News -- Yar’Adua abandons OBJ; Forms new alliance with Atiku, IBB

Yar’Adua abandons OBJ; Forms new alliance with Atiku, IBB - Parley with ex-VP causes confusion in AC Taiwo Adisa and Idowu Samuel, Abuja
Monday, December 10, 2007
THERE are indications that President Umaru Yar’Adua has decided to finally abandon his immediate predecessor, President Olusegun Obasanjo, in preference for an alliance between him (Yar’Adua) and the duo of former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

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Presidency sources indicated at the weekend that the presidency had opted for a partnership with Atiku and Babangida and had decided to cut the alleged big wings of Obasanjo within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

A source told the Nigerian Tribune that the President believed that the duo of Babangida and Atiku would in no way harm his control of the PDP and the government, unlike Obasanjo who wanted his men to continue to control the party and the government.

The source said that while some influential figures had suggested to the president that he should curtail the growing rapport between Babangida and Atiku, he had made them realise that he was comfortable with the duo.

Recently he met with Atiku on two occasions where the duo had private discussions. Sources also said that part of the decision of the Presidency to dump Obasanjo was the war being unleashed on loyalists of the former president. A source stated that the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, and the Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George, had been pencilled in for immediate attack.

It was gathered that the incumbent Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo, has instituted a probe into activities of el-Rufai as Minister of FCT.

It was gathered that the panel set up to probe the former minister had returned a damning verdict, with el-Rufai being accused of allegedly misapplying the rules of land allocation in the FCT.

Some of the accusations border on the arbitrary allocation of lands to cronies and revocation of plots belonging to perceived enemies of the last administration ahead of the May 29 handover.

A cold war has already ensued between Modibbo and el-Rufai, with the latter’s camp claiming that the panel was set up to do a hatchet job.

Besides, the el-Rufai camp had claimed that the panel did not interview the former minister before coming to conclusions over the land allocation allegations.

Besides, el-Rufai, the stage has also been set for the trial of Chief George on account of the contract scam at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) when he served as the board chairman. The report of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the matter has been exhumed, with the government taking further interest.

It was gathered that the move by some forces recently to have Chief George take over the reins of PDP in acting capacity after Senator Ahmadu Ali might have proceeded on ambassadorial appointment, had angered the presidency which wants to distance itself from the immediate past administration.

The Special Assistant on Communications to the FCT Minister, Mr. Diran Onifade, has, however, denied that a probe of the former minister had been undertaken.

He said the incumbent minister only set up a committee, which he described as a house-cleaning exercise. “We are not probing anybody and where there is no probe there is no need for the other side,” he said in defence of the failure of the committee to invite the former minister to appear before the panel.

In another development, members of the Action Congress (AC) have been thrown into confusion and suspense by the secret meeting which President Umaru Yar’Adua and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar reportedly held last week, Nigerian Tribune can authoritatively report.

The confusion among the AC members has been worsened by the non-disclosure by the former vice president of the issues discussed by him and President Yar’Adua at the meeting notwithstanding the pressure said to have been mounted on Atiku to do so.

The media reports on the meeting had suggested that the AC candidate in the April presidential election had softened his stance on the petitions he filed before the Election Petition Tribunal challenging the victory of Yar’Adua in the April election.

Findings by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the top members of AC are already feeling uneasy about the possibility of Atiku becoming less determined to see his petition to its end. The former vice president and top members of AC had been said to be under enormous pressure to drop the petition filed by Atiku as part of plans to secure the government of President Yar’Adua against the threats of nullification of his victory by the tribunal.

Media Assistant to the former vice president, Mallam Garba Shehu, in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune confirmed that Atiku had chosen to keep mum on the issues he discussed with President Yar’Adua at their meeting.

He said he personally made efforts to draw words from Atiku on the issue but to no avail, although he said Atiku chose to keep silent on the meeting in order to guarantee the confidentiality of the matters discussed.

He, however, said that the vice president told him that the issue of his petition at the tribunal was not mentioned even once during the meeting with Yar’Adua, stating that the two had the right to meet and discuss and that no one should lose sleep over what they discussed.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that the meeting between Yar’Adua and Atiku was never meant for public knowledge but for the aides of the president who reportedly leaked the meeting to the media.

Some members of the AC who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune on the issue said they were worried that a possible compromise by Atiku on his petition before the tribunal might leave the party in the cold and lead to serious consequences for it.

The AC has been pinning the hope of its revival on the outcome of its petition before the tribunals across the federation with expectations that the party could win more states in the event that the tribunals order re-election in some states.

The PDP has been making moves to weaken the opposition since Yar’Adua emerged the president having dangled the bait of Government of National Unity (GNU) before the opposing political parties.

Since the issue of the GNU came up, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has never been the same. The party has been polarised with Chief Edwin Ume Ezeoke leading a faction which welcomed the participation of the ANPP in the Yar’Adua government.

The AC has equally been thrown into disarray by the idea of GNU as some key officials of the party have resigned their membership of the party owing to differences between them and the other members who opposed the participation of AC in the GNU.