NIA D-G: Presidency lied, says National Patriots Forum

“President Buhari has what it takes to dig into the hidden story of the man who parades himself as his kinsman and personal aide, as he may have planted a foreign mole at the NIA. Femi Adesina will be doing his job well by declining to defend what is clearly indefensible.”
With the above words, the National Patriots Forum (NPF), on Sunday, faulted the position of the presidency on the appointment of Alhaji Abubakar Rufai Ahmed as the Director-General (D-G) of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
Presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, had earlier, in a statement entitled ‘NIA DG: FACTS OF THE MATTER’ said:
“A lot of half-truths, misinformation, and outright falsehood have attended the announcement of a new Director-General for the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), in the person of Mr Ahmed Rufai Abubakar .
“Some of such unfounded stories include that Abubakar had retired from the services of NIA as an Assistant Director, because he failed promotion examinations twice, and had to quit, willy-nilly. Others claim he is married to a Moroccan, and so cannot hold such sensitive security position, while others say he was born and bred in Chad, and he holds dual nationality. All these have been widely disseminated on the social, and some mainstream media. With the formal assumption of office by Mr Abubakar, it is now necessary to set the facts straight.
“The new NIA D-G retired from Foreign Service as Deputy Director (not Assistant Director) and three times during his career, had won Merit Award for competence and meritorious service. Failing promotion examination can only exist in the fecund minds of fiction writers. His last position before the new appointment was as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs/International Affairs where again he quietly proved himself.
“Abubakar’s parents hailed from Katsina State, and had settled in Chad at a point in their lifetime. The new D-G did his primary school in Ndjamena (then Fort-Lamy), but returned to Nigeria for his secondary and University education. He never at any time held Chadian nationality.
“Mr Abubakar’s only wife hails from Katsina State, indeed, from the same community as the husband. The story of being married to a Moroccan can only be tale by moonlight, concocted by people who love a fib.
“The President appointed the new D-G because he had worked closely with him in the past two years, and sincerely believes that he would add value to the NIA”.
But, the Chairman of NPF, Comrade Adewale Benjamin, and Secretary, Mustapha S. Tarajo, would have none of that.
To them, the presidency lied to Nigerians to justify Ahmed’s appointment.
They said in a statement: “It was obvious that Mr Adesina merely read out a script, as his schedules demand but obviously does not understand the issues, neither does he know the new NIA D-G well enough to defend.
“It was not in dispute that Abubakar Rufai Ahmed was born and bred in Chad. It is also on record that he schooled there and later sought further education at the Bayero University, Kano in Nigeria. His educational pursuit in Nigeria has nothing to do with his nationality, as Nigeria has always been a haven of scholarship for Chadians and Nigeriens. Chad remains Abubakar’s first love, just like his mentor, Babagana Kingibe, who still  lives in Chad even today. It is only logical to state that Abubakar Rufai Ahmed  is a Chadian citizen by birth, going by international conventions covering citizenship. Unless he renounces that, he remains a citizen of Chad.
“The Presidency, through its spokesman, was gracious to have admitted that Abubakar’s parents stayed in Chad, and not his uncle as earlier claimed. We had cause to raise some posers when Abubakar initially claimed to have grown up with his uncle in Chad. Those posers may have changed the tone of the story now.
“Supposing Nigerians accept the latest story about his parents, the questions to ask are: who his parents are and what took them to Chad if they are Nigerians? Also, whether the parents ever came back to Nigeria or still live in Chad, and if they are dead, whether they died in Chad or in Nigeria.
“No amount of denials can change the story of his sordid marital background either, as we state without fear of contradiction that Ahmed Rufai married a Morrocan lady, named Mariam, with whom he had a female child. Whether they are divorced or still together, the fact remains that he is technically involved with a foreigner, which is inappropriate for any NIA staff.
“The controversy surrounding the NIA D-G’s service and his unceremonious retirement are being swept under the carpet for obvious reasons.
“We challenge the presidency to explain in clear terms with proofs of Abubakar’s record of service viz-a-viz relevant papers of his retirement from service. Or let any of Abubakar’s mates, who sat for the exams with him, come forward and tell the world if Abubakar did pass and did not retire willy nilly, following his poor outing in two previous exams.
“We challenge the presidential spokesman to publish the details of the so-called merit awards won by Rufai Ahmed, and whether such awards surpass workplace evaluation, which the NIA Director-General failed twice. If he does not know, he should ask from those who were witnesses to Rufai’s serial failings.
“What the Presidential spokesman failed to explain to Nigerians is why the President flouted the recommendations of a committee he set to reorganize the NIA, by picking his personal aide instead of picking the Director-General from amongst the core of serving Directors of the agency, as recommended.
“Those who continuously pull the wool over President Muhammadu Buhari’s eyes, which prevents him from insulating such sensitive organizations like the NIA and from  seeing the reality of the Nigerian anger against his Government, are being most uncharitable to the country”.