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OPINION: Kaduna’s Debt And UnEl-Rufaic Silence

Published

2 years ago

April 2, 2024

By Suyi Ayodele

Benjamin Franklin alias Mrs. Silence Dogwood (January 17, 1706-April 17, 1790), was one of the greatest statesmen of the United States of America. He was reputed to have signed America’s Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. He loved education. He was famously known as America’s Founding Polymath. He loved education and anything associated with letters. He also liked to document his life. When he was denied the opportunity of having his numerous letters published in his brother, James Franklin’s newspaper, The New England Courant, Franklin adopted the pseudonym of “Mrs. Silence Dogwood”. Under the name, the great American had 14 letters, which were first printed in 1722. His profile is as rich as the depth of his writings.

Franklin knew the value of documented works. So, he cautioned great men and women to always document their deeds in writing. Here is his famous quotable quote on that: “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing.” Many great men and women followed his injunction. They wrote about their deeds in private and public circles. One of such men is our own Nasir El-Rufai, the former and immediate past governor of Kaduna State. El-Rufai also served as a minister in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo. He equally was the pioneer Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE). Taking heed of Franklin’s caution, El-Rufai wrote a book in 2013. He titled it: “The Accidental Public Servant”. It is a voluminous book of 627 pages without the lix (69) pages of introduction and prologues.

“The Accidental Public Servant” is written in the style of the author as an omniscient narrator. Such style allows for long tales. El-Rufai sticks to that underlying thisness of the style he employs. The book is no doubt a book of self-adulation. Self-adulation thrives on half-truths and outright lies. Only a few men of honour write their own accounts with dignity. Such value is lacking, to a greater extent, in the book under review here. My summary of “The Accidental Public Servant” is simple. Whatever the author lacks in physical appearance, he makes up for in the hyperbolic narrative of his deeds and worths, while in public service. I don’t have any problem with that. I learnt too early in life not to argue with a dwarf who claims to be tall enough to see whatever is happening around him. The training I got in dealing with such a person is to arrange his seat at the back row at the village square.

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He will know his real height when the dance begins and all the tall people in front stand up to watch the masquerade dance. He will be forced to leave the arena in frustration. Nature is already putting a lie to most of the saintly claims of El-Rufai in his book. First, his terrible outings while he served as governor of Kaduna State run sharply in contrast to the self-righteousness of El-Rufai in his memoirs. Victims of his stay in office abound to tell their tales of woes under him. No doubt, there are others who see him as their hero, too. Life is like the proverbial gangan drum. While it backs some people, it faces many others. Posterity is the ultimate judge between the rulers and the ruled. So shall it be with El-Rufai and all our other leaders!

The inimitable Dr. Dipo Fashina (Jingo) taught us Introduction to Philosophy at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife. There was this story of Achilles and the Tortoise he told us. It is about the race between the fastest runner and the slowest runner. At the end of the race, Tortoise claimed victory on a simple logic: the quickest runner can never overtake the slowest because the fastest runner must always reach the point where the slowest runner who is being pursued, started from. For that to happen, the slowest runner must always hold the lead. So, it is with the truth and the lie. Lie may have the speed of light. It can also run for decades. It takes just a second for the truth to catch up with it.

That is exactly what has happened to El-Rufai. All his claims to sanctimony are collapsing before him like a pack of badly arranged cards. Happily, enough, the home truth about him is being served hot by a member of his own political household. The governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, is not just a member of the El-Rufai’s political family; he is the heir apparent to the ex-governor’s political dynasty. Nobody knows the dirt of the buttocks more than the pants – kò sí eni tó mo ègbin ìdí ju ìbànté lo. Reading the revelation last Saturday by Governor Sani, I begin to appreciate the Parmenidian principle of “All is one”, which when broken down to simple understanding, shows that all claims to change are illogical. Nigerians have been deceived for too long by sententious leaders. The reality is here at home with us.

There is a naked truth released a few days ago about El-Rufai. The one who claimed the garment of the Saints departed has been described as a chronic debtor who left Kaduna State prostrate. The former governor, former minister and former DG of BPE is said to be a debtor both in Dollar and Naira while he was the governor of Kaduna State. According to the incumbent Governor Sani, his predecessor, El-Rufai, left a debt of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities for him to deal with. It is like throwing a monkey to your neighbour’s compound without a finger of banana – I owe the philosophy of monkey and banana to the Great Guru (GG) himself, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr, Chairman of Globacom.

