Top public officials who dared
their presidents
Published September 10, 2017


Last week , one of President Muhammadu Buhari ’ s
ministers, Aisha Alhassan , voiced her support for
the 2019 presidential ambition of one of the
President ’s strongest rivals . BAYO AKINLOYE
profiles Alhassan and other public officials who
dared or defied Nigerian presidents


Your Excellency , ” the Minister of Women Affairs
and Social Development , Aisha Alhassan , began in
a video that went viral on social media last week.
“Our father and our president by the grace of God
come 2019 . Before you are your people , your
supporters for life, and the people of Taraba State ;
they are here to pay homage and to greet you on
the occasion of Sallah and for all that Allah has
done for you because Allah has raised your
status . ”


The fair- skinned, bespectacled minister was not
addressing President Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari
Ihasn ’ t signified an intention to run for reelection .
However , his associates have been dropping hints
of a possible run for reelection while supporters
are clamouring for the same .


Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the man
Alhassan was addressing at the event , has not
hidden his intention to contest the presidency
again , possibly during the 2019 presidential poll .
Therefore , Alhassan ’s mellifluous voice and
salutary words , which later caused much disquiet
within the corridors of power , must have sounded
like good music to Abubakar.


It was the same tone of voice she used in an
interview with the British Broadcasting
Corporation , Hausa Service a few days after . She
spoke with such verve and boldness . During the
interview, Alhassan who is also known as Mama
Taraba , reiterated her support for Atiku and his
ambition .


“Since I was in the civil service , His Excellency ,
Atiku Abubakar, has been my mentor and
godfather. He has remained so even now that I
have joined politics . There is a reason for every
political relationship.


“Baba Buhari has not told anybody that he is
contesting in 2019 . I can assure you that today , if
Baba Buhari says he is going to contest, walahi
tallahi (I swear by Allah ) , I will go and kneel down
before him and say, ‘ Baba, I am grateful for the
opportunity you have given me to serve as a
minister in your administration but Baba, like you
know , Atiku is my godfather.


“If Atiku says he is going to contest – but he too
has not said he will contest … Why I said (Atiku ) is
‘ our President come 2019 ’ is that we expect that he
will contest . But if he contests , I will go and do
what I just told you I will do . ”
Alhassan was equally daring as she assessed the
possible consequences of her bold support for
Atiku .


She said , “Those who are saying I will be sacked
will be put to shame. Even if I am sacked, it is
Allah ’ s will ; I never lobbied for it. It was Allah
who gave it to me. ”


Her comments were met with silence from the
Presidency ; neither Buhari nor his spokesmen
have reacted to her statements .
Her position has made the ruling All Progressives
Congress to press the panic button with its
National Working Committee calling for a meeting
to be held on September 11 .


However , Mama Taraba is not the first minister or
public official to dare or defy a President .


Lokpobiri dared Buhari too:


In this dispensation , the dare- or - defy posture
seemed to have begun with the Minister of State
for Agriculture and Rural Development , Senator
Heineken Lokpobiri , jetting out of the country in
January this year without any approval to do so.
Buhari had in 2016 directed his aides and other top
officials of the Federal Government to get approval
from him through the Chief of Staff , Abba Kyari,
for trips outside the country .


The junior minister, who had written a letter
dated December 28 , 2016 , to the President through
Kyari, travelled out of the country without getting
a reply to his request .


Reportedly , Lokpobiri ’ s request was turned down –
but he was said to be already in faraway China
when the response to his letter came on January 9 ,
2017 .


Onagoruwa ’s derring- too:


Speaking up against maximum ruler , Late Gen .
Sani Abacha , during his infamous reign as
Nigeria ’ s Head of State , was a risky business left
for those in the opposition .


Olu Onagoruwa , a lawyer with impeccable records
as a human rights champion , first did the
unspeakable when he threw his weight behind
Abacha ’ s government in 1993 by accepting to be its
attorney general and minister of justice.
Barely one year after , Onagoruwa had turned into
an activist in government . He condemned and
dissociated himself from eight decrees the dictator
had issued.


Onagoruwa addressing a press conference said the
decrees would “sweep away our liberties .” He
threatened to resign .


Unlike Alhassan and Lokpobiri in the current
administration , Onagoruwa was given the boot.
Prior to the press conference where he lashed out
against the decrees , the firebrand minister had
enraged Abacha by issuing a letter ordering the
release of Turner Ogboru who was incarcerated
for a crime allegedly committed by his brother ,
Great Ogboru.


Entered Akunyili:


Late Prof. Dora Akunyili , said to be close to the
then - President Umaru Yar ’Adua ’ s family,
particularly his wife , swam against the tide when
she circulated – to the dismay of other ministers
during a Federal Executive Council meeting – a
memo requesting that then - Vice President
Goodluck Jonathan should be declared the acting
president .


She was instantly accused of betrayal . But she
stood her ground.


“I want to start my humble submission by stating
that I am a 100 - per - cent loyalist of President
Yar ’ Adua . President Yar ’ Adua is very dear to me
just as he is to all of you . We are all aware of what
has been happening in Nigeria , especially as it
concerns the issue of making the Vice President an
acting president .


