Some personnel of the Armed Forces, Department of State Security (DSS), and Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) who went beyond their brief during the election campaign are in panic as May 29 draws near for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to take the reins of power.
They allegedly helped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to muzzle the APC before the dye was cast on March 28.
Aliyu Momoh
Brigadier General Aliyu Momoh, General Officer Commanding of the 32nd Artillery Brigade in Ekiti is likely worrying about the change of guards in Aso Rock.
A leaked tape alleged that Momoh joined leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including Governor Ayo Fayose; Senator Iyiola Omisore; Police Affairs Minister, Jeilili Adesiyan; and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Musiliu Obanikoro, in discussing strategies to rig the Ekiti governorship vote for the PDP in June 2014.
Marilyn Ogar
DSS spokesperson, Marilyn Ogar, may be losing sleep for the emergence of an APC government in Abuja. Through the spy agency, she has, in her personal and official capacities, accused the APC of gross misconduct.
She addressed a press conference on November 20, 2014 where she accused the APC of planning to clone Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and break into the database of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rig the election.
Ogar had in August 2014 insinuated that the APC was behind the spate of bombings in the country.
She said: “We had provided security for election in Edo and at the end of that election, permit me to say there was no bomb blast. We moved to Ondo and the Labour Party won in Ondo, there was bomb blast.
“We moved to Anambra and APGA won in Anambra, there was bomb blast. We moved to Ekiti, PDP won in Ekiti, there was bomb blast.
“We thank God that we were able to deploy appropriately (for the election in Osun). The results have come out and the APC has won, and thank God there was no bomb blast.”
Olajide Laleye
Former Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Olajide Laleye is in the spotlight for allegedly erecting stumbling blocks against the APC and its presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.
The Army claimed through him at a press conference that Buhari’s certificate was missing in his file, and that it was unsure if the original was verified when he enlisted.
“It is a practice in the Nigerian Army that before candidates are short-listed for commissioning into the officers’ cadre of the service; the selection board verifies the original copies of credentials that are presented.
“However, there is no available record to show that this process was followed in the 60s,” Laleye said.
Eugene Juwah
NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Eugene Juwah, may face the music for barring the APC from raising campaign funds through telecommunication networks.
A court has ruled that the action of the NCC is illegal.
Patrick Akpobolokemi
Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director General, Patrick Akpobolokemi, may already know his fate. The APC accused his agency of bankrolling hate campaigns against Buhari during the election.
Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, said at the time: “It is a well-known fact that … Akpobolokemi was President Goodluck Jonathan’s aide and a well-known ex-militant’s errand boy.
“He was appointed in NIMASA for the sole aim of satisfying an ex-militant’s camp, an assignment he has carried out well to the satisfaction of those who put him there through the award of a concessionaire phantom PPP (public private partnership) project.”
