dangote.

Sources further revealed that it was the last gasp effort to stop the Dangote-Fatima wedding using the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Of­fences Commission (ICPC) that caused the anti-corruption agen­cy’s chairman to be suspended from office before Buhari inter­vened.

The cabal had sacked the ICPC Chairman, Ekpo Nta, without the President’s knowl­edge - because he did not play ball - over claims that his tenure had expired.

Ekpo was reportedly or­dered by the cabal to arrest Gim­ba Kumo, a former managing di­rector of the Federal Mortgage Bank.

Similar efforts with the Na­tional Security Adviser (NSA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) re­portedly failed.

But the cabal never gave up, hence the reports in the media about the arrest of Kumo.

This Article First Published By The Authority Newspaper


Buhari dangote el-rufai
The Authority - With President Muhammadu Buhari barely two years in of­fice, members of his kitchen cabinet, who have constituted themselves into a cabal, are al­ready looking for his successor.

Their actions are prompt­ed by growing questions over alleged governance deficits of President Buhari’s tenure.

The AUTHORITY learnt that members of the cabal run­ning Aso Rock are no longer comfortable with Buhari’s per­formance and are worried that the North could lose the Pres­idency in 2019 if nothing was urgently done.
Leading members of the ca­bal are largely from Adamawa, Borno and Katsina States.

Sources also confirmed to The AUTHORITY that the high-stake game is borne out of the deep knowledge of the Pres­ident’s health, which has fuelled speculations that Buhari may not run for a second term on health grounds.

Age is also not on his side. Born on December 17, 1942, President Buhari would be close to 77 years old by 2019.

Consequently, the North, which fought tooth and nail to re­trieve power from the South, has started looking beyond Buhari.

The AUTHORITY fur­ther gathered that Africa’s rich­est man Aliko Dangote, who like the United States President-elect, Donald Trump, lacks any prior experience in government, has been fingered by the cabal as a worthy replacement for Buha­ri, come 2019.

To give more teeth to this quirky plot, some match-mak­ing by the cabal between Dangote and Buhari’s daughter, Fatima, was fine-tuned but ran into stormy waters.

Dangote, according to sourc­es, was already warming up for the marriage and for a shot at the Presidency.

But Fatima, who, like her stepmother Aisha Buhari, has scant regard for the cabal’s ar­rowhead, “out-rightly” re­jected the choice of Dangote.

She equally rejected the per­suasive pressure of another influ­ential member of the infamous cabal.
The AUTHORITY further learned that as 2017 draws near and in connection with crowning a successor to Buhari, key politi­cal realignments are expected to start taking shape.

A serving minister in the Bu­hari administration had recently shown how fluid the situation is by reportedly sending a text mes­sage to a member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), asking about a “post-Buhari” scenario.

Today, Buhari has become very unpopular in the North due to the inability of his government to deliver governance that direct­ly impacts the people.

On the other hand, the na­ture of the appointments he has made, defined by lack of consul­tation and inclusiveness, has al­ienated many.

The wife of the president had recently in a British Broadcast­ing Corporation (BBC) Hausa Service interview lamented that most officials of the government are not known to the President and the first family, adding that they are usurpers who did noth­ing to help the All Progressives Congress (APC) struggle in 2015.

The usurpers she was refer­ring to in that controversial in­terview are the core members of the cabal that call the shots in Aso Rock, notwithstanding Buhari’s claims to the contrary.

The core four-member pres­idency cabal under reference re­portedly didn’t vote in 2015 be­cause they didn’t register to vote.
As the opposition carefully watches the unfolding develop­ment and fine-tunes its plot, the emerging poser is how the cabal hopes to pull off the audacious gamble.

This remains a subject of speculation considering that they lack political skills and are very unpopular.
The AUTHORITY recalls that in her famous interview, Ai­sha Buhari, when asked to name those who had hijacked the gov­ernment, declared: “You will know them if you watch televi­sion.”

One of the key cabal arrow­heads has to-date allegedly cor­nered more than N5 billion school furniture contracts from Kaduna, Katsina and Sokoto States.

The Kaduna State contract has however been terminat­ed over “non-performance” by Governor Nasir el-Rufai, who unilaterally awarded it to Kadu­na Furniture and Construction Company (KFCC) without due process.

The initial sum for the Ka­duna furniture contract was N1 billion.

El-Rufai has never hidden the fact that his ultimate goal is the presidency. He has consist­ently told Kaduna State people that he is a one-term governor. The bad blood between a key member of the cabal, the chair­man of KFCC and El-Rufai, is re­portedly linked to the cabal of­fering the presidency to Dangote.

