NIGERIA: POWER STRUGGLE SURFACES AT NDDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000344 SIPDIS STATE PASS USTR FOR USTR AGAMA STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ DOE FOR GPERSON,CHAYLOCK TREASURY FOR DFIELDS, AIERONIMO, RHALL DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2018 TAGS: PGOV EPET NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: POWER STRUGGLE SURFACES AT NDDC REF: A. LAGOS 244 ¶B. LAGOS 305 ¶C. LAGOS 313 ¶D. LAGOS 323 Classified By: Consul General Donna Blair, Reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Summary. The Chairman of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),Ambassador Sam Edem, was suspended from office for allegedly paying around $4 million to a witch doctor to cause harm to his rivals, notably the Managing Director of the NDDC, Timi Alaibe. According to a member of the NDDC Presidential Monitoring Committee, two factions now appear to be vying for control of the NDDC. Alaibe, reputedly backed by the Secretary of the Federal Government (SFG) Babagana Kingibe, hopes to take over as Chairman, while Alaibe's political rivals want to see Alaibe out of the NDDC altogether. The removal of Alaibe would enable a completely new management team to take control of NDDC and could open the way for an audit which would reveal past corruption. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Sam Edem was suspended as Chairman of the NDDC by President Umaru Yar'Adua on August 8. Newspapers reported that Edem had paid around $4 million to a witch doctor to curse his rivals and ensure his own good fortune. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission (ICPC) are currently investigating the source of the funds Edem used to hire the witch doctor. Edem was taken into custody for questioning but was later released. ¶3. (C) According to Justin Rewane of the Presidential Monitoring Committee on the NDDC, current NDDC managing director Timi Alaibe, backed by SFG Babagana Kingibe, would like to take over as chairman. Rewane told POLOFF on August 13 that he believed Alaibe was behind the exposure of Edem, in an effort to pave the way for Alaibe's promotion. Alaibe has recently received positive press coverage for his training programs including nonviolence training for militants. On July 23, Poloffs were told by Sheriff Mulade, President of the Gbaramtu Youth Council and former militant, that Alaibe's enthusiasm for the training stemmed from the positive press he was receiving, publicity that was useful in his campaign for chairman (Ref D). ¶4. (C) Alaibe's political rivals, notably Vice President Goodluck Jonathan and the governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, have allegedly moved to forestall Alaibe's rise by accusing him of "training militants." According to Allen Onyema of the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria (FEHN),a report by the Vice President was sent to President Yar'Adua claiming that FEHN and their U.S. partners in nonviolence training, the Rhode Island University Institute for Nonviolence and Peace Studies (Refs A-D) were fraudulent organizations and that the money Alaibe allocated to them was in fact going to arm militants. ¶5. (C) Alaibe's term as managing director ends this December. According to Rewane, the normal nominating process calls for the Bayelsa State governor to nominate the next Chairman and Managing Director and Governor Sylva and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan will not support Alaibe for a position at NDDC. Rewane believes that Sylva and Jonathan have short-listed four other candidates for the position of chairman of the NDDC including: Senator David Brigidi, former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum; an unnamed senior vice president of ExxonMobil Nigeria; and the acting Chairman of NDDC, Bassey Dan Abia. Asked about the prospects for Ledum Mitee, who had been mentioned to Poloffs by another source, Rewane dismissed his chances because Mitee is ethnically Ogoni and from Rivers State. (Note: Mitee is the President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP. End Note.) ¶6. (C) Rewane believed that the removal of Edem and Alaibe in the next several months would open up an opportunity for reform at the NDDC. He claimed that the Presidential LAGOS 00000344 002 OF 002 Monitoring Committee is in possession of sufficient information to enable a proper auditing of NDDC's books. Such an audit would, he said, reveal the massive corruption that has characterized the NDDC during the last several years. ¶7. (C) Comment: While Rewane is undoubtedly correct that a new managing director and chairman would be well positioned to rigorously inspect NDDC's books and expose the fraud widely attributed to it; such a course of action need not lead to improvement. New management at NDDC might use the audit merely to discredit the previous team, without in fact instituting real reforms. In Post's judgement, only an independent audit and ongoing, independent monitoring of NDDC's activities has a chance of institutionalizing transparency and curtailing corruption. End Comment. BLAIR