Presidential aide: With IGP’s sack, more heads to roll

Less than six weeks to his handing over to Major-General Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s 15th Commander-in-Chief, President Goodluck Jonathan is determined to “do away with those who compromised Mr. President’s re-election plans on March 28, 2015,” a presidential source declared on Tuesday.
He made the revelation before the sack of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba, was announced by presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati.
Head of the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department and Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of Police, Solomon Arase, has been appointed to take over from Abba in acting capacity.
A statement by Abati on Tuesday entitled ‘President Jonathan sacks Suleiman Abba, appoints Arase as Acting IGP’ reads:
“President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has relieved the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, of his appointment and duties with immediate effect.
“President Jonathan has also appointed Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, as Acting Inspector-General of Police, also with immediate effect.
“Until his appointment as Mr. Abba’s replacement, Mr. Arase was the Head of the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department.
“Mr. Arase holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Law, as well as Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Political Science and Strategic Studies.
“He is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Defence College”.:
The general belief after the sack is that when Buhari assumes duty on May 29, he may reinstate Abba.
A similar scenario played out about 30 years ago.
In 1985, Buhari, who was then Nigeria’s seventh Commander-in-Chief, sacked Lt-General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, the current Defence Minister.
When General Ibrahim Babangida overthrew Buhari on August 27, 1985, one of his first assignments was to reinstate Gusau.
Freedom Online learned that some of those close to Jonathan (security chiefs, ministers and PDP chieftains) betrayed him during the presidential election.
The presidency source said: “They collected money but pocketed, at least, 90 per cent of it because of their belief that President Jonathan may lose the election. Obviously, the president lost but he was particularly pained that majority of these people also worked against his interest and that of the PDP during the April 11 governorship elections.
“It was bad that the president lost the presidency to the APC but to also lose some key states is something the president could not accept. Security was compromised and breached in some of these states. In fact, they were guilty of security and protocol breaches. Directives that these security chiefs should have issued themselves were left for some so-called subordinates who have no powers. Top presidency officials had to intervene directly in these states on April 10, a day to the governorship election. Orders and counter-orders were just flying all over the place. That was why one of the AIGs was removed from a particular troubled states on the eve of the election.
“It was that bad. Since the president conceded defeat and Prof. Attahiru Jega announced General Buhari as winner on March 31, these people have been treating Dr. Jonathan as a lame-duck president. Some of them have even avoided Aso Rock. Mark my word. It is not only the IGP who will be sacked. More of them will go, even in the PDP”.
Meanwhile, a pressure group in Ekiti State, the Ekiti Democratic Coalition (EDC), has hailed Abba’s sack, accusing him of collaborating with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to subvert the mandate of Ekiti people
freely given to Governor Ayodele Fayose.
EDC, in a statement by its Convener, Comrade Boladale Adeniyi, alleged that the sacked IGP and the immediate past Commissioner of Police in the State, Taiwo
Lakanu, aided the APC lawmakers in their evil plot to remove Fayose.
The group alleged that Abba was to be used by the APC to
subvert democracy in Ekiti and some other PDP-controlled states.
“Lakanu was removed unceremoniously as Ekiti State Commissioner of Police. Now, Suleiman Abba too has been sacked.
“The major lesson to be learnt here is that Fayose’s mandate is being guarded by God and He is ready to humiliate anyone working against the people’s governor,” EDC said.
The group warned the APC lawmakers to tread the path of peace and development, rather than advertising their hatred for Ekiti and its people.
It said: “If you were using Lakanu against Ekiti people and Lakanu was removed, you were also using IGP Suleiman Abba, he has now been sacked, shouldn’t it be clear to those plotting against Fayose that they are hitting their heads against Ekiti rocks?
“The fate that befell CP Lakanu and IGP Suleiman Abba is enough to tell those still running from pillar to poll, plotting Fayose’s impeachment to understand that Fayose holds Ekiti people’s mandate and fighting against him is like fighting against the entire people of Ekiti and the Lord who created them.”