The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has filed fresh criminal charges against former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and seven others over alleged fraud and money laundering linked to a ₦10.8 billion CCTV security project in the state.

According to court documents filed at the Federal High Court in Kaduna on April 17, the anti-graft agency brought 11 counts against the former governor and the other defendants under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

A former Kaduna State Commissioner for Information and Chairman of Liberty Television, Alhaji Tijjani Ramalan, disclosed the development in a post on his Facebook page.

Ramalan said El-Rufai and the seven other accused persons would soon face the new charges.

The ICPC alleged that El-Rufai approved the award of an ₦8.68bn CCTV contract in December 2015 to a company it claimed lacked the required competence.

The commission also alleged that several large sums were received and transferred between 2017 and 2022 by individuals and companies linked to the project.

The firms mentioned include Singularity Network Security Limited and other companies allegedly connected to the CCTV security project.

Others named in the case include a former Kaduna State government official, Jimi Lawal; senior executives of IHS Towers; and five companies.

One of El-Rufai’s sons, Bashir El-Rufai, was also mentioned in the allegations but was not listed as a defendant.

The fresh charge is the third set of charges filed by the ICPC against the former governor since March.

El-Rufai is already facing separate corruption-related cases involving other state projects, including a light rail contract and severance payments.

He had denied wrongdoing in earlier court appearances.

Other agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), are also investigating or prosecuting him over separate allegations.

There is growing tension within the All Progressives Congress (APC) as members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) move to resist President Bola Tinubu’s directive granting state governors significant control over party tickets ahead of the primaries.

An uneasy calm pervades the party, with findings indicating a widening rift between the presidency and the APC leadership.

Insiders warn that the directive risks eroding the authority of the party’s central structure, weakening internal democracy and triggering widespread disaffection across states.

The development followed Tinubu’s conferment of powers on the 31 governors under the APC to decide the fate of aspirants in their states ahead of the 2027 general election.

Sources within the NWC told THE WHISTLER that the president’s position, which effectively empowers governors to determine candidates in their states, has sidelined the party leadership and undermined its relevance.

“What the president has done is to remove powers from the party leadership, make them redundant and kill the party,” an NWC member said.

Consequently, multiple sources disclosed that some within the NWC are already weighing options to push back against the directive, including leveraging aggrieved aspirants as a pressure point to force a rethink.

According to one official, “If this stands, the party structure becomes irrelevant. There are already suggestions that those who feel shortchanged should be allowed to ventilate their grievances, even if it unsettles the system, in order to compel a reversal.”

The controversy follows recent remarks by President Tinubu in which he signalled that state governors should take the lead in determining party candidates ahead of the primaries, arguing that they best understand the political dynamics within their states and should therefore guide the process.

The president said this was necessary to preserve the party’s unity and cohesion ahead of the poll in 2027.

However, party insiders insist the pronouncement has had unintended consequences, emboldening state-level power blocs, intensifying rivalries, and triggering open contests for control.

Infighting Spreads Across States

The directive has already fuelled internal battles in several states and widened already existing crises in some states. In Abia State, a fierce supremacy contest has erupted between Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, and former governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, with both men laying claim to presidential backing as the party’s leader in the state.

Abia is led by a governor under the platform of the Labour Party, Dr Alex Otti.

The Deputy Speaker said he has been chosen by Tinubu to lead the APC in the state.

Orji Uzor Kalu – an outspoken campaigner for Tinubu’s second term – has dismissed the claims, insisting that Tinubu chose him to lead the party in the state.

Delta, Nasarawa Crises Deepen

In Delta State, the directive has intensified a brewing contest between Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege. Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is reportedly backing Okowa, his predecessor, for a return to the Senate – placing him at odds with Omo-Agege and his loyalists.

A serving commissioner in the state hinted that all three serving senators may fail to secure return tickets, a development that has heightened anxiety and uncertainty among party stakeholders.

Party leaders argue that such outcomes reflect the diminishing role of the NWC in ensuring fairness and balance.

“All the privileges and influence tied to purchasing tickets and conducting primaries have been lost,” an NWC member lamented. “Rather than creating a level playing field, the president has made things difficult by lighting an over-dried grass.”

In Nasarawa State, a similar crisis is unfolding. Governor Abdullahi Sule’s alleged backing of Senator Ahmed Wadada – who only recently defected from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – has sparked resistance among long-standing party members.

Former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu Idris, has rejected the governor’s position and is preparing to challenge the arrangement, with the backing of former governor Tanko Al-Makura, setting the stage for a high-stakes internal showdown.

Cross River, Others on Edge

In Cross River State, tensions are also mounting as founding members of the party push back against recent defectors, insisting they should have priority in the allocation of tickets.

