Posted by FROM MARTINS OLOJA, ABUJA on
Abuja, the federal capital city, was soaked in anxiety at the weekend over security reports that some politicians were allegedly planning to eliminate certain key political figures under various guises.
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Abuja, the federal capital city, was soaked in anxiety at the weekend over security reports that some politicians were allegedly planning to eliminate certain key political figures under various guises.
It was learnt that separate security alerts raised last week by the Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Maikarfi and the former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Brigadier General Buba Marwa were not unfounded after all.
The latest of such reports said to have been lodged with the Presidency, The Guardian learnt, concerns the Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai. Certain plot to eliminate the Minister in the Presidency, was said to have been uncovered, and reported to the President at the weekend.
When contacted on telephone at the weekend, however, Mallam el-Rufai told The Guardian, "Please, leave that issue as the only authority I can report anything to, is the President and not the press. Security of everyone is in Allah's hand, not in anyone's hand...."
And on speculation that the reported machination may be consequential of his alleged ambition to contest the president's office in 2007, el-Rufai laughed, saying, "that is not an issue. You should know that I am not a politician. A politician cannot, in all modesty, do what I have been doing..."
The minister who has been at loggerheads at various times with certain members of the National Assembly over cases of attempted corruptive practices, said he would not succumb to any blackmail or threat, as politicians are wont to do. He added, "Some noisy decisions that I have taken in public interest should naturally give me away as a novice in politics".
He pleaded, "Please, leave me alone. I have enough challenges... do I look and talk as a politician?"
On Wednesday May 25, the Governor of Kaduna State had alerted the nation of plots to cause crisis in Kaduna State, one of the country's flashpoints.
The governor who summoned an emergency meeting of the council chairmen and security chiefs at the State House, Kawo Kaduna, claimed that some people had been going round the state distributing inciting religious documents and pamphlets in secondary schools and other institutions of higher learning.
Curiously, Governor Maikarfi who chaired the Presidential Committee that prepared the template for the on-going National Political Reform Conference in Abuja, also stated that security threats in the state through the activities of unidentified individuals and groups had been reported to the President and the Director-General of the State Security Service(SSS).
Specifically, the Governor revealed that the people behind the inciting religious documents had been traced to Abuja.
The second recent security whistle was blown by Brigadier General Marwa's men. According to them, a plot code-named: "Operation Black Tiger" through which armed agents are feared to have been raised to attack the retired General in one of four cities - Lagos, Yola, Kaduna or Abuja. The planned attack was to look like an armed robbery, the report said.
Sources close to the presidency revealed that there is more to Governor Maikarfi's alert than was revealed. Apart from reporting the matter to the President, the Governor had also alerted his friends and relations of how some big shots were planning to eliminate him and a minister from his state, Malam Nasir el-Rufai.
According to sources close to the Governor and the FCT Minister, "both of them have met and they have discussed how to protect themselves from possible attacks, after reporting the concerns to the President".
The presidency was said to have shown concern that the '2007 Scenario Planning' was already causing ripples in the middle of 2005.
It was also learnt at the weekend that the Presidency is rethinking the House of Representatives' report on the NITEL/PENTASCOPE because security reports on the same issue is at variance with the legislators' report.
It was also gathered that the President has also taken note of a revelation that one of the main consultants to the House Committee, had been fingered among those scheming to be Chairman of NCC and NITEL while Malam el-Rufai was Director-General of BPE.
Not only that, President Obasanjo was also said to be disturbed by a personal hand-written note the consultant attached to the report, which content was said to be contemptuous.
It was said that the report the House relied upon certain glaring bogus claims.
Technocrats in the presidency were disclosed to have noted that the projected annual income of NITEL did not raise any prospect that they would have made up to N100 billion dollars as claimed in the Reps' report.