A statement by Emmanuel Onwubiko and Zainab Ahmed, its coordinator and media officer, respectively, stated that after curious review of recent developments at the NIA, HURIWA was convinced that Rufai’s appointment smacked of nepotism, injustice and fraud, given the avalanche of allegations against the man.
According to them, the intrigues and manipulations playing out at the NIA, were a national embarrassment, as no amount of cover-up could hide the fact that Abubakar Rufai Ahmed was the wrong person to be appointed Director-General of the NIA.
The statement which was made available to Sundiata Post on Sunday night, accused the President of deliberately ignoring the national outcry from very credible organisations and individuals, including the management staff, directors and officers of NIA, over the appointment of the new NIA boss, stressing that it made no sense under a regime that tags itself as honest and transparent.
“The President chooses to remain aloof to the general mood of the nation, by refusing to adhere to the overriding public interest and overwhelming public good. While we are not oblivious of the powers conferred on him by the law to make such appointments, we hasten to state that the same law prescribes definite criteria for doing so. The action did not only negate the law, and also a gross contempt of the principles of justice, fairness, honesty”, the statement stressed.
The organisation described as worrisome the issue of alleged corruption by members of the committee that claimed to have worked out the blueprint for the turnaround of the NIA under the leadership of Ambassador Babagana Kingibe.
“It could be recalled that the former acting director-general of the agency, Ambassador Mohammed Dauda, made far reaching revelations to the effect that money was allegedly demanded and collected from him under the guise of Mr President’s directives. And given President Buhari’s known posture over such issues, It will be necessary of him ….(to) muster the moral courage and political will in referring the matter officially to the EFCC for thorough investigation of Babagana Kingibe, Abba Kyari, Abubakar Rufai Ahmed and others mentioned in the former Acting DG’s brief to the National Assembly committee on National safety and Intelligence”, they further stated.
“We are irked by the fact that, if indeed the appointee was a staff of the NIA when he took up permanent and pensionable appointment with the United Nations, it presupposes that he has been found wanting in his ethical and service oaths, and does not merit any public office. Having held two permanent appointments from the NIA and UNAMID at the same time and retired from the two in the same year gives us sufficient grounds to approach the courts for a proper interpretation of the implications of his action, viz-a-viz his appointment as the DG of the NIA”, HURIWA also pointed out.
“We foresee an imminent embarrassment that may eventually and inevitably result in the demolition of this national institution in which the nation has over the years committed huge resources to train manpower and to operationalize its mandates. To put it mildly, Rufai’s appointment poses grave dangers to the nation’s intelligentsia which we, at HURIWA find very traumatising”, the statement further said.
In passing a vote of no confidence on the National Assembly over the matter, HURIWA also described as callous and a display of nonchalance and unbridled pursuit of pecuniary interests, the yeoman’s job executed poorly by the Federal House of Representatives, particularly with the wishy-washy reports that emanated from that lower chamber of the national parliament, lacking substantially in logic and dominated by half-truths and manufactured justifications.
“We have, therefore, passed a deserved vote of no confidence on the Committee of the House of Representatives, on National Safety and Intelligence, headed by Mr Sani Jaji, in this matter.
“Apart from the ethical baggage of total disregard for the binding constitutional provision of Federal Character principle in appointments which you as the President of Nigeria celebrated unfortunately as shown by this show of shame which really is the best way to describe the choreographed appointment of the embattled substantive Director-General of NIA, we are worried about the disturbing allegation that this man has doubtful citizenship being a Chadian by birth, as confirmed by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu in a Hausa interview programme on Vision FM Radio, with Umar Farouk Musa on Wednesday 31st January 2018.
“May we, therefore, use this medium to serve President Buhari a 72-hour notice to suspend forthwith this controversial DG of NIA who from all indications does not merit such a high level appointment and follow the due process of the law with specific reference to the enabling legislation setting up the NIA in matters of appointment of DG or we will not hesitate to resort to litigation to compel Mr. President to do what is in the overall National interest of Nigeria”, the group said.