ADAMAWA STATE: END OF YEAR SNAPSHOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 002067

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2013
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM NI
SUBJECT: ADAMAWA STATE: END OF YEAR SNAPSHOT


CLASSIFIED BY COUNSELOR JAMES MAXSTADT FOR REASONS 1.5 (B &
D).


BACKGROUND
--------------



1. (U) Adamawa State, located on Nigeria's border with
Cameroon, is a key battleground for control of Nigeria's
political scene. Many important Nigerians hail from Adamawa,
including Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and it is the base
from which he and others launched on the national scene.
Atiku was elected as a PDP governor for Adamawa in 1999
before being selected by President Obasanjo as his running
mate. Current governor Boni Haruna was Atiku's handpicked
running mate then, and stepped into the position through the
Vice President's largesse. Atiku maintains strong influence
over Haruna and is also married to the Lamido of Adamawa's
daughter.



2. (U) The Lamido (the local equivalent of the Emirs
elsewhere in northern Nigeria) is one of the longest serving
traditional rulers in Nigeria and the most important ruler in
the area. The ruling family was split during the 2003
elections when the Lamido supported the Obasanjo/Atiku
ticket, while another branch of the ruling family backed
Buhari/Okadigbo and Haruna's ANPP challenger for governor.
While the announced results in Adamawa state gave a landslide
to the ruling PDP, many observers in the state believe that
both Obasanjo/Atiku and Haruna lost the state handily.


GOOD GOVERNANCE?
--------------



3. (C) If they did, it was largely due to public dismay with
Haruna's performance in office before the 2003 elections. It
was almost impossible to find anyone outside Vice President's
and Governor's retainers with praise for his administration.
Critics pointed to the decaying infrastructure, lack of
electricity, and complete collapse of small-scale agriculture
in the state. Haruna and the Vice President were forced to
travel within the state by helicopter to avoid, as one critic
said, "being pelted with pieces of the roads as they slowed
for potholes." On election day for President and VP, Adamawa
witnessed one of the highest levels of political
intimidation, abusive security services and ballot stuffing
seen in the election across Nigeria.



4. (C) During a recent visit, local PDP politicians told
PolOff that Haruna had not improved during his second term.
They complained that the state government was unable to pay
salaries for at least four months and that pensioners were
currently in arrears for more than one year. (Note: Haruna
paid two months of the nine month backlog existing the week
before elections, but apparently has paid almost nothing
since winning. End Note.) Some of the PDP pols were
anticipating that the 2007 elections would be an opportunity
for change, but one pointed out that since Haruna was not
elected in 1999, he could still be eligible to be elected
again in 2007. Both opposition and ruling party politicians
accused Haruna (and by extension VP Atiku) of milking the
state treasury for personal gain. One claimed that Haruna
had stashed 200 new vehicles purchased with state money at
one of his properties in his hometown of Mubi.



5. (C) A widely acknowledged secret is that Atiku has indeed
built at least five new residences in Yola since becoming
Vice President, and now owns over 500 buildings throughout
the state. Many other properties are said to be held in the
name of the Governor and other state officials. According to
one newspaper report, Haruna gave a Naira 36 million (USD
275,000) residence in Yola to Vice President Atiku Abubakar's
latest wife, Jennifer, because "she wanted it for her new
Yola residence." Haruna is said to have immediately
purchased an adjacent property for Naira 9 million and begun
construction on a new residence for himself.



6. (C) Several other supporters of the Vice President are
said to have been building new residences in the same area of
Yola in the past few months. Critics also point to a
multi-story office complex the governor is building in Yola
and another office building belonging to Mr. John Elias, the
state commissioner for local government and chieftancy
affairs. Elias is also said to have purchased a new BMW and
Mercedes and began construction of another office complex in
the Nyanya suburb of Abuja.


WRONGFUL ARREST
--------------



7. (C) All of this building scandal has led to other legal
woes. In September, well-known local businessman Alhaji
Aliyu Rugange and two associates were arrested on a charge of
"attempted mischief" when they took photos of properties
belonging to Atiku and the Governor. The police said the
arrest of the 56-year old Rugange, a photographer and a
driver was ordered by "Abuja." When Rugange's attorney
attempted to arrange bail, he was told "only the Vice
President can order the men released." A court recently
awarded Naira 50,000 in damages to Rugange for the unlawful
arrest, but the criminal case against him was only postponed
until December. In perhaps a Freudian misprint, one
newspaper reported that the case was adjourned because "the
persecution (sic) failed to get legal advice on the case."



8. (C) Many opposition politicians in the state have also
been arrested or harassed. During the election campaign
former Senator Paul Wampana and retired Admiral Murtala Nyako
were "escorted" to Abuja, and only allowed to return on
election day to vote. According to Nyako, he was taken to
State Security Service (SSS) headquarters for a lecture on
appropriate behavior, and warned not to interfere with "the
military's election day plans." At least two witnesses at
the present Federal Appeals Court case against Obasanjo's
elections have been detained on their return to Yola, and
interrogated by police and the SSS. Counsel for opposition
ANPP candidate Buhari protested to the Federal Appeals Court
that his witnesses were being intimidated, and complained
that this would have a chilling effect on future witnesses.


JUDICIAL INTERFERENCE
--------------



9. (C) Haruna too has run afoul of the law since his second
inauguration. On September 4, the Adamawa State High Court
ordered at least three vehicles belonging to Stirling
Construction Company impounded over the company's failure to
pay a Naira 8.76 million (USD 67,000) debt to one of its
suppliers. Stirling Construction - a recipient of many
contracts from the Adamawa state government in the past four
years - was originally founded by a prominent businessman
from Maiduguri about 30 years ago. After falling on hard
times during the Abacha years, it is believed that Atiku
offered lucrative government contracts from Adamawa State and
the GON to Stirling Construction in exchange for a
significant ownership interest. Stirling is run today by one
of the founder's sons, but he is widely believed to be
fronting for Atiku and Haruna.



10. (C) Upset about the legal impoundment of Stirling's
vehicles, Haruna reportedly entered the court premises after
hours late that evening, September 4, and demanded that court
officials be called back in. The court registrar came, a
state government appointee told us, and released the vehicles
"on the orders of the Governor." After the incident hit the
papers, the registrar told reporters he could not comment on
the incident, but they should ask state officials about
Haruna's involvement. The Governor's office then denied
Haruna had gone to the court. The attorney for the plaintiff
in the nonpayment suit against Sterling, Mr. Onyi Ekuegbu,
commented that the Governor's actions made him "very sad for
the rule of law and for the judiciary"


COMMENT
--------------



11. (C) Haruna was widely viewed as a "do-nothing" governor
during his first term and is intensely disliked by both the
grass-roots citizens and the political elite in Adamawa. His
ties to various businesses are storied, and he is also often
rumored to be fronting for Atiku's ownership in several
business enterprises. Atiku is presenting himself as a
dedicated fighter of corruption in his run for the Presidency
in 2007, and appears to be pressing Haruna to hold down the
noise of problems in their home base. With a continuing rift
in Adamawa between PDP politicians that won the election and
ANPP politicians that believe their party received the most
votes, and a split in the royal family there, keeping
Adamawa's woes quiet will remain difficult for the near
future.
MEECE