New NIA D-G faces credibility hurdles

*Cabal fights dirty over $44m agencya��s fund
By Williams Orji
Reports obtained from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which supervises the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), have exposed that the newly-appointed Director General of the NIA, Mr Abubakar Rufai Ahmed, has scathing issues to resolve including claims that he allegedly left the Public Service under controversial circumstances, having failed trice to pass promotion exams.
This was even as emerging facts point to a possible conspiracy by people very close to President Muhammadu Buhari, referred to as the cabal, who pushed for the new DGa��s appointment to facilitate their access to the remaining N43 billion Osborne House cash haul, which President Muhammadu Buhari seems not to be aware of.
Impecable sources confirmed that the N43.3 billion recovered from the controversial Osborne Towers was a fraction of a larger haul, which the cabal got wind of and have been trying to corner, since Ambassador Ayo Okea��s suspension and sack.
A top officer of the agency confided in The AUTHORITY that, the Acting DG, Ambassador Mohammed Dauda had refused to cooperate with the cabal in diverting the money, which was why his appointment was not confirmed, although he was the most senior officer at the NIA with unimpeachable track record of service.
Findings have revealed that the Acting DG, who will be retiring in September, refused to allow his carrier get dented by refusing to tamper with the remaining Osborne fund loot, and this action angered the cabal, hence the foisting of the new DG.
While tempers have continued to rise across the country over Buharia��s lopsided appointments, the South West where the former Director General, Mr Oke comes from, expected his replacement to come from the same geopolitical zone.
Similarly, it was gathered that senior officers of the NIA were unhappy with the new development and see Ahmed as lacking in experience and professionalism.
Further investigations have shown that the new DG, who served as the Secretary of the panel that investigated and recommended Okea��s sack, does not qualify to be appointed on moral grounds.
Added to this are insinuations that his mother is not a Nigerian and that his wife is from Morocco, which falls foul of the criteria for appointment of officers in any of the security and intelligence agencies, due to issues of allegiance and loyalty.
Records have also shown that the new DG had spent more than 10 years at the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), on secondment, contrary to the rules on posting an officer to any such organization.
The rule provides that an officer can be seconded for only two years and renewable once again, making a maximum of four years.
Mr Rufai, having spent more than ten years at the OIC creates the impression that he could be the vital link for leakage of the nationa��s classified matters.
It was also gathered that the cabal had made President Buhari to ignore the recommendations of the committee set up to fashion out the strategy for the repositioning of the NIA, which would have seen the Acting DG being confirmed, the sources said.