Barely two weeks before the end of President
Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure, aides and heads of
agencies in his administration, have intensified
lobbying to ensure that they retain their jobs.
This is just as some of his close friends have
also been fraternising with those in the inner
circles of the President-elect, Gen
Muhammadu Buhari to be appointed when he
takes up the reins.
LEADERSHIP Sunday’s investigations confirm
Jonathan’s lamentation recently that he had
been deserted by his friends since he lost his
second term bid in the March 28 presidential
election. Jonathan had at a thanksgiving and
farewell service in his honour at the Cathedral
Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Gwarinpa,
Abuja, said his decision to concede defeat at
the election did not go down well with some of
his ministers and aides but added that he
expected more of his friends to leave him and
that he was ready to pay the price for his
refusal to interfere with the electoral process.
Top among the lobbyists are people from the
president’s region, the Niger-Delta, many of
whom investigations revealed, have been on a
spending spree, dishing out millions to those
who have assured them that a case would be
made for them to retain their jobs.
A source familiar with the development told
LEADERSHIP Sunday that senior management
of the board of the Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC), some of who heavily
funded the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
campaigns in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states
where they hail from, are among those who
have been working assiduously to ensure that
they retain their positions, as well as the
special adviser to president Jonathan on Niger-
Delta, Kingsley Kuku.
Spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress
(APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, while reacting to
the development in a telephone chat
yesterday, said though he was not aware of the
development, it would amount to nought.
He said those engaged in such covert moves
were only wasting their time and money as
their lobbying would be of no import when the
party would consider those to be appointed
into various positions.
Head of corporate affairs of the NDDC, Ibitoye
Abosade, however declined comment when he
was contacted by our correspondent on the
involvement of the NDDC top echelon in the
lobbying attempts.
According to him, “this is weekend; it is private
to me and during weekends, I don’t comment
on official matters. Please, call me on Monday.”
Jonathan appointed the NDDC executive in
2013 December for a tenure of four years but
the president has the power to terminate the
management/board.
LEADERSHIP Sunday’s source said for two
weeks, three senior management staff of the
NDDC, the managing-director, Barr Bassey
Dan-Abia, Executive Director, finance and
administration, Dr Henry Ogiri and executive
director, projects, Engr Omatsuli Tuoyo, had
been camped at a popular five star hotel in
Maitama, Abuja, from where they were
spending heavily to lobby top APC leaders in
order for them to serve out their tenure.
The trio it was gathered had reached out to a
young but high ranking official of the APC who
is also from the Niger-Delta region, who was
serving as the link between them and the party
hierarchy and huge sums of money, had so far
been spent on the lobbying spree.
The source however said a governor of one of
the states in the region was vehemently
opposed to the NDDC management team
remaining in office after Buhari takes over,
following the role one of them played in the
Rivers governorship election, especially being a
key figure behind the Rivers governor-elect,
Nyesom Wike.
For Kuku, our source said his pre-occupation
has been to remain as chairman of the
Amnesty Programme, even though he had
denied earlier allegations that he supported
the APC presidential campaign financially.
Kuku who is a close ally of President Jonathan
and who reportedly facilitated a meeting of ex-
militants in Bayelsa state where they resolved
to go to war if Jonathan was not re-elected as
president, is now relying on his renewed links
with the former governor of Bayelsa state,
Chief Timipre Sylva and former secretary to
the government of the federation, Alhaji
Yayale Ahmed to reach out to the president-
elect in order to retain his job.
Before the elections, Kuku while speaking as
guest speaker at the annual lecture of the
Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ondo State
chapter, challenged Buhari not to evade
debates as he had done in previous elections
and that Buhari’s claims of the knowledge of
how to fix the economy were not based on any
realistic idea but on wishful thinking.
Shortly after the election, following allegations,
Kuku in an interview with reporters denied
contributing funds to the APC presidential
campaign and challenged those circulating the
falsehood to show proof that he contributed
money to the APC, adding that that he could
not have given money to APC considering how
deeply involved he was with his party, the PDP
“and our dear leader, President Goodluck
Jonathan, during all elections.”
Similarly, after the presidential election,
following calls on some Nigerians and groups
on the president-elect, to scrap the amnesty
programme, Kuku had said he would rather
resign as head of the programme and leave
with Jonathan than work with Buhari.
Head of Media and Communication in the
Presidential Amnesty Office, Dan Alabrah, had
in a statement at the time, quoted Kuku as
saying that he would be returning to his village
in Ondo rather than serving under the new
government.
“The chairman wishes to disappoint the plotters
as he is not interested in continuing in that
office, more so as his boss, President Jonathan,
is leaving office on May 29, 2015. As the
President is returning to Otuoke in Bayelsa
State, Kuku is also going back to Arogbo, his
Ijaw community in Ondo State,” the statement
read in part.
He was later to recant in another statement by
Alabrah, saying his earlier statement does not
translate to him rejecting a call to national
service under a new administration as being
insinuated, saying he was ready to work with
Buhari and to serve the country in whatever
capacity he is deemed fit whenever he is called
upon.
He recanted his earlier position the same day a
Niger-Delta group, The Buckingham Palace of
which he is grand patron, called on the
president-elect to retain him (Kuku) as the
Amnesty boss but this always been countered
by other Niger-Delta youth leaders, especially
Chiefs Ayiri Emami and Michael Johnny.
A villa source said Jonathan was aware of the
clandestine move by his once trusted ally.
“The unfortunate thing about politics is that the
man you trusted so much is the most
untruthful; can you imagine that Kuku of all
people is the man lobbying to remain as
Amnesty chairman after all the atrocities in
that programme; after how he threatened us
with all kinds of things that the ex-militants
would go to war if Jonathan lost.
“I can tell you today that the man is one of the
men whose lobby has attracted attention in the
APC; he has reached out to so many leaders,
saying all sorts of things that without him, the
peace in the Niger-Delta would relapse and
crisis will come again.
“we know how he has generated series of
controversies around himself just to attract
attention and pity from among us but we know
his antics; such persons are dangerous and
should be dealt with in a most careful and
discreet manner; no one can trust him, there
are other eminently qualified Niger Delta
youths who understand the APC’s ideology that
can run the Amnesty programme, not Kuku
again.
“For the NDDC trio, it is no longer news as we
are all watching because the money being
thrown around by these men cannot sway those
with good conscience; they know they cannot
even reach the president-elect to tell him
these but people are just getting their money,
deceiving them that they are lobbying APC
leaders on their behalf.
“Is it not ridiculous that for almost two weeks,
the three NDDC directors have not gone to
Port Harcourt? They are spending the people’s
money to lobby their retention in office but
they will be exposed,” the source said.

