The Presidency on Sunday rose in stout defence of the new Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Mr. Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.
Abubakar replaces Ambassador Ayo Oke who was fired as the NIA boss over alleged involvement in the financial scam where about N13 billion was discovered to have been stashed away in a flat in Osborne Tower, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Almost immediately after Abubakar’s appointment, critics have described him unfit for the job, saying he held dual citizenship.
According to the critics, some of his shortcomings included that his wife was from Morocco.
But in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, none of the claims against Abubakar was true.
Adesina said neither was Abubakar a Chadian nor his wife from Morocco.
He said contrary to the claim that he retired from the services of NIA as an Assistant Director because he failed promotion examinations twice, and had to quit, willy-nilly, Abubakar was a merit award winner while in the service.
“The new NIA DG retired from Foreign Service as Deputy Director (not Assistant Director) and three times during his career, had won Merit Award for competence and meritorious service,” he said.
He added that the news that Abubakar failed examination was only the imagination of his critics.
Adesina also pointed out that Abubakar never at any time held Chadian nationality.
He said his only wife is from Katsina State, and indeed, from the same community as the husband.
“The story of being married to a Moroccan can only be tale by moonlight, concocted by people who love a fib,” he said.
The statement reads: “A lot of half-truths, misinformation, and outright falsehood have attended the announcement of a new Director-General for the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), in the person of Mr Ahmed Rufai Abubakar .
“Some of such unfounded stories include that Abubakar had retired from the services of NIA as an Assistant Director, because he failed promotion examinations twice, and had to quit, willy-nilly.
“Others claim he is married to a Moroccan, and so cannot hold such sensitive security position, while others say he was born and bred in Chad, and he holds dual nationality.
“All these have been widely disseminated on the social, and some mainstream media.
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“With the formal assumption of office by Mr Abubakar, it is now necessary to set the facts straight.
“The new NIA DG retired from Foreign Service as Deputy Director (not Assistant Director) and three times during his career, had won Merit Award for competence and meritorious service.
“Failing promotion examination can only exist in the fecund minds of fiction writers.
“His last position before the new appointment was as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs/International Affairs where again he quietly proved himself.
“Abubakar’s parents hailed from Katsina State, and had settled in Chad at a point in their lifetime.
“The new DG did his primary school in Ndjamena (then Fort-Lamy), but returned to Nigeria for his secondary and University education.
“He never at any time held Chadian nationality.
“Mr. Abubakar’s only wife hails from Katsina State, indeed, from the same community as the husband.
“The story of being married to a Moroccan can only be tale by moonlight, concocted by people who love a fib.
“The President appointed the new DG because he had worked closely with him in the past two years, and sincerely believes that he would add value to the NIA.”
