A MUST READ: Dawuda’s Quiet Appointment As NIA DG, The Return Of Baba Gana Kingibe & The Infighting Within The Presidency!

Following the quiet appointment of Ambassador Mohammed Dawuda as the Acting-Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, last weekend and the termination of the appointment of Ambassador Arap Yadam from the position, fresh facts have emerged on the deep intrigues within the presidential villa, thewillnigeria.com reports. 

The result is that those who understand how national security works are seriously alarmed that unless something is done urgently to rein in the debilitating factionalisation on matters concerning the NIA, Nigeria’s elite intelligence arm, and the country’s equivalent of the American CIA or the British M16 or Israel’s Mossad, the agency may be handicapped by unnecessary government in-fighting.

This is because Ambassador Dawuda, formerly Nigeria’s immediate past Ambassador to Chad, has been handicapped by the decision of the notorious Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, to limit the DG’s role and powers only to operational matters.

The other roles that have in the past been within the purview of the DG have been set aside for a new group personally put together by Kyari. This group is made up of Ambassadors Babagana Kingibe, a politician and former Foreign Affairs Minister as well as Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF); and two former NIA DGs — Zakari Ibrahim (1993-1998) and Niyi Oladeji (2009 to 2013).

Sources gathered that the three men were originally called in by the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo panel to make expert input into the report of the investigation into the over $43 million stashed by sacked DG, Ayodele Oke in a luxury apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Oke was suspended and recently relieved of his duties over the incident, but the nation has yet to see the result of the investigation into his tenure and especially about the operations cash found by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the Ikoyi flat.

Some NIA insiders according to our source suspect that the EFCC report may never come, as the investigation may deliberately be deadlocked or inconclusive. This is because it is public knowledge that Kingibe has been a long-time mentor and uncle-figure to Ambassador Oke. For instance, Oke served as Kingibe’s First Secretary when Kingibe was Nigeria’s Ambassador to Pakistan over three decades ago.

Another matter that may affect the nation’s security is where Ambassador Ibrahim’s loyalty lies. Ibrahim is from Katsina state, just like President Buhari. He is widely known to be not only a close-confidante of the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, he has been said to be a card-carrying member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). So many villa insiders who spoke to THEWILL sources expressed doubt as to where his loyalty lies, and owing to his intelligence background, they fear he may easily mislead President Buhari.

Worse still, in certain circles, Ambassador Niyi Oladeji, Oke’s immediate predecessor, is derisively referred to as former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan’s personal cashier.

There is a strong belief that that the decision to terminate the appointment of Ambassador Yadam, whose tenure actually ends Tuesday November 7, 2017, actually runs against the National Security Act which stipulates that a three-month period of grace be given every departing head of NIA to allow for seamless handover of office and adequate briefing of a new DG from a departing one. Many suspects that this development may bring about the curious case whereby Ambassador Oke of the cash-in-Ikoyi-flat scandal would be the person to actually hand over to Amb. Dawuda to facilitate a planned cover-up of the “Ikoyi-gate” scandal.

Also, many suspect that apart from the Ikoyi-gate, a worse cover-up may be in the offing; this is because another $250 million allegedly belonging to the NIA has been said by inside sources to have been discovered and the three musketeers now in control of the NIA affairs through their closeness and support from the Chief of Staff may gain support of that slush fund. That is why they are said to want the new Director-General to play no role beyond operational issues.

The Chief of Staff is said to be particularly happy with Kingibe who has emerged the unofficial Foreign Affairs Policy Chief for President Buhari.

Aso Rock insiders said that one of Amb. Yedam’s greatest sin is that he so believed in the transparency policy of the Buhari presidency that he refused to promote Buhari’s present Director of Protocol, Lawal Kazaure, to the position of a Director at the NIA. The protocol man was said to have repeatedly failed his promotion examinations to the grade of a Director. “The last one was held last month and he still flunked it”, our source said. Also, Yedam also refused the pressure some Aso Rock insiders put on him to embark on a large-scale purchase of motor-vehicles for Ambassadors.

Now, the Chief of Staff to President Buhari has pounced on the pretext that Amb. Yedam’s official retirement date is November 7, 2017, to deny him a three-month of grace that should have allowed for a seamless handover at the NIA. Villa insiders called this a “coup against NIA and a revenge mission against transparency and rule of law. With thewillnigeria.com