Sources further revealed that it was the last gasp effort to stop the Dangote-Fatima wedding using the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Of­fences Commission (ICPC) that caused the anti-corruption agen­cy’s chairman to be suspended from office before Buhari inter­vened.

The cabal had sacked the ICPC Chairman, Ekpo Nta, without the President’s knowl­edge - because he did not play ball - over claims that his tenure had expired.

Ekpo was reportedly or­dered by the cabal to arrest Gim­ba Kumo, a former managing di­rector of the Federal Mortgage Bank.

Similar efforts with the Na­tional Security Adviser (NSA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) re­portedly failed.

But the cabal never gave up, hence the reports in the media about the arrest of Kumo.

This Article First Published By The Authority Newspaper


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How Mamman Daura became ‘Nigeria’s most powerful nephew’

How Mamman Daura became ‘Nigeria’s most powerful nephew’

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How Mamman Daura became ‘Nigeria’s most powerful nephew’
TheCable - Mamman Daura is today described as the “most powerful nephew” in Nigeria by virtue of his closeness to President Muhammadu Buhari.

At the centre of the recent complaints by Aisha, Buhari’s wife, is that those who did not participate in the campaign were the ones calling the shots in her husband’s government

TheCable understands that Duara is one of those she was referring to, having already complained privately about him.


However, what has often not been reported is how Daura came to wield so much influence on Buhari.

He is the son of Buhari’s elder brother, but since Daura is three years older, the president is “awkwardly” his uncle.

Daura, often described by associates as “extremely intelligent and brilliant”, was a journalist and an industrialist, serving as head of the African International Bank and also chairman of the board of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

He was editor of New Nigerian in the 1970s.

In the book, Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria, John Paden, an American professor, offers a historical insight into the significant role Daura played in the formative years of his “uncle”.

SETTLE DOWN

According to Paden, it was Daura, along with Waziri al-Hassan (Buhari’s foster father), that encouraged Buhari, a reluctant student in his early years, “to settle down and take his studies seriously”.

It was also Daura that “strongly encouraged” Buhari to join the military in 1961.

Daura, Paden wrote, would become a “life-long inspiration and confidant to Buhari” who guided him all through his formative years.

Buhari would go on to become military head of state in the final years of his career.

So while Aisha might have been married to Buhari for 27 years, Daura had known her husband for 73 years.

Paden revealed that “after the death of his mother in December 1988, Buhari was released and traveled to Daura for the mourning. When he arrived in Daura, he found his farm much as he had left it. His senior brother (the father of Mamman Daura), along with the Barden Daura, had managed the cattle, sheep, and horses in his absence”.


The George Mason University professor  wrote: “When Buhari’s father died, Waziri al-Hasan – the son of Emir Musa ­ became the guardian of Zulaihat (Buhari’s mother) and her six children, including her youngest,  Muhammadu. This played  a  major  role in the upbringing of Buhari.

“This extensive kinship network also affected the future of Buhari in another important way. His senior brother was the father of Mamman Daura, who was three years older than Buhari, although technically his nephew. Mamman would become a life-long inspiration and confidant to Buhari. He was especially critical in encouraging Buhari to pursue lifelong education.

“Like many boys at that time and place, Buhari went to Quranic school before going to primary school. He was not enthusiastic about these studies. Early each morning, he would get up and have to fetch firewood for his teacher for the evening Qur’anic readings. There were also several hours of Qur’anic lessons in the morning, at a time when Buhari would rather be outside playing.

“In part because of his love of the outdoors, Buhari was a reluctant student in his early years. He would often skip school altogether, although this always resulted in beatings with a cane by the schoolmaster. Only with the encouragement of Waziri al-Hasan and Mamman Daura did he eventually settle down and take his studies  seriously.”

NIGHTMARE VENTURES

Young northern boys were being encouraged to join the army in the years around Nigeria’s independence, and Buhari was encouraged by his uncle to consider a military carrier.

“Meanwhile, the Emir of Katsina, whose emirate adjoined Daura  Emirate, was encouraging bright  young men to go into the military and train to become officers.  His own son, Hassan Katsina, had  become a military officer,” Paden wrote.

“When Buhari was considering his options in 1960, Hassan Katsina would often take the secondary school boys out for night hikes and to sleep under the stars. Buhari enjoyed the great sense of adventure of these nighttime ventures into nature.

“In addition to considering the military because of the example set by Hassan Katsina, Buhari recognized that officer training provided  a pathway to further education. Yet  another impetus was provided  by Mamman Daura, who strongly encouraged his “younger uncle” to consider officer training and higher education.

