Date Published: 01/06/10

Controversy dogs Yar’Adua’s ‘sick bed appointments’

As debate rages over whether or not the signature on the 2009 supplementary appropriation bill is actually that of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who has been confined to his sick bed in a Saudi Arabian hospital since November 23, 2009, another controversy has erupted in the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) over claims that the same Yar’Adua last week approved the appointment of two executive secretaries for the commission.

Minister of State for Education, Hajiya Aishatu Dukku had on new year’s eve announced on national television that Yar’Adua, who has been incommunicado for over 40 days, had approved the appointment of Dr. Rashid Aderinoye as deputy UBEC’s Executive Secretary and re-appointed Prof. Charles Onocha for another term of four years as deputy Executive Secretary (Technical).. Dukku’s claim has since been corroborated by a statement by UBEC’s spokesperson, Mr. David Apeh.

According to the UBEC Act 2004, only the President can appoint the Executive Secretary and the two deputy Executive Secretaries for a term of five years, in the first instance, and for another term of four years if he is satisfied with their performance.

Pointblanknews.com gathered that Aderinoye’s controversial appointment has set tongues wagging in the Education Ministry, raising posers over how Yar’Adua who is known not to have made any contact with any Nigerian apart from his immediate family and very close personal aides since November 23, 2009, could have authorized the appointments of Aderinoye when there was indeed neither need nor vacancy for the position.

Aderinoye, who holds a doctorate degree in adult Islamic education from the University of Ibadan, is a close ally of the UBEC executive secretary, Dr. Ahmed Modibbo, whose father is reputed to be a marabout of note in Adamawa State.

More confusing for the officials, Pointblanknews.com gathered, is why the appointments in UBEC, a mere agency of the ministry of education, is more important to Yar’Adua than other pressing matters of state begging for attention, including the stalemated amnesty programme, the swearing-in of Justice Katsina-Alu as Chief Justice of Nigeria, and more recently, the problems triggered by the failed Christmas day aircraft bombing bid by Yar’Adua’s kinsman, Farouk Abdul Mutallab.

“The amnesty programme is on the brink of collapse. The emergency on power has failed. Petrol queues are not getting shorter. The banks are sacking by the thousands. The president couldn’t swear in the Justice Katsina-Alu. Yar’Adua hasn’t spoken to his governor-in-laws Yuguda and Dakingari, yet some people want us to believe that the President, in addition to ‘signing’ the 2009 Supplementary appropriation bill from an unknown location, also approved the two appointments in UBEC? Dukku as well as the whole of Nigeria know that is not possible!” fumed a top official of the education ministry.

A presidency source however told Pointblanknews.com that the UBEC appointments may have been secured by Dukku through her brother-in-law, Jalal Arabi, who doubles as the State House Counsel.

“Dukku is Aishatu’s maiden name. She is married to Kamal Arabi, the elder brother of Jalal Arabi, the State House Counsel. For obvious political reasons, Aisha prefers to use Dukku as surname instead of Arabi. Her brother-in-law, Jalal is the alter ego of the notorious Attorney-General, Michael Aondoakaa.

“As State House Counsel, it is Jalal’s responsibility to “break down” all memos to the sick and apparently weak President into what is known as “executive summary.” It is while penning these summaries to Yar’Adua that Jalal adds or deletes whatever he feels tickles or offends his fancies in the memos. Even after Yar’Adua minutes on his summaries, Jalal still enjoys the privilege of twisting the President’s often ambiguous directives to suit his whim,” a top Presidency source told Pointblanknews.com.

The source disclosed that Jalal Arabi was responsible for misrepresenting the facts of a soured contract between UBEC and Intermarkets Ltd. over a move by the former to terminate a contract for the supply of plastic furniture for school children in alleged breach of the terms of the contract. Arabi, according to the source, had misled the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) into believing that Yar’Adua had a special interest in the matter, when in fact, it was Dukku, his sister in-law, that was out to, in concert with Modibbo, defraud the contractor.

