By Saidu Idris
To those that were surprised that President Muhammadu Buhari, seemingly snubbed the national leader of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in his recent national broadcast on the #EndSARS protests, it would appear that certain things are beginning to add up, with the arrest of the former boss of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on allegations of fraud.
Broken ties?
Tinubu’s three media outfits – The Nation newspaper, Max FM and Television Continental (TVC) – were attacked by irate youths and arsonists in Lagos during the riots that came on the heels of the nationwide protests against police brutality. In fact, the TVC was torched, leading to a loss of over a billion naira worth of equipment and other properties.
But curiously, when the president addressed the nation in a televised national broadcast on Thursday, October 22, he conspicuously failed to commiserate with his party’s hitherto topmost chieftain and presumed ally, Tinubu; even when he sympathised with the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, whose palace was also vandalised.
Specifically, Buhari, in the 8th paragraph of his 27-paragraph speech, said among other things, “…two major correctional facilities were attacked and convicts freed; public and private properties completely destroyed or vandalised; the sanctity of the palace of a peace maker, the Oba of Lagos has been violated…”
365Daily reported that Fowler, who was Tinubu’s nominee as chairman of the FIRS before he was controversially removed last year, was in the custody of the EFCC over alleged complicity in an ongoing investigation involving Alpha Beta Consulting firm, said to be promoted by Tinubu.
In what many said was a subtle move against Tinubu’s interest in Buhari’s administration at the time, Fowler was, shortly before his removal as chairman of FIRS last year, queried by the late Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, over “dwindling revenue” under his watch as FIRS chairman.
The query dated August 8, and signed by Kyari had stated that there were “observed significant variances between the budgeted collections and actual collections for the period 2015 to 2018.
“Further we have observed that actual collections for the period between 2015 and 2017 were significantly worse than what was collected between 2012 and 2014. Accordingly, you are kindly invited to submit a comprehensive variance analysis explaining the reasons for the variances between the budgeted collections and actual collections for each main tax item for each of the years 2015 to 2018,” the late Kyari had written.
Records show that under Fowler, FIRS was struggling to meet up with annual tax revenue projections. For instance, in 2015, FIRS set N4.7 trillion target but made only N3.7 trillion. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the target collections were N4.2 trillion, N4.8 trillion and N6.7 trillion but FIRS recorded actual collection of N3.3 trillion, N4.0 trillion and N5.3 trillion, respectively.
Political chess games
But in spite of this seeming poor record, which many attributed to harsh economic factors beyond the control of the revenue collectors, many had pointed at underground political intrigues as being responsible for the query that preceded Fowler’s exit at FIRS.
Those that read political meaning into the development, readily pointed to the direction the query originated from. The way Nigerian government operates, many analysts had argued, such query ought to have come from two plausible offices: the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), under which Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) fall, or the supervising Ministry, which is the Finance Ministry.
But Kyari’s signing of the query and its subsequent leakage to the press underscored the position of the school of thought that believed it was merely orchestrated to not only embarrass Fowler’s sponsor, Tinubu, but also whittle his influence in the government.
All these and many other seemingly innocuous developments in the polity, some persons in the know say, are grand 2023 political chess games aimed at checkmating Tinubu’s undisguised interest in the Nigerian presidency, come 2023.
365Daily’s findings indicate that the current investigation that landed Fowler in EFCC stranglehold had been gathering dust before the embattled EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu, was suspended. In fact, sources told 365Daily that the allegations against Fowler “are legion”.
For instance, besides the Alpha Beta fraud issues, Fowler was said to have allegedly soiled his hands in a number of official malfeasance, accountability and ethical issues, during his time as chairman of the FIRS.
Curiously, because of the alleged respect for his godfather, Tinubu, who was also instrumental to the appointment of Magu, the EFCC under Magu, 365Daily gathered, was reluctant to move against him, essentially as that would have amounted to Magu committing the equivalent of career suicide or ingratitude against a powerful benefactor.
But recent developments indicate that head or tail, Magu remains a pawn on the chessboard of the current government, which contending forces and diverse interests within the top echelon of the political class toss around in the coven of power.
Indeed, those who regard the embattled anti-corruption czar as Tinubu’s man may have assisted in orchestrating his current ordeal, which in turn opened the door for the investigation of Fowler and by extension, Tinubu, the acclaimed national leader of the ruling party, APC, who was not too long ago considered ‘untouchable’.
Could this be the beginning of a new chapter in the political life of Tinubu? Could President Buhari and his 2015 political ally be finally falling apart?
In seeking answers to these posers, one thing is sure: the nation is sure to witness interesting times ahead.
The end definitely justifys the means.