THE mystery and drama surrounding
President Yar'Adua's return may soon be
unravelled as all agencies and persons
involved now face an inquest.
Even as the political turf gets messier
daily and rumour mills get busier by the
day, indications emerged yesterday that
even the Intelligence and Security
Community has been nursing a bruising
wound for the supposed misjudgment of
their officers who are generally believed
to be running a ring around ailing
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.
Indeed, the Chief Security Officer to the
President, Yusuf Mohammed Tilde,
Yar'Adua's aide-de-camp, Mustapha
Onoyveta and another security of staff
officer (SO) are reportedly in trouble. Both
Tilde and Onoyveta had become
particularly influential within the period
of Yar'Adua's incommunicado status. As
The Guardian exclusively reported then,
both men were part of a few who saw
the ailing Yar'Adua regularly even in
Saudi Arabia and their words were
accepted as the President's. The CSO, ADC,
and a Staff/Security Officer to the Acting
President, Gordon Ogbua, who is a part of
the security outfit and mission to the
Presidency, were recently summoned by
their boss, the Director-General of the
State Security Service (SSS) for
questioning.
The Guardian confirmed from the
Presidency last night that the two officers
from the State Security Service (SSS) were
last Monday summoned by the Director-
General of the SSS, Afakriya A. Gadzama
and were tongue-lashed for the way
"their unilateral action has heated up the
polity." The army is also dealing with the
aide-de-camp, a Colonel.
Besides, it was learnt that the action of
the SSS chief executive became necessary
because it was revealed yesterday that
neither the DG, SSS, nor the National
Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Sarki
Mukhtar, was told when the two officers
allegedly worked in concert with their
colleagues in the army's Brigade of
Guards and the aide-de-camp to the
President, Col. Mustapha Onoyveta, to
'take the President to Saudi Arabia on
November 23.' And, according to sources,
"when they smuggled him back on
February 23, none of the agency heads
was hinted of the President's arrival."
Indeed, Sarki, the National Security
Adviser, was reportedly in Kano when the
President was brought in by these
President's men and was as taken aback
as anybody else was by the dramatic
return.
Not a few people, even in the Security
Community, however scoff at this idea.
Their thought: Tilde and others may be
mere sacrificial lambs in a high-wire
politics that surpasses them. "How could
the Chief of Army Staff, National Security
Adviser and the DG, SSS claim ignorance
of the explosive action", a source asked
last night. "If they were truly uninformed
either officially or professionally of
Yar'Adua's return, then they are not fit to
guard a house on any Nigerian street let
alone secure a nation."
Meanwhile, more facts are emerging on
how forces were arrayed against Acting
President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, which
foreclosed any move to force the
resignation of President Umaru Musa
Yar'Adua, his impeachment or any
investigation of his capability to continue
to be President.
The forces range from the governors
who acted in enlightened self-interest of
protecting their turf and the Northern
leaders who were alarmed at the
prospect of a Jonathan presidency.
First, the North was "woken up" by the
alleged campaign by prominent Ijaw
leader, Chief Edwin Clark, for Dr. Jonathan
to transmute to full President. Sources
also said that some serving and retired
generals of the Nigerian Army from the
North had by early this week started
circulating text messages alleged to have
originated from a former Chief of
Defence Staff from the Niger Delta
campaigning for support for the Acting
President. The third worry for some
sections of the North was the interview
granted by the Minister of Information
and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili
last Sunday which was interpreted as
campaigning for the impeachment of
President Yar'Adua and the enthronement
of Jonathan.
In addition, some colleagues of Akunyili's
in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) felt
that she was using the platform of her
office to burnish her credentials as "a
radical reformer" while projecting others
as cowards or she as the only one
capable of taking a stand. Most of them
resolved to distance themselves from her
position. "She can't be running a
campaign using the podium of
spokeswoman of the government. This
was going too far", one of them said
after yesterday's Council session.
But the governors, who met under the
Governors' Forum, decisively dealt a blow
to the radical move when they resolved,
as the Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre
Sylva said at the end of last Tuesday
night's meeting with Jonathan that "the
President remains the President while the
Acting President remains the Acting
President."
A source said: "At the meeting of the
governors last Tuesday, the first to speak
for maintaining of the status quo -
keeping Yar'Adua as President and Dr
Jonathan as Acting President for as long
as possible - was the governor of his
home State of Bayelsa, Chief Sylva.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State
also spoke in the same vein. And the
Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi
followed, contending that since President
Yar'Adua has not committed any offence
apart from being ill, he should be left
alone until whenever he is in a position to
re-take power."
But most of the governors were allegedly
"shocked" by last Monday's constitution
of three presidential panels without their
input or knowledge. Last Monday, the
Acting President announced new panels -
the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC),
Federal Projects Assessment Committee
and approved the reconstitution of the
Presidential Monitoring Committee on the
Niger Delta Development Commission
(NDDC). They reportedly felt the Acting
President would sideline them in deciding
who gets what at the federal level.
Most of the governors then aligned
themselves with some elements from the
Northern part of the country who are
alleging insensitivity on the part of the
Acting President's handlers in appointing
a Christian from the North - Lt.- Gen.
Theophilus Danjuma (rtd) - as chairman of
the Presidential Advisory Council and
another Christian from the South - Prof.
Ben Nwabueze - as Deputy Chairman.
According to a source, "unknown to
supporters of the Acting President, by the
time the Governors converged in Abuja,
they had come with a common agenda -
slow down Dr. Jonathan's ascendancy.
And they used the platform of their
meeting to launch an attack on Dora
Akunyili and Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Chief Ojo Maduekwe, whom they accused
of disloyalty and leading a campaign for
Jonathan and against President Yar'Adua.
In fact, some ministers termed loyalists of
President Yar'Adua who were jittery up
till last Tuesday night were seen
yesterday talking and laughing. One of
them had arrived and stood for over 45
minutes at the entrance to the Aguda
House venue of the governors' meeting
with the Acting President, making calls,
looking tired and trying to get an idea of
the outcome of the meeting. The Minister
of Works and Housing, Dr. Hassan Lawal
left after some time, without the crowd
that usually accompany him. After the
Council meeting, he accompanied other
ministers to the media briefing room,
something he had not done this year.
In the meantime, Jonathan is said to be
set to strengthen Nigeria's Economic
Team with the inclusion of notable
economic experts on the team.
A source told The Guardian last night that
among those slated to be added to
galvanise the present economic
management team are renowned public
commentator, Pat Utomi, Alhaji Isa Jubril
(formerly of Afribank) and the current
Lagos State Commissioner for Budget and
Economic Planning, Mr. Ben Nwabueze.
The source noted that "one of the many
strategies to be undertaken by the
administration is to bring hope and
succour to the Nigerian people who in the
past three years are disillusioned."
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article01//indexn2_html?pdate=040310&ptitle=CSO,%20ADC,%20others%20face%20inquest%20over%20Yar'Adua's%20return

the end game is near