The indebtedness, the new governor said, is such that the state would no longer be able to pay salaries going forward. This, he added, was because of the N10 billion allocation the state gets monthly, N7 billion is used to service El-Rufai’s debt. After the deductions, what is left is a miserable N3 billion. With a wage bill of N5.2 billion, the state needs to borrow additional N2.2 billion to be able to pay its workers. Should the state succeed in doing that, it means that no other issue will be attended to. If the claims by Governor Sani are true, we all can conclude that Kaduna State is in a mess. Most states of the federation are in that gory state as Kaduna. We should not be surprised at this because this is what one gets when one’s plantation is yielded to the locusts.

Governor Sani made the allegations of outright mismanagement of Kaduna resources against El-Rufai on Saturday at a Town Hall Meeting held in Kaduna. This piece was penned on Monday. As at the time I hit the sent button on my device, the man so accused had not uttered a word. That is strange of the famed rambunctious personage. That is unEl-Rufaic! I need somebody to nudge the volcanic former governor out of his slumber. If he doesn’t know, someone close to him should let him know that everything he laboured for is at stake. He cannot afford to be silent over this. This is not the time to philosophise that “silence is golden.” El-Rufai should speak and speak loudly too. In his handover note in May 2023, El-Rufai said he left debt of $577.32 million and N80.60 billion only, in addition to $2.05 million and N5 billion in the state treasury. El-Rufai has the responsibility of explaining the differences in the figures. He equally needs to tell citizens of Kaduna what he did with the debts. Granted, blame game is the middle name of the All Progressive Congress (APC), the party which produced El-Rufai and his successor, Sani. The party blames the dead, the living and the unborn for its personal obvious failures.

But this Kaduna issue is within the family, and it is more than the normal siblings’ rivalry. Nigerians need to hear the other side. Kaduna civil servants need to know why hunger and starvation will be their lots in the months to come. Did El-Rufai borrow that much? If yes, what did he do with the money? I know El-Rufai to be an Arógunmátìdí (the one who does not draw back from war). This is a war the man cannot afford to avoid. Nigerians expect every “Accidental” discharge from their Accidental Civil Servant. We are all set for the circus show. The word of the Lord is sure and comes to pass. Egyptians must surely rise against Egyptians. Other governors that are dying in silence should also speak up. I am waiting for the day my home state governor, Abiodun Abayomi Oyebanji of Ekiti State, would come to the public crying about the burden of the recklessness of the former governor, Kayode Fayemi. The little Baba Afe Babalola said penultimate week has already brought out the ‘unOmoluabi’ traits of former Governor Kayode Fayemi. Even without any direct mention of his name by the nonagenarian, Fayemi went haywire. Fayemi claimed that Baba Afe’s first child is far older than him, yet, he was not deterred from calling the old man names I dare not repeat here! It is true that èéfín nì ìwà – character is like smoke! It cannot be covered.

Kaduna State workers will go hungry soon. They are not alone. Pensioners in the state would have their own full share of the mess. The catastrophe will cascade to petty traders and children. There will be an increase in the number of school children who will drop out because parents and guardians alike will not be able to pay school fees. Small businesses will also fold up, just as the big ones will downsize. The overall implication is that many will suffer more. As it is in Kaduna, so it is in many other states. Nigerians are not having the best of times at the moment. I saw a video of two elderly fellows fighting over food. A man and his wife were recorded fighting over ‘chop money’. The wife, in her late 70s, was struggling with her husband, a man in his early 80s over feeding Allowance. “I’m hungry. Give me money to eat”, the old woman said in Yoruba. The husband responded that he had nothing to give her. Not letting go, the old grandmother recalled her woes in her marriage to her husband. She asked if the man had ever set up a business for her. She reminded the husband that even though she tried on her own and set up a table for trading in front of the house, the husband destroyed it. “Today”, she told the husband, “You will have to do that which you plan to do to me”, the woman intoned. Then she got up, tied her wrapper and announced: “I am hungry. My legs are shaking. Give me money to eat.” She made for the husband’s “wallet” and the struggle continues!

No matter how strong-hearted one is, nobody will watch that video without feeling so sad. I could not shed tears in my sadness. Unfortunately for me, the video was sent to me late at night. The rest of my night was ruined. These are people in their departure lounge. Senior citizens, no doubt. Somebody recorded that video. Someone posted it. I could not question our humanity after watching the video. We lost that long ago. But then, I asked: what about the children and grandchildren of these old folks? What about their relations, friends and neighbours? Again, where is the government which has the fundamental function of making life bearable for the citizens? Why do we, as a nation, subject our people to this kind of situation when we are not in Afghanistan or Pakistan; two countries that are in perpetual conflicts with themselves. Why would our leaders leave behind huge debts like the El-Rufai, the debtor of Kaduna did, without repercussions?

