More facts have emerged on how the pact between President Bola Tinubu and a former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, for the latter to become a minister in the yet-to-be-formed Federal Executive Council crumbled.

Saturday PUNCH investigation revealed that El-Rufai had been promised to man the proposed Ministry of Power and Gas based on his numerous discussions with the President on how the country would have uninterrupted power supply in a few years.

Findings by one of our correspondents showed that the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory had told Tinubu during the presidential campaign that he would prefer to travel out of the country to live a quiet life, but he changed his mind after what a source described as “intensive discussions with the President after winning the election.”

It was gathered that El-Rufai told the President that the ministry of power should be made to include gas after telling the President that gas was a must-have product if the country was to have regular power supply.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the secret meetings, added that El-Rufai had started assembling egg-heads who had been briefing the President on how to achieve his major electioneering promise of providing uninterrupted power supply.

Members of the group of egg-heads, findings revealed, included Jimi Lawal; the Special Adviser to the President on Energy Matters, Olu Verheijen; Eyo Ekpo and Tolu Oyekan, among others.

The El-Rufai group believed that a combination of factors might have made the President to dilly-dally on his confirmation.

A source close to the group, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “Certain elements in the Villa might have felt threatened by El-Rufai. They don’t want him because they are already planning for the next election as the case may be and they see him as a potential threat to their aspirations.

“Some political foes like Senator Shehu Sani and some elements in the Christian Association of Nigeria and even some Muslim clerics are all part of the gang-up.

“Recall that during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, El-Rufai had issues with federal lawmakers when he alleged that some of them were demanding bribes from him. Obasanjo intervened and the matter was resolved and the Senate cleared him. So, if President Tinubu wanted El-Rufai, he would have insisted that the former governor be cleared.”

A source had earlier told our correspondent, “El-Rufai had met with the President on many occasions concerning how to build the new ministry. The President was told by El-Rufai that the Ministry of Power should also have gas added to it and President Tinubu agreed to that.

“He also asked that the National Energy Council be established to discuss and take positions on issues affecting power. The proposed energy council is to comprise ministers in charge of finance, environment, energy, justice and the office of the National Security Adviser.

“I think the President bought the ideas and had been listening to the former minister, who had also been visiting Aso Rock to brief the commander-in-chief on his findings and how to make progress.

“The President was assured that uninterrupted or partial interruption of power is possible in the next five to seven years.”

However, it was gathered that the bond between the President and El-Rufai based on the position taken by the former governor of Kaduna State during the crisis preceding the conduct of the All Progressives Congress presidential primary was what initially made Tinubu overlook the security report against the former minister.

Apart from this, it was also learnt that some influential members of the Tinubu kitchen cabinet were of the opinion that El-Rufai should not be allowed to wield enormous power in the government, alleging that it would be difficult to completely trust him. “So, his enemies won when the second security report on him was sent to the offices of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), President of the Senate and the National Security Adviser detailing the numerous reasons why El-Rufai should not be cleared for a ministerial position,” the source added.

In a covering letter signed by one Aminu Yusuf on behalf of the Director-General, Department of State Services, dated August 4, 2023, with reference number SV.8/1430 titled, ‘Re: Security Vetting’ and addressed to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), which was exclusively obtained by Saturday PUNCH, the secret police wrote, “Further to this Service letter S.V.8/1426 dated 1st of August, 2023, giving provisional security clearance to three (3) ministerial nominees, including Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, pending conclusion of vetting. (Appendix ‘A’ instructive).

“This Service wishes to state that further vetting and background checks conducted revealed some underlined issues which have negatively affected the nominee and as such, it is recommended that El-Rufai’s clearance by the Senate of the National Assembly be stepped down until the issues are cleared as investigation continues.

“Summary of the issues under investigation are (sic) attached as Appendix ‘B’ for ease of reference.

“Accept the assurances and esteemed regards of the DGSS please.”

However, Saturday PUNCH could not obtain the appendixes ‘A’ and ‘B’ attached to the letter detailing the issues for which El-Rufai’s clearance was put on hold.

Unconfirmed reports had emerged on Friday that the former Kaduna State governor had informed the President that he was no longer interested in being a minister following the request by the DSS that his clearance by the Senate should be put on hold pending further investigation.

