- Safiu Kehinde
Bayelsa lawmaker, Sen. Seriake Dickson, has disclosed drilling President Bola Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominee to show how the All Progressives Congress played politics with sensitive issues.
Dickson who is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs made the disclosure in a statement issued on his X handle of Saturday.
The former Bayelsa state governor recounted how had earlier this week sat to screen the President’s earlier ambassadorial nominees — Ayodele Oke, Kayode Are, and Aminu Dalhatu — who all appeared before the committee.
While Are and Dalhatu were cleared by the committee, Dickson demanded to know the reason behind Oke’s suspension and probe during his tenure as the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
NPO Reported that Oke who served as Nigeria’s top intelligence chief from 2013 to 2017 under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was however suspended in April 2017 by Jonathan’s successor, late Muhammadu Buhari, pending investigation into recovered funds at a Lagos apartment.
While he was fully dismissed in October 2017, the legal case against him was terminated in June 2023 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as no wrongdoing was found against him.
The court subsequently withdrew proceedings.
Dickson disclosed asking Oke the circumstances that surrounded the scandal which he explained.
The ex-Bayelsa governor would then accuse the APC of playing politics with serious national issues such as corruption, terrorism, and the economy.
He described Oke as a victim of the APC’s misguided vendetta to criminalise opposition members.
“I asked Ambassador Oke, pointedly, to clear the air on the controversies leading to his exit from office.
“In his answers, Ambassador Oke, who is a very experienced public officer and a former Chief of Intelligence, thanked me for my questions and proceeded to explain his achievements.
“He also explained the issues leading to his departure from office and furnished us with a copy of a court order affirming his acquittal, following the withdrawal of the case against him.
“This confirms the view I have long held that since its formation, the APC has always played politics with serious national issues such as corruption, terrorism, and the economy.
“They politicised and ethnicised the Boko Haram and terrorism challenges, which have escalated over the years under their watch, even with a President from the North.
“They played politics with the attempt at reduction of fuel subsidy but have now turned around to impose a harsher version of total subsidy removal, which has plunged Nigerians into poverty.
“And they played a one-sided anti-corruption crusade targeting and criminalising opposition leaders.
“After listening to Mr. Oke’s explanation, I have no doubt that he was a victim of the APC’s misguided vendetta to criminalise the PDP and its leadership, just as they did to Sambo Dasuki, former NSA.
“No one is against a well-structured and systematic, apolitical fight against corruption, which is a major national issue, but it must not target selected individuals or the opposition. It must be fought across board, as all are equal before the law.” Dickson wrote.
He further called for the protection of officials of intelligence institutions regardless of their political affiliation.
“The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), as well as other security and intelligence institutions, must be handled with greater respect and discretion, even when issues of misconduct arise.
“These are strategic tools in the hands of the President and the nation, and must be jealously protected and guarded, irrespective of political or other considerations, in order not to compromise the security architecture of the country.
“Once an assignment, order, or objective is approved by a sitting President acting within his powers, and the order is not unlawful, the intelligence chief must be protected, even if we disagree with that order as politicians.” The lawmaker added.