How long shall we continue to tolerate the malfeasance of the ruling class? How long shall we continue to be stranded at the road that leads to nowhere that our leaders have led us? We have laws. We have statutes that address the recklessness that the current Kaduna State governor painted of the financial health of the state. El-Rufai, and many other ex-this and ex-that are walking the streets with crass impunity because nobody will dare ask them to account for their stewardship. From the comatose legislative arm to the intimidated and compromised judiciary, Nigerians are at the mercy of a rapacious and unfeeling executive whose sole aim is inflicting more pain on us all. Our landscapes are dotted with a-heroic characters who rode to power on the chariots of change and hope but end up doing worse things. We chased away grasshoppers only to be replaced by locusts. Now, nothing is left on the field for us to harvest, not even the leftover for our Ruth to glean! When will this end?

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Otuaro: Baseless Allegations, Disregard Them, Group Urges Public

Published

19 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Editor

The Ijaw People’s Development Initiative, IPDI has reacted to a statement circulating online regarding the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), describing it as baseless.

The statement under the disguise ‘Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum and Niger Delta Ethnic Nationalities,’ had demanded accountability regarding the management of the Programme and its administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro.

Reacting to the statement, National President, IPDI, Comrade Austin Ozobo, said: “We consider it necessary to respond point by point to correct misconceptions, reject unsubstantiated claims, and keep the record straight in the interest of PAP beneficiaries, stakeholders, and the general public.

“It is worthy of note that the PAP operates under strict federal financial regulations and is subject to routine audits by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Ministry of Finance, and other oversight bodies.

“All disbursements, including stipends, vocational training, education support, and third-party contracts, are processed through the Treasury Single Account, TSA, with verifiable records”, the statement read.

According to the IPDI, the Programme welcomes lawful criticism and scrutiny at any time. However, linking such a call to specific individuals without evidence amounts to trial by the media and undermines due process.

“Dr Dennis Otuaro, administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme has maintained a good record of financial management, hence no formal petition with verifiable evidence has been submitted to any anti-graft agency till date”.

“It may interest you to know that the N65,000 monthly stipend is fixed by the Appropriation Act and can only be reviewed through a budgetary process approved by the National Assembly and the Presidency.

‘The PAP management has consistently conveyed beneficiaries’ concerns on cost of living to relevant authorities”.

“Again, claims that allocations to the Programme have risen significantly while stipends remain unchanged misrepresents the budget structure.

“Note, increased allocations in recent years have been tied to expanded reintegration programs, education sponsorships, skills acquisition, and infrastructure support for training centers, not solely to stipend payments”.

The group reiterated that the allegation that the Amnesty Programme Office “kidnaps and detains delegates” is false, reckless, and defamatory, adding that the PAP has no paramilitary or law enforcement mandate, nor does it operate detention facilities and that any incident involving law enforcement is outside the control and purview of the Programme.

“We challenge the authors to provide verifiable details of time, place, and persons involved so the matter can be addressed through appropriate legal channels,” the group said

On Claims of Selective Empowerment and 500% Payment Increases, the group maintained that payments to contractors, ex-agitator leaders, and service providers were governed by existing contracts and agreements predating the current administration.

“No individual or camp has received unilateral increases without contractual basis or due process. Allegations of 500% increases are unsubstantiated and designed to stoke division among beneficiaries,” it added.

“The current administration has maintained a policy of transparency in engagement with leaders and has expanded inclusion by verifying and capturing previously omitted beneficiaries where due“, IPDI added.

The group further said, “The PAP remains a neutral, peace-building institution established under the 2009 Amnesty Declaration. Its mandate is to coordinate disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration. The Office does not engage in political victimization, intimidation, or exclusion of stakeholders. Engagement with ex-agitator leaders and community structures is conducted based on their role in maintaining peace and facilitating reintegration, not political alignment”.

“The PAP under Chief Denis Otuaro’s leadership remains committed to transparency, fairness, and the original mandate of the Amnesty Programme. Constructive criticism is welcome and has informed policy adjustments in the past. However, campaigns of calumny, unverified allegations, and attempts to drag the Programme into commercial or political disputes do not serve the interest of peace in the Niger Delta”, IPDI said.