Continued the source: “When that Intermarkets dragged UBEC and the ministry to court for breach of contract, Dukku, instead of going to defend her ministry in court, ran to Yar’Adua through Arabi, as if the matter was between Intermarkets and Mr. President. They claimed Intermarkets defrauded UBEC in a contract they successfully completed in 2006, and that the company took 85 per cent mobilization, the same 85 percent of N850 million Modibbo requested for and has kept in his private account for close to three years and nobody is raising any questions on the whereabouts of the money.”

 Another Presidency source explained that Jalal’s presence in Yar’Adua’s office not only has made him one of the most powerful men in Nigeria, but has catapulted Aisha Dukku, his elder brother’s wife, as one of the most influential ministers, easily more powerful than her senior minister, Dr. Sam Egwu, notwithstanding the fact that Egwu had for eight years served as governor of Ebonyi State.

Apart from having a history of making Yar’Adua approve memos written by her on the same day, Dukku had on a particular occasion got Yar’Adua to cancel an approval of a road map on education he had earlier given Egwu. In the 150-page road map, Egwu had urged government to “Promote State-driven incentives, such as mid-day meals, uniforms, transportation etc” and “improve health and nutrition of pupils and students.”  

However, sensing that the money for the school feeding wouldn’t end up in her pocket, Dukku had through Jalal Arabi, to the bewilderment of Egwu, convinced Yar’Adua to cancel the school feeding programme and approve a diversion of over N3 billion to print textbooks. Of course, the printing of the books was done by Dukku’s fronts.

To add a veneer of legitimacy to the charade, the Ministerial Tenders Board in a letter orchestrated by Dukku and dated 22 nd June, 2009, authorized her lapdog, the UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Ahmed Modibbo to award contracts totaling N3.3 billion for the printing of the textbooks. The letter was signed on behalf of the minister by one Mrs. J.M. Agwal.

Dukku had channeled another request by Modibbo to spend N2.5bn on six yet-to-be-ascertained “six items” in “Annex B” of his memo.  Both requests were on August 5, 2009, tabled before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for consideration, but were flatly rejected on the grounds that due process was not adhered to in the award of the contracts.

When the deal hit troubled waters, the same Dukku waded in through Jalal Arabi and was responsible for convincing the Bureau for Public Procurement otherwise known as “Due Process” to grant a back-dated Due Process certificate for a contract Modibbo awarded months earlier in breach of all due process regulations.

Somehow, Dukku pulled through and got Mrs. Turai Yar’Adua to baptize the textbooks’ printing scheme late last year. Turai, Dukku, Modibbo and disgraced ambassadorial nominee to the US, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, were believed to have lined their pockets with hundreds of millions of naira from kickbacks trailing the award of the printing contracts.

Officials in the education ministry believe that the recent “appointments” in UBEC was designed by Dukku to consolidate her stranglehold on the commission which is considered a very reliable milk cow.

“Dukku and everybody in the ministry know that there is no vacancy for the position of the deputy executive secretary of UBEC as the position is still occupied by Prof. Bridget Sokan, even though on suspension,” an education officer told Pointblanknews.com, adding, “so the purported appointment of Dr. Aderinoye cannot hold water even if actually authorized by Mr. President which most of us strongly doubt anyway.”

Pointblanknews.com gathered that Sokan and some other suspended and sacked officers in UBEC had taken their case to the union and the conciliator in the ministry of Labour and Productivity was set to deliver judgment on the matter.

“UBEC and the suspended officers had made presentations. Having listened to both parties, the conciliator had set December 22 nd, 2009, to deliver judgment but UBEC failed to show up. Dukku ought to know better that the matter was before a conciliator and a step away from the industrial court. To remove a serving officer simply because he or she is in court is criminal as it tends to prejudge the case. Prof. Sokan remains UBEC’s deputy executive secretary until her tenure expires. And her tenure cannot expire while she is on suspension,” an official of the labour ministry posited.