They are reportedly pressuring Governor Bassey Otu to sideline new entrants from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a move that could reshape the state’s political calculations.

As a result, figures like Senator Jarigbe Agom are said to be at risk of losing out to former governor Ben Ayade, while several House of Representatives seats – particularly in northern Cross River – are being pencilled in for long-standing party members as compensation.

The development has created palpable tension, with defectors threatening a showdown if denied fair opportunities.

Warning Signs from Party Leadership

The crisis is not limited to a few states. Similar fault lines are reportedly emerging in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Benue, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun and Ondo, raising concerns about a nationwide ripple effect ahead of the primaries.

In Rivers State, the contest which portends danger for the APC is between the Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. Wike was instrumental to the emergence of Tinubu as president while Fubara is the party leader as a governor in the state.

With the president’s pronouncement, Fubara camp said they have been given the upper hand, which would pit him against Wike.

However, some APC leaders in the state have said there is likely to be a sharing formula where the Governor will concede some candidates to the Wike-led PDP as the APC, including the president, would not allow the APC to lose out completely during the elections in the state.

Meanwhile, in Benue, the power struggle is between Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, which has effectively split the party’s structure in the state and forced elected officials to take sides.

Party sources have expressed worries that the struggle portends danger and could imperil the prospects of the party in 2027.

Similarly, in Plateau State, the Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, who decamped from the PDP to the APC, is seen as an outsider who wants to usurp power and has been told by the old guards that he would have no control over the party tickets despite the president’s directive.

In Akwa Ibom State, the conflict is between the governor and the third most powerful constitutional officer, Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Akpabio, as the presiding officer of the Senate and the leader of the delegation that went to Tinubu to lobby unsuccessfully for automatic tickets, carries with him the institutional prestige of an office that the President’s directive has now, in effect, subordinated to that of his home-state governor.

That this arrangement has begun to generate friction.

The senators’ meeting with Tinubu, at which the plea for automatic tickets was rebuffed, was led by Akpabio, who returned from that encounter with the knowledge that the President had, in effect, signalled that the governor of Akwa Ibom, not the Senate President, would determine who gets the APC ticket in that state.

A member of the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) warned that the directive could significantly weaken the party’s electoral strength, as aggrieved members may withdraw from mobilisation efforts.

“No one would be interested again in mobilising for the party because they would be aggrieved that they lost out unfairly,” the source said.

He added that “party politics is dicey and tricky and requires careful management, not pronouncements that can unsettle unity and give the opposition the opportunity to capitalise and wreak havoc.”

When contacted, the spokesman of the APC, Felix Morka expressed reservations about making comments that he may be misunderstood. Questions sent to him for further comments were not answered.

A report has claimed that President Bola Tinubu has asked Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to resign due to health reasons.

Sources within the presidency told Sahara Reporters that Sanwo-Olu’s deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, is expected to assume office and complete the remainder of the administration’s tenure.

According to sources, Tinubu and key members of his inner circle are dissatisfied with the current leadership in Lagos and have initiated a transition plan.

The arrangement, if carried through, would not only see Hamzat finish the current term but also position him as a frontrunner for a fresh four-year mandate in the 2027 elections.

“The Presidency, President Bola Tinubu and key figures in his inner circle are reportedly dissatisfied with the current leadership in Lagos and have moved to initiate a transition plan,” a top source in the Presidency said.

“The emerging arrangement would see Sanwo-Olu resign, paving the way for his deputy to assume office and complete the remainder of the tenure,” a top source in the Presidency said.

While no official statement has been released, the development underscores intensifying political recalibration within Lagos, widely regarded as Tinubu’s most strategic stronghold.

Political tensions have reportedly deepened in recent weeks. Governor Sanwo-Olu has been accused within party circles of insubordination, including alleged attempts to consolidate independent political structures in Lagos perceived as a challenge to Tinubu’s influence.

He has also been linked to efforts to unseat the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, as well as disputes over control of strategic land assets.

The intervention, according to sources, came after the President identified what he perceived as the influence of the state executive, led by Governor Sanwo-Olu, in the circumstances surrounding Obasa’s removal

Sources present at a meeting Tinubu held with state lawmakers at the time said the President expressed concern over the extent of the governor’s influence, describing it as troubling and suggesting that Sanwo-Olu had a vested interest in determining the Assembly’s leadership.

The meeting was convened to address the leadership crisis within the Lagos State House of Assembly.

“At the meeting, President Tinubu explained that the reason why Obasa escaped the impeachment was because he saw the indelible fingerprints of the Lagos executive led by Sanwo-Olu in the Speaker’s removal, and he found it unsettling why the executive would be interested in who should emerge as the Speaker,” a source familiar with the events at the meeting stated.

-Source: Naija News