Even though the progress of its anticorruption war has been slow and tortuous sometimes because of the cumbersome legal process and partly because of the alleged collusion of a number of powerful administration insiders with corrupt elements, the battle is still alive and well. Surely, the fear of Buhari’s war against graft is the beginning of wisdom for public office holders in the country today. And sometimes the long hands of the law reach up to officials in high places thus strengthening the anti-graft war and enhancing its credibility. Nowhere is the administration’s stance against corruption as visible and relevant as the ongoing investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) of certain humongous payments by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) of the sum of N2.5 billion to Pinnacle Communication Limited, a payment that spurred a petition to the ICPC moving the anti-graft body into action.
The N2.5 billion was part of the N10 billion seized from the NBC by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2016 for being banked in contravention of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy. On assumption of office as Director General of NBC, Mr Moddibo Kawu had reviewed the relationship between the NBC and Pinnacle Communication Limited getting the latter to withdraw a suit against the former in court as regards the appointment of a Signal Distributor for the Abuja Switch over. Kawu appointed the communication outfit as the Signal Distributor for the Abuja Switch over partly on the ground that “The Pinnacle Communications Limited Chairman, Lucky Omoluwa had supported the Buhari campaign and had thought the change of administration would offer an opportunity to rectify the injustice they faced under the former NBC DG, Emeka Mba”.
Kawu claims that Pinnacle Communications Limited delivered on its mandate as Signal Distributor thus necessitating the payment of the said N2.5 billion to the company five months after its appointment. Some of the items delivered by Pinnacle Communications within 90 days were the airfreighting of nine tons of weapons to Abuja, provision of facilities commissioned by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on 22nd of December, 2017 and commissioning of their Kaduna Centre a year later by Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
In an article in defence of Kawu published by Abubakar Maahmood Ahmed in an online medium, Daily Nigerian on April 19, and titled “Facts behind Modibbo Kawu’s ICPC travails” the writer delved into a number of issues which he believes are the real reasons why the ICPC is uncompromising and adamant in the prosecution of Kawu for the Pinnacle transaction, which the ICPC considers unethical and contravening due process. Most of the reasons adduced for Kawu’s travails smack of spurious conspiracy theories and unverified or even unverifiable rumours and hear say.
For instance, in taking on Alhaji Lai Mohammed in the piece, the writer avers that “When President Buhari announced the DGs to head media parastatals and the NBC, he caused the first level of shock. The announcement of Modibbo Kawu as the DG of NBC shocked the political team from the Southwest that had primed the position for Dele Alake, the former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State. Lai Mohammed as Minister of Information was said to have shouted in his office, that “This is unacceptable. Modibbo Kawu is not one of us”. This kind of outrageous nonsense, which has no basis in facts, was dished out by the writer as gospel truth.
Those who know Alhaji Lai Mohammed very well can readily testify that he is not one to indulge in the kind of intemperate outburst portrayed in the piece. And the assertion that Mr. Alake was ever primed to be DG of NBC is unadulterated falsehood. Yes, Mr. Alake is more than qualified to hold any office. But there is simply no truth in the allegation that Lai Mohammed ever proposed him to be DG of NBC or even made any attempt to do so. I make bold to say that Alake has not been to any minister’s office in the Buhari administration for any purpose at all not talk about going to hustle for positions or contracts. He has been too busy with his consultancy work both within and outside the country to engage in any such unproductive ventures.
In any case, if it is true that Lai Mohamed had opposed Kawu’s appointment and preferred Alake as DG Of NBC, why did he then as Minister of Information approve the Pinnacle Communication contract and even authorized the release of the N2.5 billion as requested by Kawu? It was only after the ICPC presented the facts in its possession to the minister that Lai Mohammed claimed that he was misled into giving approval for the release of the fund by the DG. A source with the ICPC familiar with the case, told the respected Online medium, Premium Times, that “Lai Mohamed has admitted that he did not do due diligence before signing off on a controversial N2.5 billion payment to a private digital distributor. Mohammed told the ICPC that he only approved the payment based on the recommendation of the DG of the NBC in May, 2017”.
Continuing the story reads: “Rasheedat Okodua, the ICPC spokesperson told Premium Times on Monday that Lai Mohammed was not charged because he said he was deceived into signing the document. Documents seen by Premium Times showed that Mr. Mohammed played more role than just signing documents. He signed several documents and also took part in discussions with Pinnacle Communications and embarked on foreign trips to inspect equipment for Nigeria’s digital switch over. Mr Kawu told Premium Times that he did no wrong in recommending the payment to Mr. Mohammed but did not assume responsibility for the minister’s approval”.
It is thus misleading for the impression to be created that Lai Mohammed had always opposed Kawu’s appointment and was thus determined from the onset to ‘make life difficult for him as DG of NBC’. If so, how did Kawu obtain the necessary ministerial approvals that gave him and Pinnacle Communication access to the funds requested? Surely, Mr Mohammed must have later on seen something wrong in the process for releasing the funds that made him distance himself from the NBC DG in his interactions with the ICPC.
In his writing in defence of Kawu, Abubakar Ahmed, does not spare his readers the most scurrilous attempts at stirring up ethnic and religious sentiments. For instance, he writes that “To make things even better, the new ICPC Board is headed by another VP sidekick, Bolaji Owasanoye who also belongs to the Redeemed Church. The plan is to bring into the NBC, after they might have removed Moddibo Kawu, their original candidate, Dele Alake, who also belongs to the Redeemed Church”. Surely, this is journalism at its very worst, which seeks to excite the base instincts of decent people on utterly unfounded assumptions and presuppositions.
Rallying his supposed ‘northern constituency’ to rise to Modibbo’s support, the writer makes statements that are really very damaging for Kawu, who first made his name as a progressive, radical and patriotic intellectual rather than ethno-regional jingoist. According to Abubakar Ahmed, “In the last elections, most NBC staff were reported to have voted for PDP because they wanted President Buhari to lose since that would mean that Modibbo Kawu would be removed as DG. One of the most entrenched cabals inside the NBC is the licensing cabal. It was the ruling mantra that Southerners that can, and must always be given licenses in the North, but Northerners are ALWAYS denied licenses in the South, especially the lucrative Lagos market. Well, Modibbo Kawu ensured that for the first time in the 25-year history of the NBC, Northerners got several licenses in Lagos”. So is this an acceptable defence for the infractions of collusion and fraud for which Kawu is facing serious court charges? What determines the issuance of license by the NBC? Are this based on states or region of origin or are there specific technical and specialist or capital base requirements for licensees to qualify?
Kawu was billed to appear in an Abuja High Court last Wednesday along with the GM of Pinnacle Communication, Mr Lucky Omoluwa. The case was, however, forced to adjourn till May 4th for hearing since Omoluwa was not in court. His counsel claimed that Omoluwa was still on his way to Abuja from Kaduna that morning. It will surely be a most interesting case when the hearing gets underway. It is unlikely that instigating ethnic, religious and partisan sentiments will avail much for Kawu in the final analysis. He is a brilliant man. Kawu should just prove to the court that he did not mislead the minister to approve fraudulent payments to Pinnacle Communication Limited. That is the crux of the matter.