El-Rufai was said to have informed Tinubu of his withdrawal on Tuesday when he and a former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, visited the President at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He was said to have informed Tinubu that he needed time to focus on his doctorate programme at a university in The Netherlands and reportedly suggested that Jafaru Ibrahim Sani, who served as a commissioner under El-Rufai in Kaduna State, be appointed as a minister in his place.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that El-Rufai travelled out of the country after the meeting with the President, but his destination could not be confirmed.

Four worshippers have reportedly died after a section of the Zaria central mosque in Kaduna state collapsed on Friday.

Seven other people were also said to have sustained injuries in the accident.

The incident occurred when the worshippers were observing prayers around 4 pm.

Ahmed Bamalli, Emir of Zazzau, confirmed the incident.

The emir said the walls of the mosque had developed cracks, noting that there were plans to repair them before the incident.

“We had earlier observed a crack on the wall of the mosque yesterday, and were planning to deploy a team of civil engineers to effect repairs when this unfortunate incident happened,” he said.

Bamali directed that prayers be held outside the mosque until the repairs are done.

He also instructed that the funeral prayer for the four victims be observed at 8.30 pm at the emir’s palace.

Shehu Nagari, a survivor, who narrowly escaped from being trapped said the worshippers were in the second “sujud of Asr prayer” when a portion of the mosque collapsed.

Nagari said the building collapsed on those seated directly at the section, killing the four victims.

He added that the collapsed section of the mosque, which was built with mud, had existed for over 150 years

Airtel Africa Plc’s Chief Executive Officer, Olusegun Ogunsanya, has offloaded shares worth £757 440 an equivalent of N720.59m to buy property in the UK.

The number of shares sold by the Nigeria is 666,174 .760 units at the London Stock Exchange on August 4, 2023.

A regulatory filing dated August 11 and seen by THE WHISTLER reveals that the CEO’s shares in Airtel has reduced to 4,325,282 Ordinary Shares.

Airtel said, “This sale of Ordinary Shares is to be used to fund a property purchase by Mr Ogunsanya. Following this transaction Mr Ogunsanya holds 4,325,282 Ordinary Shares in Airtel Africa.”

Ogunsanya who was appointed as CEO of the company sold the share at £1.137 per unit at the London bourse.

Before joining Airtel in 2013, Segun held top roles at Coca-Cola’s bottling operations in Ghana, Kenya and the CEO in Nigeria.

The Airtel CEO was also a managing director of Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd (Coca-Cola Hellenic owned) and head of retail banking operations at Ecobank Transnational Inc, covering 28 countries in Africa.

He is a chartered accountant and an engineer.

… FDI Drops Drastically To $399.9m In 2022

The cost of operating in the Nigerian economy took a toll on telecommunication operators as they spent more than half of their N3.85trn revenue on operating costs.

The players in the industry spent N2.1trn on operating costs according to the 2022 end-of-year performance report released by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

This operating cost represent a surge from the N1.72trn they spent in 2021. Their revenue in 2021 was N3.24trn.

The report seen by THE WHISTLER showed that the players in the telecommunication industry spent N785.7bn on capital expenditure.

The big names in the Nigeria telecommunication industry are MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Airtel Africa Plc, Globacom Ltd, EMTS (formerly Etisalat), NTEL and Smile.

The report categorised the licenses by GSM, Fixed Wire, Internet Service Providers, Value Added Services, Collocation and Infrastructure Sharing, and other telecom operators.

During the period telecom operators generated N3.33trn revenue from GSM revenue services and spent N1.99trn of the earnings on operation cost. CAPEX for GSM services was N718.3m.

Revenue generated from fixed wire services was N385.1m while telecom service providers spent N841.7m on operating cost for the service. They spent N61.3m on capital expenditure.

Internet Service Providers generated N92.1bn and spent N71.2bn of the revenue on operating cost.

Operators providing Value Added Services earned N40.7bn revenue. They however spent N14.9bn on operating cost. Their CAPEX was N417.3m.

The total revenue generated from collocation and infrastructure Sharing by all the service providers was N3.2bn while N3.18bn was operating cost incurred in the course of providing the service.

Operators in the industry categorized as others generated N5.85bn revenue and spent N6bn. They also spent N524m on capital expenditure.

