By Ebimokumo Pondei
There are individuals in every society who for a few shillings will sell their mothers down the river or their nations into the hands of foreign enemies.
Nigeria is not lacking in such individuals whose moral compass inexorably swing in the direction their bread would be buttered. For these individuals, nothing is sacred; not national values, national security or above all, human life. To them, everything is fair game as long as their plans are greased and their pockets lined with filthy lucre.
In the last three decades the ranks of these individuals gave swelled astronomically spawning a thriving industry of blackmail and political profiteering undergirded by a ‘Pull Him Down’ mindset that seeks to rubbish the efforts of serving public officials working hard to make a difference in the lives of Nigerians.
This diseased mindset was on display a few days ago when a nebulous group identifying themselves as Concern Citizens on Economic Reform Nigeria (CCERN) wrote a letter to the United States Embassy falsely claiming that NNPC Ltd sells crude oil to Russia and supports Russian interests in Nigeria. Unfortunately for them, their schene collapsed spectacularly as the American Embassy has dismissed both the letter and the allegations. Instead, they have pledged to maintain the strong relationship that led to the creation of the U.S.-Nigeria Energy Strategic Dialogue, initiated by the State Department and co-chaired by Mele Kyari, the GCEO.
It is not in doubt that NNPC Ltd is a global energy leader that strictly adheres to all applicable laws, regulations, and international agreements,
including those related to sanctions.
As the United States Embassy was tossing the letter into the waste bin, a coalition of non-governmental Organisations under the aegis of Initiative for Leadership and Economic Watch in Nigeria, was disowning the shadowy group that crafted it. In a letter addressed to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), through the US Embassy, the NGOs said they were writing to formally disclaim the letter in order to save their organizations from the “criminal elements” who hijacked their NGOs and former address to author such defamatory and untrue petition against the GCEO of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Mr Mele Kyari and the Chief Executive Officer of Matrix Energy group, Abdulkabir Adisa Aliu.
In the letter titled, “DISCLAIMER OF PETITION AGAINST PERSONS OF INTEREST IN THE VIOLATION OF THE COALITION-AGREED PRICE CAP ON RUSSIAN CRUDE”, and jointed signed by Comrade Splendour Agbonkpolor (Convener of Initiative for Leadership and Economic Watch), Chief Dominic Ogakwu (Convener of Civil Society Group for Good Governance), Comrade Jacob Okpanachi (Convener of Environmental Rights Initiative (SPEEERI) Social, Political, Economic, Educational and, Comrade Victor Itsede (Convener of Restore Nigeria Initiative), the NGOs stated:
“Our withdrawal of the letter stands on the fact that the office address listed on the group letterhead belongs to us and the name used by the group was also twisted to look like one of our own. The name of the convener also happens to be assumed to be one of us since we have such a name in our coalition.
The NGO who wrote it in disguise of one of ours is not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Secondly, the two phone numbers used in their letterhead do not exist anywhere but created out of their memories.
“Most importantly, the address listed there as Suite B5, 3rd Floor, Danville Plaza, No 5, David Ejoor Crescent, Abuja is currently unoccupied. We all occupied various sections of Danville Plaza for over ten years as NGOs but last year December, the owner of the place sold it and we all moved to new places. Even while we used the plaza as our office, there was nothing like 85 and it was no over numbered that way in to this minute, the place is currently unoccupied and totally empty. We therefore wonder who will use a non-registered NGO to write to a country like yours from a non-existing address, in order to make it look like our work as former occupants of the place, knowing that the US government will carry out due diligence to authenticate the true author of such petition.”
The group said they do not subscribe to blackmail of the NNPCL GCEO, Kyari and the CEO of Matrix Energy, Aliu and would not sit back and watch people impersonate organizations they had built credibly for years in order to make them look like enemies of a well-meaning Nigeria state. It said anyone with an axe to grind with NNPCL and its management as well as Matrix Energy Group should be bold to use their registered NGO as well as address and not theirs. It OFAC to disregard the petition submitted by the impersonators as its not authored by ILEW who are former occupants of the address in the non-existing NGO.