“We urge all stakeholders to channel grievances through the established engagement channels of the Programme and to avoid statements that threaten the fragile stability we have worked to sustain”.

Consequently, the IPDI urges members of the public to disregard what its described as “flimsy and unsubstantiated allegations, misconception, and missives by faceless groups above“.

News

[OPINION] Olukoyede’s EFCC: Taming The ‘Fantastically-Corrupt’

Published

20 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Editor

Since its creation 23 years ago, by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, as president of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous and influential country, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had apparently not gotten a head, who had piloted the affairs of the commission, like Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, its Executive Chairman, a chief-operations-officer of the Commission.

It could be said that Olukoyede, the Czar thief catcher and arrestor of economic saboteurs, has given the EFCC’s enemies such a tough time as he has taking the anti-graft fight to the doorsteps of the high-profile individuals across the country. These range from former state governors, serving and former ministers, retired and serving civil servants, businessmen, clergies, traditional rulers, cyber-influencer, entertainers, professionals and numerous others.

Olukoyede brings years of experience in law, fraud management, and business intelligence to bear on the position. Before him, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was EFCC’s inaugural chair; succeeded by the first and only female, Mrs. Farida Waziri; Ibrahim Lamorde, Ibrahim Magu, and Abdul Rasheed Bawa.

The anti-graft agency has its hands full with massive financial fraud and money laundering cases. In the clause of “physicians, look at thyself”, EFCC in its resolve is known to have been flushing out officers within the body, who run foul to the law.

In the past, before Olukoyede’s appointment, it was widely believed that it was only the “fries and not the big fishes”, who the Commission could summon the courage to prosecute; and that most culprits were also left from the hook, because of compromise by some corrupt officers of the Commission, and feeble litigation processes.

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), happened to have opened to Olukoyede’s a deluge of “big-men and women”, who have been arrested, investigated and cooling their feet in detention or those bailed, that are facing severe court trials. There is the biggest 19-count charge at the Ikeja Special Offences Court, involving an alleged $4.5 billion fraud.
Immediate-paste governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, faces two massive, but separate legal battles totalling over N190 billion on fraud allegation. EFCC secured from the Court of Appeal, forfeiture of 14 properties and huge money linked to him.

Abubakar Malami (former Attorney-General of the Federation), with his son, Abdulaziz and his wife, is currently charged on a-16-count of money laundering. The court has stayed interim forfeiture of 57 properties valued at over N213 billion.

EFCC had also secured the arrest of Sadiya Umar-Farouq, a female former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, and a former Permanent Secretary, through a Federal High Court, on a 21-point alleged fraud and corruption charge, involving $1.3 million and N746.6m and others amounting to 37.1 billion.

Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, also female and former Minister of Women Affairs, was removed from office by President Bola Tinubu, over alleged misappropriation and diversion of N138.4 million, and had been under EFCC questioning.

A recent discovery, which startled Nigerians and the world, the Commission (EFCC) had reportedly arrested a serving Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi, over alleged money laundering involving about ₦500 billion.

Somewhat, this had deflated the claim that those arrested and persecuted are political opponents and not serving officers of the Tinubu’s government.

EFCC is a “Nigerian law enforcement and anti-graft agency that investigates financial crimes, such as advance fee fraud (419 Fraud) and money laundering. It was also set up to fight against corruption and to protect the country from economic saboteurs”.

The Commission, whilst responding to pressures from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), that named Nigeria as one of 23 countries not cooperating in the international community’s efforts to fight money laundering, had revved in performance, in a bid to roll back the blights.

And so, it is a strenuous goal for EFCC, as entrenched in the ‘EFCC Establishment Act 2004’, which gives it specialist jurisdiction against severe financial and commercial crime – covering multiple high and lower levels.

Born on 14 October 1969, Olukoyede, a civil servant, has had a clear break from past, where past executive chairmen of the Commission had left the Commission, where all serving officers were drafted from the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). However, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is widely commended for Olukoyede’s appointment to the position, with the Senate also eulogized for screening him.

Whilst briefing the Press in Abuja, on his two-year activities in office, on October 23, 2025, the Commission’s boss certainly made unprecedented progress in the fight against economic and financial crimes. He spoke through the Director of Public Affairs of the Commission, Wilson Uwujaren, as he listed the recovery of N566 billion, alongside other currencies and assets, among the achievements of the Commission.

