THE LONG KNIVES OF ASO ROCK

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan sacks ministers in a bid to instill sanity into the arena of governance.And  Turai YarAdua ,wife of the sick president faces the reality that she is no longer in charge

BY DANLAMI NMODU

It hit them  like a bolt from the blue.Most of the cabinet members  had gone to the council chambers last Wednesday hoping to continue to serve as ministers after the meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation,EXCOF. They seemed to have missed the signs that had been in the air. The previous week, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan chose to attend  talk shop on agriculture within Abuja  rather than attend the weekly cabinet meeting . It was Yayale Ahmed, the secretary to the  government  of the federation who announced to the ministers that the EXCOF meeting had been called off in what might have been  a clear sign perhaps thattheir days as ministers were numbered. But politicians who are incurable optimists thought they had things under control perhaps in the aftermath of intense lobbies to stave off any shake-up in the cabinet.Actually, many ministers were known to have lobbied  to ensure that the status was maintained until 2011.

Interestingly, Jonathan too carried on as if nothing was amiss as he settled into last week’s Council meeting .The memos of the day reported to be about 20 were seriously discussed. He even hinted according to reports  that other issues would be thrashed out at the next meeting; thus giving the ministers  a false sense of hope. Multi-billion naira contracts were discussed especially on various roads and other projects. But those who had hints of the impending long knife were not deceived they just waited to see how Jonathan would announce it. And it came almost at the tail end of the minister when the acting President thanked all the ministers for the service rendered to the nation. He dropped the hint in bits by telling the ministers that he would like to bring fresh hands on board.After thanking those who have served the nation,he finally announced that the cabinet has been dissolved.

It was Professor Dora Akunyili former Information and Communications ministers  who officially announced the dissolution of cabinet: “Today, the Acting President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan dissolved the Federal Executive Council. He did not give any reason and so I cannot give any reason” she said.However, Ima Niboro the spokesman of the acting president  in a statement later said: "Cabinet dissolution (came in )a bid to inject fresh blood and bring even greater vigour to governance. It is part of the larger strategy to frontally confront the core challenges that face the nation at this critical moment of our history." 

It was a major shock to those who had thought they could   weather the storm of the succession crisis  over President Umaru YarAdua’s health till 2011.Among YarAdua’s allies in the cabinet were Abba Sayyadi Ruma(agriculture minister), Michael Kaase Aondoakaa(special duties minister ) ,Adamu Aliero(FCT minister) and Rilwan Lukman(petroleum).Tanimu Yakubu, the chief economic adviser to the president  was also among those who struggled strenuously to entrench YarAdua’s rule despite his ill health.There are other lesser known ministers who worked also to deepen the crisis despite the courageous attempt by the national assembly and other stakeholders to save the country from anarchy. The height of succession crisis came with the sudden return of Yar’Adua  from Saudi Arabia to Abuja in the dead of night without the knowledge  of the acting president. Troops were deployed with the approval of the acting president and commander in chief of the armed forces.

The YarAdua cabal led by the wife and ably supported by some ministers and governors further held the nation to ransom  by denying access to the president upon his return to Nigeria. Officially it has not been revealed yet if Jonathan has seen Yar’Adua. However despite official denials , the sack of the ministers may in fact be  a tacit confirmation that the acting president is convinced that Yar’Adua is incapable of returning to power. The cabal  seemed to have plotted a design to foist an invisible president on the nation where his aides and associate would have been in charge by proxy .That is why the cabal chose to oppose Jonathan to the point  of sabotaging him according to insiders .So disloyalty,alleged  sabotage and the need to  inject fresh blood into the system were among the reasons for last week’s clean sweep of the  cabinet

Even more, Insider weekly learnt that the sack of ministers might have sent jitters down the spines of Turai who had hitherto attempted scheming herself into office  in order to be dishing presidential orders.She had sought to dish out instructions to Jonathan upon return and she was in fact alleged to be behind the move which reportedly led to the first statement made by Segun Adeniyi (YarAdua’s spokesman)  which referred to Jonathan as vice president .The blunder may in fact be her undoing as that alerted stakeholders to her real intentions. Pressure subsequently compelled the cabal to make Adeniyi to issue another statement affirming Jonathan as Acting president.

Now the tide has turned in Aso Rock.The magazine learnt that Turai is now begging Jonathan for favours.She is  particularly pleading with the acting president to ensure that the funds required to sustain President YarAdua’s continued treatment are released promptly. A knowledgeable source told the magazine that payment for the treatment including what was due to the president’s aides, doctors and othershave always been channeled through Turai. Apparently she wants the huge funds to still continue to come her way. YarAdua’s treatment is believed to  have become a multimillion naira scheme.One source even claimed that  billions have gone into the treatment,but  Insider Weekly could not confirm the exact amount spent so far. But its is widely believed that several millions have been spent.

Turai may have resorted to begging Jonathan in order to sustain the treatment of the president because Yar’Adua remains pathetically ill. An Aso Rock insider told the magazine a day after the cabinet was sacked that YarAdua was still in the ambulance that brought him from the airport since he returned from Saudi Arabia.``That is the only way to keep him going with every medical support required`` said the insider .This runs contrary to media reports that the president has been meeting with family and friends.In fact it was revealed last week that it took the intervention of the new National Security Adviser General Aliyu Gusau for YarAdua’s mother to see her son whom a source claimed was still in the ambulance. Former National Security Adviser Major General Sarki Mukhtar was said to have ensured tight security around the ambulance which was said to be surrounded by soldiers on guard.

For Turai , the sack of the cabinet may mean the end of the road .She is known to have issued instructions to ministers who were said to have feverishly catered to her financial needs while she held sway .Aside from the sacked ministers, some governors  were known to have helped sustain her strange handling of the succession crisis.One of the governors was reported to be on Turai’s list of possible vice president if Jonathan conceded the post to her associates.

But there is no indication that  such concessions may come her way.In fact it is believed that all associates of YarAdua especially the ministers and aides who took advantage of the crisis to line their pockets are under close watch now.Local and international security organizations have swung into action to abort any unusual  movement of funds.Also, it has been revealed that top officials of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC have been crying over the massive looting of the corporation by the president’s aides.It came as no surprise that Jonathan is looking into the books of parastatals and probing the contracts and projects awarded in recent times with a view to ascertaining what has gone wrong.

As the former ministers took their exit last week, many Nigerian said they expect Jonathan to bring in very credible men in government.Also, some SNG members told Insider weekly  last week that Jonathan should also overhaul the police, the Economic and Financial cRimes Commission and other related agencies.Some Nigerians expect the acting president to focus his attention on security and energy so as to attract provide an enabling environment for economic growth.Of course may expect Jonathan to deo everything within his powers to reform the electoral system before the 2011 poll.One SNG however said Nigerian must still be on their guards ,because,``it is not enough to blame YarAdua’s ministers .Let us pray that the men who will come now no matter how good they are, do not transform themselves into another set of YarAdua’s men’’