CHIEF OJO MADUEKWE TO BE FOREIGN MINISTER?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001533

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2017
TAGS: PGOV NI
SUBJECT: CHIEF OJO MADUEKWE TO BE FOREIGN MINISTER?


Classified by Ambassador John Campbell for reasons 1.4 (b & d).


1. (C) At a farewell dinner he hosted for the departing Israeli
Ambassador and me, PDP General Secretary Ojo Maduekwe "let it be
known" that he will be Nigeria's next Foreign Minister. I took the
opportunity to underscore to him the importance of continued, indeed,
increased Nigerian engagement in Darfur and Somalia. Ambassador
Gribbin, U.S. Charge from July 19, and DCM Furey were also present.
See paragraph 5 for comment, paragraph 6 for a biographic note. End
summary.


2. (C) It is been rumored that Maduekwe would be the next Foreign
Minister, but opposition from his Abia home state Senators was a bump
in the road that was somehow smoothed over only last week. (Among
other things, the dinner, which included most of the Abia state PDP
functionaries, appeared to be a reconciliation event.) It is
customary in Abuja for the Foreign Minister to group together
departing ambassadors for a farewell lunch or dinner, and the
Canadian High Commissioner had also been invited. So, Maduekwe's
invitation was already something of an indication that he would be
next Foreign Minister. Though the ministerial appointment was openly
discussed by both guests and host, the Senate has not yet formally
approved it. Nevertheless, Maduekwe told me that he expects the
cabinet to be sworn in by July 20.


3. (C) When he met with the President to be "interviewed" for the
position of Foreign Minister, Maduekwe told me that President
Yar'adua told him "to always tell the truth, bad news as well as
good." Maduekwe affected to be surprised by his nomination to be
Foreign Minister, but was clearly delighted. He assured me that he
is "thoroughly pro-American" and is regarded as one of the
"westerners" in Nigerian politics. (In my experience, this is true;
at present at least one of his children is in medical school in the
U.S., another practices medicine in the U.S., and all the rest have
had some schooling in the U.S.)


4. (C) In a brief, private conversation I underscored the
importance of Nigeria's continued engagement with Darfur and Somalia.
I noted A/S Fraser's conversation with President Yar'adua in which
she recalled former President Obasanjo's commitment to providing
increased Nigerian troops for Somalia. Maduekwe appeared only
broadly aware of the issues - he was clearly more focused on putting
together the cabinet from the perspective of the PDP.


5. (C) Comment: Maduekwe has been a survivor. I first knew him in
the late '80's when he was a lawyer in Lagos interested in human
rights and constitutional issues. He compromised himself with the
human rights community by working with the Abacha dictatorship-at one
point, he was presenting himself as Abacha's likely ambassador to the
U.S. In the first Obasanjo administration he was Minister of
Transport, and has been General Secretary of the PDP. While he said
to me that he had "always" opposed Obasanjo's aspirations for a Third
Term, he certainly was not vocal about such opposition. When I met
with him immediately after the April elections, he made no effort to
defend them. Now, he does, saying that "there were irregularities,
but Yar'Adua would have won anyway." The son of a Presbyterian
minister, he remains an active churchman, and was President
Obasanjo's usual personal representative at that denomination's major
activities. His last two positions - Minister of Transport and
ruling party General Secretary - provided opportunity for corruption.
Yet, he and his family live simply, and on the street he is not
named as one of the corrupt circle that surrounded the former
President.


6. (C) Biographic note: Chief Ojo Maduekwe was born May 6, 1949
in Arochukwu local government area of Abia state. He read law at the
University of Nigeria at Nsukka. He practiced law in Lagos for many
years and in 1983 spent several months as a member of the House of
Representatives until a military coup unseated the government.
Maduekwe was a member of the Constitutional Conferences of 1988-89
and 1994-95. He served as a Special Assistant to the Minister of
Foreign Affairs from 1994-1996 (during the Abacha regime) and was
widely criticized for publicly supporting Abacha's "self-succession"
plan in 1997. Maduekwe joined the PDP in 1999 and contested for a
Senatorial position in 1999, but lost in the PDP primary. He was
named Minister of Culture and Tourism by President Obasanjo in June
1999 and in 2000 was moved to head the Ministry of Transport, a
position he occupied until 2003. While Minister of Transport,
Maduekwe promoted the use of bicycles in order to curb fuel usage.
He gained fame for once riding a bike to a weekly session of the
Federal Executive Council, trailed by an army of journalists. He
served for a short period in 2003 as President Obasanjo's Special
Advisor on Constitutional and Legal Matters and was rewarded for
helping President Obasanjo consolidate control of the PDP and gain
re-election by being named the National Secretary of the PDP in 2003.

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Maduekwe's current ministerial nomination is viewed by most
commentators as a reward for his loyalty and service to the PDP. He
is not known to be personally close to President Yar'Adua and his
legal career was not particularly noteworthy. His nomination was
briefly challenged by all three Senators from Abia state which
probably reflects the fact that he is an Abuja-based politician who
lacks grassroots political ties to his home state. Ojo Maduekwe and
his wife Ucha have 2 sons and 2 daughters. At least one of the
children is currently finishing her medical studies in the Boston
area, and other children spent some time in the United States for
schooling.
CAMPBELL