Voice of Jacob, Hand of Esau
The failed letter to the American Embassy and dismissed by both the embassy and ILEW by the obviously signed by Comrade Tijani Ibrahim and Ambassador Fatima Abubakar is obviously a hatchet job done by someone very adept at manipulation and blackmail. Everything points in one clear direction. The individual cuts the look of an innocent and law abiding individual. With his chubby cheeks and beguiling smile, he could easily pass for a respectable and harmless citizen. For anyone having that notion, it would be a fatal misreading of a crooked, calculating and ruthless shyster very much at home with trickery, blackmail and other underhand means of getting things done.
Ikenga Ugochinyere, lawyer, politician and member of the House of Representatives, is not your regular representative in parliament. His is not service to the people but a journey to self-aggrandizement. His sojourn in politics attests to this. Elected into the House of Representatives in 2023, Ugochinyere quickly wangled his way to the leadership of one of the key committees, the House Committee on Petroleum Downstream where he became Chairman without professional background or experience in the oil and gas sector. Many were shocked by his emergence as Chair of the committee but those who knew his ability to manipulate and manoeuvre himself and out of situations, were not the least surprised. It was completely in keeping with his character.
Whilst other members of the committee saw their appointment into the committee as a call to duty, Ugochinyere saw it as an avenue for personal aggrandizement. And it was not long before he showed his hands. Since assuming headship of the committee Ugochinyere has according to reports, turned it into a tool for blackmailing and extorting money from government agencies his committee oversights. Where such agencies fail to play ball, he goes for the jugular of its leadership.
This became apparent recently when the disagreement between Alhaji Aliko Dangote, owner of the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) over the latter’s allegation of Dangote Refinery producing adulterated diesel and Dangote replying that the NMDPRA was indiscriminately issuing import licences to marketers to import petroleum products.
A Skilled Manipulator
To thoroughly investigate the matter and ensure that the truth is revealed, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, set up a joint investigative committee headed by Ugochinyere to look into the allegations.
As is expected of any committee, members were expected to look dispassionately into the issues and come up with a balanced verdict. But that wasn’t what happened.
From Day One Ugochinyere had his own plan different from that of other members of the committee and it became apparent soon enough.
In a move that surprised members of the committee, Ugochinyere asked that the committee stop the NNPCL from sourcing $2 billion funding from the open market. Members resisted noting that without have the facts of the matter, it would unfair to do so.
Thwarted, he made his next move, which was to lobby his colleagues to take a position favourable to the Dangote Refinery even when investigation into the matter was yet to be concluded. He suggested they issue press releases and organize press conferences on the issue. Again, they refused insisting it was premature. This didn’t stop him as he manipulated 15 lawmakers into endorsing a statement he had personally written in favour of Dangote Refinery and addressing a press conference thereafter. At the press conference he and 15 his colleagues exonerated Dangote Refinery of any wrong doing and called for the sack of Engr. Farouk Ahmed and Makam Mele Kyari, CEOs of NMDPRA and NNPCL.
Coming before his committee had commenced investigation into the matter, Ugochinyere’s action was deemed by many Nigerians as reprehensible as suggested compromise on the part of Ugochinyere and his colleagues. It was also totally embarrassing to the leadership of the House, which promptly disbanded the Committee. A statement issued by Akin Rotimi, House spokesman, said:
“The Leadership of the House of Representatives has resolved to dissolve the current ad-hoc Joint Downstream and Midstream Committee.
“To ensure the efficacy and independence of this investigation, the new committee will consist of honourable members selected for their expertise, competence, and integrity.
The disbanding of the committee is clearly commendable. The decision to opt for individuals with competence and integrity will ensure that shady characters like Ugochinyere do not find their way in.
The drama king Ugochinyere is not taking the disbandment of the committee lying low. He is reportedly threatening the Speaker of the House with all manner of indignities. But it is totally in keeping with his character. He loves drama. His every action is laced with histrionics and so Nigerians should watch out for his next move.