The report revealed that in 2022, Foreign Direct Investment dropped to $399.9m from $753m FDI recorded in 2021.

The NCC said, “Capital Inflow (Foreign Direct Investment) into the Nigerian Telecoms Industry in Year 2022 was approximately $399,905,531.38 against ,$753,044,446.35.

 Oluwatobi Seton, 28, of Bloomington, Indiana, has been sentenced to nearly 5.5 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to court documents, Seton conspired with partners in Nigeria to obtain unemployment and other benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic from state and federal governments by falsely applying for such benefits using the stolen identities of others.  Seton and her co-conspirators obtained personal identifiable information of their victims, which they used to open GoBank accounts and obtain debit cards. The conspirators then submitted false and fraudulent employment applications to unemployment agencies throughout the United States in the victims’ names and had the stolen benefits monies deposited into their fraudulent GoBank accounts and onto debit cards. Seton then used fake driver’s licenses in the victims’ names to access the proceeds of the fraud scheme. At the time of her arrest, Seton had over 1,400 GoBank cards and ten driver’s licenses with different names in her possession.

In total, the conspiracy resulted in at least $5,475,459.00 in actual and attempted losses to state unemployment offices and other state and federal agencies: Seton kept a portion of the proceeds for herself and sent the remainder to her conspirators, including her business partners in Nigeria. Investigators seized over $550,000 in cash and GoBank accounts linked to the scheme during the investigation.

“This international criminal enterprise conspired to steal millions of dollars meant to help our citizens as we fought through the unprecedented pandemic,” said United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers. “Fraudsters like this defendant who sought to exploit the urgent need to provide pandemic relief must be held accountable. I commend the work of our partners at the FBI, Bloomington Police Department, and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, along with our federal prosecutors, to identify criminals like this defendant and ensure that they pay the price for their crimes.”

“Profiting from programs meant to help those in need is a despicable and unacceptable crime in and of itself. But this defendant took it a step further and stole identities to perpetrate this fraud and caused those victims immeasurable time in an effort to clear their names,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “The FBI and our local law enforcement partners will continue to identify and aggressively pursue those who commit fraud and ensure they are held accountable for their actions.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bloomington Police Department, and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge, Tanya Walton Pratt. Judge Pratt also ordered that Seton be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 1 year following her release from federal prison and pay restitution in the amount of $4,309,027.00.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney MaryAnn T. Mindrum, who prosecuted this case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID‑19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID‑19  can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form

[https://www.justice.gov/]

A seeming innocuous incident, but of utmost importance, happened on the day, the Niger Republic military adventurists announced the closure of the country’s airspace in a show of force or to rebuff the condemnation that trailed their coup. A British Airways Airbus A380 from Johannesburg to London Heathrow was reported to have gone on a 10-hour “flight to nowhere”, when Niger’s airspace was suddenly closed after the plane had taken off. And because airspace of Sudan and Libya is already closed, coupists’ action means 2,600 miles of Africa’s airspace from Western Niger to the Red Sea is blocked to flights. Other flights from Cape Town and Nairobi were similarly diverted or returned to base. The lives of about 500 people on each of these flights were severely risked because of the ambitions of power mongers in Niger.

Such is the fallout of Niger’s avoidable coup that if not swiftly nipped in the bud, could have domino effects including deaths and arms flow to further bolster regional instability. On the other hand, civilian uprising against underperforming governments and economic stranglehold of colonial masters, can be explored.

Only two days ago, a new group headed by a former rebel leader and politician in Niger launched a movement to oppose the new military junta that overthrew Mohamed Bazoum on July 26. Headed by Rhissa Ag Boula, the Council of Resistance for the Republic (CRR) aims to reinstate Bazoum. This being the first sign of internal resistance to the coup, the group claimed to be in support of any action ECOWAS takes against the coup people. How many more of such a group are in the offing?

While we hope the Niger debacle does not become a full-blown war that could turn the country into the playfield of international interest groups, and by extension distabilise Nigeria, or inadvertently draw Nigeria into a war it never envisaged, the emergence of CRR is a sign of things to come—total chaos. Niger could become Libya that has remained unstable and rudderless more than 10 years after its leaders in Tripoli and Benghazi turned against each other “necessitating”a Western intervention. Sudan has since joined that rank of instability. Should ECOWAS watch and do nothing?