Source:leadership.ng/news/433758/jonathans-associates-lobby-to-retain-jobs

No wahala, all gej aides can also move to otueke to keep their job........but seriously the likes of doyiN okupe, ruben abati and co were very professioanl with their job....if you listen to them defending Gej you will sometimes think gej is truely second to jesus, but na big lie those men they lie

The audacity!

ki02020:
No wahala, all gej aides can also move to otueke to keep their job........but seriously the likes of doyiN okupe, ruben abati and co were very professioanl with their job....if you listen to them defending Gej you will sometimes think gej is truely second to jesus, but na big lie those men they lie

I disagree, they were absolutely terrible and made Jonathan look even more incompetent. Bomb goes off - Doyin Okupe speaks, Economic crash - Doyin Okupe speaks, Girls kidnapped - Doyin Okupe speaks, International Diplomacy - Doyin Okupe speaks on Aljazeera and BBC HardTalk and CNN. At a point one begins to wonder, where is the friggin president and doesn't he have mouth himself to express his views? We knew more about Mr Presidents thoughts from Doyin Okupe than the president himself. You didn't hear Mr President felt bad about the kidnapping, but you heard that Doyin Okupe said Mr President feels bad about the kidnapping. They were very crude, bullish, arrogant and utterly utterly off putting and unlikeable. They did more harm than good. I was certainly not taken by their forced attempts at intelligence and charm.

Can't just wait for May 29th... This clueless man have overstayed his welcome since a long time ago

They don't need to lobby. They should take the honourable way and fall with their clueless master. Gawd! Our politicians are just too damn corrupt and shameless

Lar and Doyin seems to be same, just different side of a coin, they both say junks and people choose which one to concur with and which one to condemn

Bunch of thievies

There are so many people Buhari needs to send to jail else Nigeria will never progress.

Retain gini? After they have destroy all things good.

SkyBlue1:
The audacity!

Seriously!! Sometimes you wonder if these men are truly alright upstairs.

The day a man stops dreaming, he starts dying... No harm in dreaming, the dawn of the day will bring back reality.

without politics some of this politician would have been road side mechanics. That's why they can sell their soul to enter.

femmy2010:
Retain gini? After they have destroy all things good.

No mind dem jare. Fellows that should be cooling off their heels in our prisons.

Buhari definitely has a lot of corrections to make in this country.