Date Published: 12/26/09

Politicians woo military with N10 billion to take over

…Stay out of it, Military warns

Security reports obtained by pointblanknews.com have revealed that some notable politicians said to be close to the ailing President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua may have approached some top military personnel with a whooping N10 Billion to take over power and subsequently hand over to them after six months.

General Dambazau, Chief of Army Staff

An unnamed State Governor has declared readiness to provide the fund which they hope would be used to execute the project and launch a strong propaganda machinery to douse the aftermath effect, the report stated.

This is just as the Nigerian military through the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Dambazau warned rank and file of the military to stay clear of the political impasses in Nigeria as they can only be resolved by the constitution.

According to Dambazau “Whatever political disputes that may exist in our society, like they exist in all human society, they are best settled through constitutional means. Please the military should be left out of this.”

However, Pointblanknews.com gathered from a security report that in the last two weeks some highly placed politicians have been meeting to with some top military officials to fine tune the possibility of a military strike that would see the military taking over for six months.

Sources also hinted that Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan is aware of the plot against him and his administration but is heavily depending on the constitution which empowers him to take over in the event the President is incapacitated due to ill health.

The plots according to the report includes but not limited to scrapping of all the political parties, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Legislative arm, assassinating some selected politicians and abolishing of the 1999 constitution.

The meeting is said to have been held once in Saudi Arabia and severally in Dubai and later in Nigeria within the last three weeks.

Vice-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

The report indicated that the reason behind the continuous delay in Vice-President Jonathan assuming the leadership of the country is largely as a result of the group’s pressure to give the ailing President more time to recover.

Sources hinted that the group is largely aware that the President can no longer make it to the presidency even if he is well and discharged from the Saudi Hospital.

According to the report, the meeting was spearheaded by politicians who are said to have vehemently refused to allow Vice-President Jonathan take over as prescribed by the 1999 constitution.

National Security Adviser, General Sarki Mukhtar, Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State, Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa, James Ibori, Minister of Agriculture, Abba Ruma, Yar’adua’s Chief Economic Adviser, Tanimu Yakubu Kurfi, Yar’adua’s younger brother, Lieutenant Colonel Audu Yar’adua an Assistant Director of Logistics of the Nigerian Army, Chief Security Officer (CSO) to President Yar’Adua, Yusuf Tilde are among those strongly opposed to Goodluck Jonathan Presidency and have all been linked to the plot.

Section 144 (1) of the Nigerian constitution states that the president ceases to hold office if by a resolution passed by two-third majority of all the members of the executive council of the federation, the president or the vice-president is declared to be incapable of discharging his functions and that declaration is verified by a medical panel of five doctors including his personal physician.

Pointblanknews.com gathered that the politicians were tinkering with the idea of having Vice-President Jonathan take over for only six months and then ordering a fresh election by which one of them would emerge as the presidential candidate but later resolve that such may give the Bayelsa State born Vice President some political powers he might use to work against them.

The group, according to the report chose the military option on the basis that it would provide them a fresh start and an opportunity to position themselves strategically to be a formidable political group.

Sources hinted that the group would rather have a fresh democratic start than have a Goodluck Jonathan as President whom they say “have no political machinery and have overtime benefitted politically where he never sowed.”

A very credible top Military official who authenticated the security report obtained by Pointblanknews.com further hinted that a signal message has been dispatched to all the military commands in Nigeria to that effect.

The military officer also hinted that the military is working hard to avert what he described as “the 1983 situation.”