“Buhari, who was now nineteen years old, had to take several exams even to be considered for officer training. He was able to pass English, mathematics, and general knowledge, plus he met the physical requirements. Still, the competition was nationwide, and only about seventy boys would be selected for officer candidate school. Of these, only half would be commissioned.

“The competition was thus stiff, but Buhari was among those selected. One of the key qualities needed in the military was “leadership.” Buhari would prove himself time and again to possess that rare gift.”

How Mamman Daura became ‘Nigeria’s most powerful nephew’
TheCable - Mamman Daura is today described as the “most powerful nephew” in Nigeria by virtue of his closeness to President Muhammadu Buhari.

At the centre of the recent complaints by Aisha, Buhari’s wife, is that those who did not participate in the campaign were the ones calling the shots in her husband’s government

TheCable understands that Duara is one of those she was referring to, having already complained privately about him.


However, what has often not been reported is how Daura came to wield so much influence on Buhari.

He is the son of Buhari’s elder brother, but since Daura is three years older, the president is “awkwardly” his uncle.

Daura, often described by associates as “extremely intelligent and brilliant”, was a journalist and an industrialist, serving as head of the African International Bank and also chairman of the board of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

He was editor of New Nigerian in the 1970s.

In the book, Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria, John Paden, an American professor, offers a historical insight into the significant role Daura played in the formative years of his “uncle”.

SETTLE DOWN

According to Paden, it was Daura, along with Waziri al-Hassan (Buhari’s foster father), that encouraged Buhari, a reluctant student in his early years, “to settle down and take his studies seriously”.

It was also Daura that “strongly encouraged” Buhari to join the military in 1961.

Daura, Paden wrote, would become a “life-long inspiration and confidant to Buhari” who guided him all through his formative years.

Buhari would go on to become military head of state in the final years of his career.

So while Aisha might have been married to Buhari for 27 years, Daura had known her husband for 73 years.

Paden revealed that “after the death of his mother in December 1988, Buhari was released and traveled to Daura for the mourning. When he arrived in Daura, he found his farm much as he had left it. His senior brother (the father of Mamman Daura), along with the Barden Daura, had managed the cattle, sheep, and horses in his absence”.


The George Mason University professor  wrote: “When Buhari’s father died, Waziri al-Hasan – the son of Emir Musa ­ became the guardian of Zulaihat (Buhari’s mother) and her six children, including her youngest,  Muhammadu. This played  a  major  role in the upbringing of Buhari.

“This extensive kinship network also affected the future of Buhari in another important way. His senior brother was the father of Mamman Daura, who was three years older than Buhari, although technically his nephew. Mamman would become a life-long inspiration and confidant to Buhari. He was especially critical in encouraging Buhari to pursue lifelong education.

“Like many boys at that time and place, Buhari went to Quranic school before going to primary school. He was not enthusiastic about these studies. Early each morning, he would get up and have to fetch firewood for his teacher for the evening Qur’anic readings. There were also several hours of Qur’anic lessons in the morning, at a time when Buhari would rather be outside playing.

“In part because of his love of the outdoors, Buhari was a reluctant student in his early years. He would often skip school altogether, although this always resulted in beatings with a cane by the schoolmaster. Only with the encouragement of Waziri al-Hasan and Mamman Daura did he eventually settle down and take his studies  seriously.”

NIGHTMARE VENTURES

Young northern boys were being encouraged to join the army in the years around Nigeria’s independence, and Buhari was encouraged by his uncle to consider a military carrier.

“Meanwhile, the Emir of Katsina, whose emirate adjoined Daura  Emirate, was encouraging bright  young men to go into the military and train to become officers.  His own son, Hassan Katsina, had  become a military officer,” Paden wrote.

“When Buhari was considering his options in 1960, Hassan Katsina would often take the secondary school boys out for night hikes and to sleep under the stars. Buhari enjoyed the great sense of adventure of these nighttime ventures into nature.

“In addition to considering the military because of the example set by Hassan Katsina, Buhari recognized that officer training provided  a pathway to further education. Yet  another impetus was provided  by Mamman Daura, who strongly encouraged his “younger uncle” to consider officer training and higher education.

“Buhari, who was now nineteen years old, had to take several exams even to be considered for officer training. He was able to pass English, mathematics, and general knowledge, plus he met the physical requirements. Still, the competition was nationwide, and only about seventy boys would be selected for officer candidate school. Of these, only half would be commissioned.

“The competition was thus stiff, but Buhari was among those selected. One of the key qualities needed in the military was “leadership.” Buhari would prove himself time and again to possess that rare gift.”

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