“What went wrong? We love our president but we
should remember that he is not infallible . Before
he left Nigeria he had a moral and constitutional
obligation to officially inform the Senate and hand
over the mantle of leadership to the Vice President
pending his return and recovery. That did not
happen. Yes , the mistake has been made by our
boss and brother . Mr . President is ill and did not
choose to be sick . But while we continue to pray
for his recovery, we should try to right the wrong
he did .


“We need to do what is morally right and
constitutional for the president to officially hand
over to the Vice President to function as acting
president . If he does not, we can evoke whichever
aspect of the constitution that should make the
Vice President an acting president . If we fail to act
now , history will not forgive us . I rest my case , ”
Akunyili had argued.


Her clarion call was supported by Senator Bala
Mohammed of the Nigeria Integrity Group , who
was later rewarded by Jonathan as the Minister of
the Federal Capital Territory .

Sanusi suspended for speaking out
As a former CBN governor , Sanusi Lamido Sanusi
was suspended for speaking out against what he
perceived as gross financial impropriety by some
government officials and the management of the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation .


He had written to former President Goodluck
Jonathan months before accusing the NNPC of
failing to remit $ 49 . 8 bn (about N8 tn) from the
sales of crude oil for 19 months .
That letter, according to political observers, was
interpreted as indicting the president of being
negligent or complicit of the goings- on in the oil
firm .


Jonathan would later wield the big stick and
ordered the indefinite suspension of Sanusi for
daring to look him in the eye .


Tukur too:


Hamman Tukur , a former Chairman of the
Revenue Mobilisation , Allocation and Fiscal
Commission , had a running battle with former
President Olusegun Obasanjo , who was also the
Minister of Petroleum , about the money the NNPC
ought to have remitted to the federation account.
According to Tukur, the accounts of the
organisation was unaudited since 1999 until 2006 .
Tukur also claimed some top officials of the
corporation were involved in a N502 bn shady
practice of producing crude oil in excess of the
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries ’
quota for the country .
He also accused the corporation of unclear
accounting of about N555 bn between December
2004 and April 2007 .


The RMAFC boss noted that the nation might have
lost the sum due to lack of transparency and
accountability in the NNPC ’ s computation and
payment procedures .

www.punchng.com/top-public-officials-who-dared-their-presidents/

She said , “Those who are saying I will be sacked will be put to shame. Even if I am sacked, it is Allah ’ s will ; I never lobbied for it. It was Allah who gave it to me. ”

elrufai and apc and other people calling for her sack re nitwits


like it or not atiku has supporters in apc . these amature politicians will cause serious political rancour in that party frm the way they re going about this issue.

who says atiku doesn't have supporters in the north is a clown
if not for that frog eyed asiwaju buhari would not even win primaries. keep underestimating the Turaki pls continue

Tukur too:


Hamman Tukur , a former Chairman of the
Revenue Mobilisation , Allocation and Fiscal
Commission , had a running battle with former
President Olusegun Obasanjo , who was also the
Minister of Petroleum , about the money the NNPC
ought to have remitted to the federation account.
According to Tukur, the accounts of the
organisation was unaudited since 1999 until 2006 .
Tukur also claimed some top officials of the
corporation were involved in a N502 bn shady
practice of producing crude oil in excess of the
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries ’
quota for the country .

He also accused the corporation of unclear
accounting of about N555 bn between December
2004 and April 2007 .


The RMAFC boss noted that the nation might have
lost the sum due to lack of transparency and
accountability in the NNPC ’ s computation and
payment procedures .

Just imaging!
He was a thieving president and brought in another thieving president.
That obasanjo commited so many bad things, he deserve to be in long term jail.

Get ready the buharist would come for you. Hope you have removed all the skeleton in your wardrobe.

Akunyili, my dear Akunyili! We will always remember her for the brave woman that she was... Not many can stand for truth when their own very interest is at stake.

Eye opener.. So mama Taraba isn't first person to dare his boss... Ok, buh kwantinu

And so what?

juman:


Just imaging!
He was a thieving president and brought in another thieving president.
That obasanjo commited so many bad things, he deserve to be in long term jail.

Send him to jail if you can.

juman:


Just imaging!
He was a thieving president and brought in another thieving president.
That obasanjo commited so many bad things, he deserve to be in long term jail.

Ur frustration is too much for ur brain to bear, imagine sentiment,tribalism and hatred has devour U to this extend, of all people that was written about it was only obasanjo U single out.

profolaolu:
Ur frustration is too much for ur brain to bear, imagine sentiment,tribalism and hatred has devour U to this extend, of all people that was written about it was only obasanjo U single out.

Yeah.
As a yoruba person.
He disgraced the tribe as president.

Martin luther Agwai who after several warnings by the then president Jonathan that no cabinet member shld attend OBJ's birthday dinner still went ahead to attend the dinner

Gen Azazi:PDP is boko haram,boko haram is PDP