Jonathan Begs Buhari To Spare His wife’ As Diezani Runs From Pillar To Pole For Protection

THE NATIONAL DAILY – The train of events towards the May 29 handover date, which also coincides with the ritual of Democracy Day in the country, is being loaded with divergent issues that necessitate taking bargaining, negotiation, and entering into agreements.

One of such issues, National Daily was reliably informed, has been the subtle fence-mending dialogue between President Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari which has been going on in their several meetings since the conclusion of the general elections.

A striking revelation from sources close to the president-elect was that the outgoing president at the recent meeting purportedly begged the in-coming one to “please spare his wife of investigation or prosecution when he assumes office in the next three weeks”.

An aide to the president-elect, who sought anonymity, revealed to this reporter that the two leaders gave deep attention to the discussion and considered several factors before they could reach an agreement. Both leaders were said to have considered the fact that to the extent that President Jonathan may personally be construed to have a relatively clean bill on the issue of impropriety and corruption, they, however, acknowledged that there may be indications that the same could not be said of the President’s wife, Dame Patience Jonathan.

It was also said to have been considered that going after the president’s wife, there is no way it will not get back to him. So, they reached the summation that whatever affects the outgoing first lady, Dame also affects her husband, thus, the need to let the woman go free despite all the provocative utterances during the campaigns.

Buhari was said to have allegedly given Jonathan his word that he will not prosecute the wife.

It was disclosed that there was the palpable apprehension of a likely pay back for the First Lady by the in-coming president over her unfriendly remarks on his personality during the campaigns.

The apprehension became real when members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) in the lingering post-election crisis in the party, covertly indicted or attempted to shift bulk blame to the First Lady. They listed her with Femi Fani-Kayode, Director of Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organization; Dr. Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Publicity; and Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, accusing them of leading hate campaign against APC leaders.

Oliseh Metuh, PDP National Publicity Secretary, had declared at a press briefing in Abuja that, “President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and other party leaders were the main targets of the assault”.

A source from the Presidency, however, disclosed that “this singular attempt of the PDP national leaders to exonerate or isolate themselves from the campaign miscalculations of the party during the elections, then, incriminate the President’s wife in the “hate campaign” and tacitly pitch the president-elect against her, had irked President Jonathan. He is now using the cordial relationships in the preparations for the May 29 handover to the president-elect to negotiate and secure a safety net for his wife.”

It was disclosed that to pay her back, the new government may be scrutinizing the deals of some federal parastatals where the outgoing First Lady might have had formal or informal transactions.

Some of the aides of the president-elect were said to have already begun providing clues on parastatals that could provide the president-elect sufficient cases for effective actions after May 29 but for the intervention of Jonathan.

The intervention was said to be necessary because Buhari had maintained a stern stance on war against corruption and consistently harped on being tough in the battle to destroy corruption before corruption destroys Nigeria, in addition to the subtle plot by PDP NWC to make Buhari hate Jonathan’s wife when he assumes office over campaign activities.

There are speculations that the First Lady put her hand into so many things in several federal parastatals which include the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Customs and Exercise, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and others.

In reinforcing Buhari’s mission to terminate corruption in governance, a non-governmental organization, Network for Public Accountability, a fortnight ago, advocated that Buhari should consider investigating permanent secretaries and directors in the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Civil Service in the country.

Tanko Uke, National Coordinator of the Network, had in a statement in Abuja, accused these categories of public servants of being responsible for the massive rot and corruption in the system. He had stated that permanent secretaries, directors, in league with accountants, had continually exploited the internal mechanisms of the civil service for their enrichment to the detriment of the country’s development.

Uke contended that “these public officials were the ones who tutored political appointees on how to pillage the country’s resources,” advocating that “if the incoming government is serious about plugging leakages in the system; it had to beam its searchlight on them.”

He further argued: “It is no longer an illusion that they are the ones that own half of the choice property and estates in Abuja. They are the ones that exploit the internal mechanism of the system for self-enrichment as well as tutor political office holders how to circumvent the system.” He was of the belief that through such investigation, revelations could also be made on the corruption being perpetuated by political appointees which may facilitate the exposure of their ill-gotten or hidden wealth.

One of the sources from the president-elect further revealed that President Jonathan, however, did not make any case for PDP governors and ministers. He was said to have remarked that since there were claims that he could not handle them, Buhari will be at liberty to deal with them if any of them is indicted of corruption.

“Jonathan said if he could not deal with them, Buhari can go ahead to deal with them.” This was said to have been causing panic among several ministers and governors, particularly, Diezani Allison-Madueke, Minister of Petroleum, who has been running from pillar to pole seeking protection from the incoming administration,’ the source said.

Probably getting the hint earlier that President Jonathan is not ready to protect anybody on issue of corruption, Diezani has been going to retired army generals to seek support to persuade Buhari against prosecution, particularly, since the president-elect declared that he will probe the NNPC, in addition to similar demands from international institutions.

The petroleum minister in one of her game plan to be shielded from investigation or possible prosecution has been saying that if she is removed from office, Nigeria will lose the President of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

There has, however, been counter-argument that the OPEC Presidency is allocated to Nigeria as a member country not to her as an individual minister; and that the office could be occupied by a new minister of petroleum.

It was gathered that Diezani is not making much success with her lobby of retired generals to beg Buhari on her behalf. Our source revealed that many of the people she is running to had, at different times, sought one favour or the other from her in the petroleum industry but she humiliated them.

It was revealed that there was a particular case of one of the prominent persons who met her in London at a time. She gave him her telephone number but when the man came back to Nigeria and called, one of her aides picked the call, telling him that “Madam was sleeping”.

Pobeni, former Chief of Naval Staff, was said to have sponsored the petroleum minister to the United States (US) yet she later humiliated him when he needed her assistance.

The petroleum minister is now running from pillar to pole seeking protection against trial on corruption. The president was also said to have abandoned her.

President Jonathan has been enjoying rising profile from both Nigeria and in the international community over the orderly manner he conducted the 2015 general elections; more importantly, his sportsmanship in conceding defeat in the presidential election to Buhari without hesitation and finally resolving not to engage in any legal suit.

His rising leadership profile in the international arena has been enriching his credential that many international personalities are already suggesting recommendations for a United Nations appointment after he had handed over to Buhari on May 29. Such international appointment also gets Jonathan diplomatic immunity that may give him global protection in any country of the world.

Meanwhile, President Jonathan has been mobilizing national and international support for Buhari even as he has continued to work assiduously to ensure smooth transition in three weeks’ time despite the arguments between the APC and PDP of parallel or no parallel government or plots to truncate the transition process. Jonathan is widely celebrated for honouring his word that his presidential ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.

Though the last-minute appointments and a few other recent decisions of the federal government are being considered booby traps for the in-coming administration but both Jonathan and Buhari have maintained constant meeting to ensure smooth handover on May 29