Already, Mali and Burkina Faso have technically rebuffed ECOWAS. Pray, what is the use of coming together as a regional body and all the treaties entered into if ECOWAS cannot call recalcitrant members to order?

The ECOWAS protocol on democracy and good governance abhors coup. Its recent pronouncement is in keeping to that protocol. Again, its past efforts in restoring democracy to Sierra Leone does not in any way portray it as a war-seeking body. Instead, the new military government is defiant; they disallowed General Abdulsalami and the Sultan’s emissary, while consolidating, to legitimize an obviously illegal government.

This and more are what ECOWAS, incidentally headquartered in Nigeria and at present led by Nigeria’s new President Bola Tinubu was quick to avoid in their first offer of dialogue and threats, sanctions, attempts at negotiation and dialogue, and finally the latest talk of deployment of a standby force, as diplomacy seems to be failing.

For our insurgency and banditry-weary Northern states bordering Niger Republic and attendant effects—insecurity, IDPs, hunger and poverty—war is not an option. But because Tinubu spoke forcefully against coups in the region when he took over as ECOWAS chairman, people now assume ECOWAS’ position to be his.   

Dialogue or democracy, ECOWAS had to come in no matter how inconvenient. However, while the regional body can intervene militarily, it is almost politically impossible to do so. Therefore, the talk about Tinubu forcing the hands of ECOWAS to start a war does not arise. Nigeria cannot unilaterally use force in a collegiate arrangement that ECOWAS is. Besides, I understand that no regional group (like ECOWAS) can apply force without the UN’s consent and with regards to Niger, you can be sure that France and Russia will veto such at the UNSC, (UN Security Council) if it comes up.

it is also true that Nigeria has not, or is not pursuing the path of peace, dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the Niger issue. On Tuesday, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the former Emir of Kano paid a visit to the junta leader. Sanusi said he was not an emissary of the Nigerian government, but the government was aware of his mission to Niger, backing it up with a return trip from Niger to President Tinubu. Sanusi might not have disclosed the full details of his visit, but the diplomatic overtures could not have happened if the government was intent on waging a war against Niger Republic.

From the coup issue came another discourse about the economic liberation of francophone countries and Africa in general. This is very germane to the development of the continent or lack of it. Supporters of the Niger coup have used their exploitation by France to justify their action. However, working with Wagner is like trading one colonial master for another, and replacing colonialism and economic exploitation with neo-colonialism. Russia’s Wagner is not on ground in Africa for the fun of it. Simply put, their steady encroachment can engender another form of cold war being “fought” on the African soil.

There have been talks that the coup is a signpost for Niger’s economic liberation. Africa should liberate itself from imperialism and economic exploitation, the type France has imposed on its former colonies since independence—not that Anglophone countries like Nigeria are better), but Niger is going about it the wrong way. With Russia in and China by the door, I hope Niger’s case will not result into another divide and rule tactics of the past, and finally a recourse to another Berlin Conference.

Yes, we must assert ourselves. We must control our natural resources and Niger must exploit their huge deposits of uranium for the development of their country, but we don’t need a proxy war to achieve this objective. 

All diplomatic options should be explored towards amicable resolutions. According to Ambassador Usman Sarki, permanent sovereignty of peoples and nations is part of UN resolution; and this impasse has provided the leeway for Niger, nay Africa to assert their powers over their natural resources.

Coup is an unconstitutional, unlawful and illegal takeover of power, so is Niger’s. Niger as a member of ECOWAS is a signatory to all their pacts, treaties and protocol and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his capacity as chairman of the regional body has a responsibility, in consonance with his colleagues, to act, speak up and condemn it. And as the saying goes, when your neighbour’s house is on fire, you have to be watchful, because it could be your turn. This for me is the summary of what our President has done so far.

Russia on Friday warned against a military intervention in Niger, a day after West African leaders said they would muster a “standby” force in their efforts to return the president toppled by a coup.

“We believe that a military solution to the crisis in Niger could lead to a protracted confrontation in that African country, and to a sharp destabilisation of the situation in the Sahara-Sahel region as a whole,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a report by global news agency, AFP.