He further revealed that the Commission received over 19,000 petitions, conducted 29,240 investigations, filed 10,525 cases in court, and secured 7,503 convictions.

Olukoyede asserted that the Commission recovered ₦566,319,820,343.40, $411,566,192.32, £71,306.25, €182,877.10, and other foreign currencies from proceeds of financial and economic crimes. Added to this was the recovery of 1,502 non-monetary assets, comprising 402 properties in 2023, 975 in 2024, and 125 so far in 2025.

“Among these recovered assets are two notable landmarks: the final forfeiture of 753 units of duplexes in Lokogoma, Abuja, and the forfeiture of Nok University, now the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State,” he said.

He listed several high-profile cases prosecuted within the period, including those involving former governors Willie Obiano, Abdulfatah Ahmed, Darius Ishaku, Theodore Orji, and Yahaya Bello. Others are former ministers Olu Agunloye, Mamman Saleh, Hadi Sirika, Charles Ugwu, and former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

EFCC was also said to have reentered and invigorated some longstanding fraud cases, such as ones linking Fred Ajudua, former People Democratic Party, PDP National Chairman Haliru Bello Mohammed, ex-National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki, and former Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF boss, Ngozi Olojeme.

The EFCC said it arrested 792 suspects involved in asset and cryptocurrency frauds in Lagos, among who were 192 foreigners who were prosecuted and deported.

A Task Force on Naira Abuse and Dollarisation of the Economy was established by EFCC, which accordingly, had notable impacts in sanitizing money actions countrywide. “The campaign against naira abuse, racketeering, and speculative currency trading has helped reduce pressure on the naira and complemented the Central Bank’s efforts in stabilizing the economy,” he said.

Olukoyede also spoke on the Commission’s strengthened partnerships with foreign law enforcement agencies, including the Korean Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Spanish Police, and German Police.

He also mention benefitting synergy with the FBI, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), INTERPOL, and Japan’s JICA, in subsequent joint investigations and the repatriation of stolen assets to victims from Spain, Canada, and the United States.

Strengthening EFFC’s mandate at the regional level, and in Africa, Olukoyede and the Commission are said to be up and doing. For instance, a thing that had never happened to EFFC, he had been twice elected as President of the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA), which led to the founding of a permanent secretariat in Abuja.

A strong media presence is needed to successfully inform the public of the ideals of EFCC and its update activities. And so, ‘EFCC Radio 97.3FM’, Nigeria’s first anti-corruption radio station, was established Olukoyede. EFCC should count itself very lucky for having in its fold, tested, diligent and veteran journalists who are ostensibly seasoned in the ideals and watchdog principles of the Commission.

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APC Primaries: Johnny Rallies Support For Senator Thomas’ Re-election Bid

Published

21 hours ago

May 17, 2026

Editor

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Delta State, Chief Michael Johnny, has called on Delta South Senatorial District’s party faithful to come out in large tomorrow and vote for Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas (JOT) in the party senatorial primary election.

Johnny, widely regarded as a leader par excellence within the APC, described the primary election as a critical moment that will determine the political stability, unity, and future direction of Delta South.

According to him, Delta South needs a detribalized leader with the capacity to unite people beyond ethnic sentiments and political divisions.

He warned against leaders whose style of politics promotes ethnic division and unnecessary tension within the region.

Chief Johnny stated that Senator Thomas has continued to distinguish himself as a leader who carries everyone along, irrespective of tribe, political background, or local government affiliation.

He noted that JOT’s leadership style has strengthened cooperation, peace, fairness, and political inclusion across Delta South.

Speaking further, Chief Johnny declared that the Ijaw people have resolved to stand firmly behind Thomas because fairness, justice, and political balance must prevail in Delta South.

“As Ijaw people, we have decided to support Senator Joel because this is the turn of the Isoko nation, and Ijaw stands for truth. That is our position,” he stated.

He also appreciated what he described as “genuine Itsekiri sons and daughters” who believe in fairness, equity, and peaceful coexistence, adding that Delta South can only move forward when the various ethnic nationalities work together in unity and mutual respect.

Chief Johnny maintained that the senatorial district must not be dragged backward by divisive politics or ethnic interests capable of weakening the collective strength of the region.

He stressed that all APC members in Delta South must remain united in their support for Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas.

“Delta South is bigger than personal interests. This election is about unity, stability, fairness, and the future of our people. Senator JOT represents continuity, experience, and inclusive leadership for all ethnic groups in Delta South,” Chief Johnny added.