As a politician his career has been filled with high octane drama. From faking attempted assassinations on his life to routinely haranguing political opponents, he has cast him in the unenviable position of a political opportunist seeking to maximise whatever benefits he feels his status as a politician entitles him.
As spokesman of the Conference of United Political Parties (CUPP), he freely fired shots at whoever caught his fancy. He hobnobbed with leading political figures especially state governors, cajoling, blackmailing and extorting funds with which he was able to fund his election into the House of Representatives. Even his election into the House of Representatives was not without glitches as he was upended by the Election Petitions Tribunal before he was restored to office by the Court of Appeal.
As a lawmaker, he has often gone beyond the remit of duty to get involved in issues completely unrelated to law making or oversighting of government agencies, parastatals or other institutions operating in the Nigerian public space. Recently, for instance, he poked his snort into the disagreement between Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessors and current FCT Minister, Nyesome Wike.
On June 18, he addressed a press conference where he took sides with Governor Fubara over his fight with members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Wike, over sacked Local Government Chairmen. Members of the Rivers State caucus in the House of Representatives furious over his action, called for disciplinary action against him.
A statement signed by Rt. Hon. Dumnamene Dekor, Leader of the Caucus, and Hon. Cyril Hart, Secretary of the Rivers Caucus, said Ugochinyere has consistently exhibited a lack of decorum and responsible conduct befitting his high office. According to him:
“Hon. Ugochinyere’s latest intervention is laden with all the ingredients that have characterized his previous actions: blackmail, half-truths, outright lies, misinformation, and disinformation.
“In every instance, his prejudicial media statements also constitute a thoughtless assault on due process and ongoing judicial processes aimed at resolving the disagreement in Rivers.” It was not only members of the Rivers Caucus in the House that were upset by Ugochinyere’s action.
Representative Yusuf Gagdi, a legislator from Plateau State, said reports that about 50 members of the House paid a solidarity visit to Governor Similaye Fubara of Rivers during their visit to the state, had bridged his privilege as a member. Mr Gagdi added that Mr Ugochinyere’s statement was in bad taste and made the House look like it was taking a position on political matters. He said that the report presented the story as though the members visited the governor on behalf of the House, whereas they were in Rivers for an oversight function and decided to greet the governor.
Gun for Hire
Organising press conferences, issuing press statements and making appearences on live television programmes is Ugochinyere’s favourite pastime, the difference being that unlike others who the same things for largely patriotic and altruistic reasons, Ugochinyere gets paid handsomely for doing them by his sponsors. This year alone he has organized over 10 live press conferences, covered by major private television stations. Given the huge cost of live coverage by leading private television stations like Arise and Channels TV, Ugochinyere’s appearances have raised the all-important question of who funds these interventions.
Given his history, it is not difficult to fathom that these are all hatchet jobs funded by shadowy figures with the intent of pushing their nefarious agenda through. And Ugochinyere is not new to hatchet jobs. He has such a rich history of it that this latest ketter to the American Embassym the call for the sack of Farouk and Kyari as well as his support for Governor Fubara, are all manifestations of the “voice of Jacob and the hand of Esau”.
Nigerians will recall the role he played in 2013 when he was used by some politicians operating behind the scenes, to attempt to scuttle the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a political party by hurriedly floating another party with the same acronym. It took intense lobbying, remonstrations and possibly a huge financial pay-off as some have suggested for him to back down.
These schemes by the petit politician from Imo State has made him enormously rich beyond his capacity. His fleet of luxury cars, the permanent suite he maintains at the Transcorp Hilton and the ostentatious lifestyle he leads are well outside his professional capacity to attain given that he is not known to be an investor or the CEO of any manufacturing or service providing company. His wealth is almost wholly derived from his blackmailing business and hatchet jobs he does now and then for his desperate patrons.
Thwarted by the American Embassy in this latest effort of his, Ugochinyere will definitely skunk home to lick his wound but rest assured he will show up somewhere soon engaging in another sleazy scheme for his new found patron in the oil industry.
•The writer is a Port Harcourt-based public policy analyst.