Recall West African leaders approved the deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger, an intervention that will take place as soon as possible, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said Thursday.

The ECOWAS regional bloc did not provide details on the force to be deployed or the timetable for action against the military officers who seized control of Niger two weeks ago, deposing Mohamed Bazoum as president.

But on his return to Abidjan from the emergency summit in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, Ouattara said: “The Chiefs of Staff will have other conferences to finalise things but they have the agreement of the Conference of Heads of State for the operation to start as soon as possible.”

Ivory Coast would provide a battalion of 850 to 1,100 men alongside soldiers from Nigeria and Benin, and other countries would join them, Ouattara said.

“We are determined to restore president Bazoum to his functions.”

Earlier, in Abuja, ECOWAS Commission President Omar Touray had announced the deployment of the bloc’s force.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a non-violent solution to reverse the coup, praising the “determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis” in a statement on Thursday.

The bloc was “playing a key role in making clear the imperative of a return to constitutional order, and we very much support ECOWAS’ leadership and work on this”, he told reporters earlier Thursday.

Former colonial power France gave its “full support to all the conclusions” ECOWAS reached, the foreign ministry said.

But even as the summit took place, Niger’s new military rulers moved to consolidate their position and signalled further defiance by appointing a new government.

A 21-member cabinet will be headed by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, a civilian, with generals from the new military governing council leading the defence and interior ministries.

The coup leaders have already defied the Sunday deadline set by ECOWAS a week earlier to reinstate Bazoum — detained since July 26 — or face military possible intervention.

In Abuja, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who chaired the crisis meeting, said: “All is not lost yet” for a “peaceful solution, as a roadmap to restore democracy and stability”.

But he added: “No option is taken off the table, including the use of force as a last resort.”

Before the closed-door talks, Tinubu had insisted that “we prioritise diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach”.

– ‘We must engage’ –

The 15-nation bloc is struggling to stem military takeovers that have now swept through four of its members in three years, potentially heralding fresh instability in a region struggling for years against jihadist insurgencies.

Before the meeting, Tinubu acknowledged that “the seven-day ultimatum we issued during the first summit has not yielded the desired outcome”.

An attempt this week to send a joint team of ECOWAS, UN and African Union representatives to Niger’s capital Niamey was rejected by the coup leaders.

“We must engage all parties involved, including the coup leaders, in earnest discussions to convince them to relinquish power and reinstate President Bazoum,” Tinubu said.

[Vanguard]

The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ogalla, has said that the Nigerian Navy will leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies to enhance its operational activities.

Ogalla said this during the presentation of a paper by navy participants of National Defence College (NDC) Course 31, entitled “Artificial Intelligence and Ship Maintenance: Strategic Options for the Nigerian Navy by 2035”.

The CNS said that the use of AI was significantly transforming the maritime industry, adding that the Nigerian navy was embracing it to improve the availability of ships towards enhancing operational effectiveness. He added that ships were increasingly becoming sophisticated with advancements in technology and the incorporation of AI and other emerging technologies in their construction.

According to him, the Nigerian navy must continue to adopt and integrate these technologies in order to maintain a competitive edge during operations.

Nigerian Navy and technology

Ogalla said the paper was timely as it would invigorate the navy’s consciousness towards AI and other emerging technologies and their implication for operational effectiveness.

He commended the participants for their efforts in drafting a roadmap for transforming the Navy’s maintenance system into an AI-compliant system.

He similarly applauded their novel suggestion of the use of In-Transit-Hull cleaning that would save the navy a lot of foreign exchange from docking ships for hull cleaning.

Why AI?

In his remarks, the Commandant of NDC, Rear Adm. Olumuyiwa Olotu, said the choice of the 2023 topic was deliberate considering that AI was an emerging technology that could enhance the capabilities and efficiency of the navy in various aspects such as ships systems, weapons, networks and command and control, which makes the participants’ research work very germane.

He, therefore, asserted that the strategies proffered by the participants would enhance the navy’s capabilities and operations, in line with Nigeria’s security objectives.

The commandant added that the college would continue to support the navy in its efforts to ensure a safe and secure maritime environment.

[Nairametrics]