RE: Ibeto, Sudan, others in subtle moves to unseat Niger gov.

As an important media outlet that I have interacted with closely and also respected while as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999-2002) and also as the CEO of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC (2003-2014) in a manner that was more than a successful one but largely of friends that grew up […]

As an important media outlet that I have interacted with closely and also respected while as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999-2002) and also as the CEO of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC (2003-2014) in a manner that was more than a successful one but largely of friends that grew up together.

I am however worried that between 2014 and today the way and manner your Newspaper, in particular, had been projecting my image in a form that is totally contradictory and at variance with what the public opinion holds of me, deserves invitation of your attention to the need to pay even more attention to the kind of materials circulated on Politically Exposed Personalities (PEP) like myself who have chosen to distant themselves from controversy and limit my exposure or visibility to only important national issues.

I am concerned and opted to write to you on the publication of Sunday February 18th, 2018 titled “lbeto, Sudan, others in subtle moves to unseat Niger gov”, to formally protest that the content of such a publication is full of outdated material, falsehood and distortions that I found it necessary to demand that you publish the true situation as presented here so as to erase the erroneous impression  created of me and my personality by this substantially false and speculative publication and to also request you  to please always clarify any such write-up  that  has me  or my personality brought into just because the writer wants to receive wider public audience or it may be a sponsored publication to showcase a particular client of the writer and paint others in a different form just like it has made every effort at doing so in this particular instance. The same scenario was up against me in you r Newspapers in 20 15.

I am accordingly inviting your attention  to the particular  paragraphs on which I have objections a n d wish to demand  that you correct the wrong presentation for the public opinion to be stream lined with the truth and not the falsehood being propagated  in  this  circulation .

1.   Paragraph  6: I  quote  in part  of; “……….and now Director-General of the Export Promotion Council. Bello was recently appointed as the independent Executive Chairman of Zenith Bank Nigeria Plc .”

This is totally incorrect and a confirmation that the writer is not even current with his constituency and MUST be such a lazy reporter that doesn’t conduct research on contemporary issues before committing them  to the public domain .

I was never a Director-General of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in the history of my Public Service life let alone currently serving in any Federal Government of Nigeria Agency in any capacity. I left the FGN in February 2014, exactly 4 years ago. I am  surprised  that this writer doesn’t  know that as at the 2015 he mentioned  I attempted to contest, I  must  have h ad to resign  as a precondition  to contesting any political office, but I left Government at end of my tenure at the Nigeria Investments Promotion Commission,  NIPC,  in  February,  2014.

I am also shocked that the same writer portrays me as “recently appointed as the independent  Executive Chairman  of Zenith  Bank Nigeria Plc.” a position that everyone knows doesn’t exist and I wonder how he came about this designation. What I  know I have been appointed to be on the Zenith Bank Plc Board i s a “Non-Executive Director” and again one can see clearly that the rate at which the reporter writes what he thinks or assumes and not what is really the correct situation disqualifies the integrity of the entire content of his write-up as well as challenge the responsibility of the various Editors positioned in this Media outlet to safeguard against such irresponsibly inaccurate reporting that are substantially  mischief  driven. In Paragraph 16, (I quote); “Unl ike  I beto,  Mustapha Bello, a former  minster, is believed  to be capable of giving the incumbent a run for his money. Like Ibeto, he is said to have every reason  to antagonise Governor Bello because  of an alleged family feud which the incumbent helped to exacerbate. Mustapha is said to be an uncle, to the incumbent, but a perceived family friction created a gulf between them. Therefore, he may want to take his pound of flesh by contesting or supporting an aspirant with the right influence.” 

I take strong exception to these kinds of irresponsible statements. The writer alludes to a “family feud” as the reason for me to contest and nothing else. I must stale very clearly here that I started aspiring to the Office of Governor of Niger State since 2003 purely because the indicators of a failed State and System, then were very rife and obvious. The same situation remained in 2015 that J made a second attempt but was thwarted by those who were not only jealous, sadists but believed that the State should remain as it were or even worse. If I will seek that same office again in 2019 it will depend on so many factors, among which are;

(i) Barometric reading of the public opinion on the performance of the serving government and the resolve of the people of the State to team up to position the right leadership  that is responsive and willing to be inclusive in its governance,

(ii) Make effort to rescue the State from becoming a failed and totally bankrupt State,

(iii) Rescue our Zone (Niger North) from a tragically but potentially lost opportunity to showcase our best to the State given the right type of quality human resource resident in our zone,

(iv) Rescue Kontagora from the insults we all collectively are receiving from the obvious failure of the administration resulting from lack of knowledge, experience and exposure, and

(v) Redeem the image of the highly respected Alkali Mustafa family that an offspring of which is substantially being perceived as performing not up to what the citizens of the State expected of a product of such a family ; and lastly, 

(vi) My conviction that majority of the enlightened elites, Talakawas, youth, young and Women of the State still believe strongly that a Solution to the perennial problem of Leadership  that  has remained with our State resides in me and that as long as it is not me the hopes and future of the

State remains uncertain.

Therefore for such a writer to equate me to such that he insinuates that “…he may want to take his pound of flesh by contesting” a statement  that portrays my person as a sadist and a person who has nothing to offer but taking revenge is not only reckless or senseless but thoroughly irresponsible and unimaginable. I demand for an apology for that.

I must however comment on the last part of the same paragraph in which the writer made reference to, in hi s opinion, the “contest” zeroed on two mentioned personalities, whom in my opinion and indeed the opinion of majority of the enlightened in the State that those two names cannot provide the type of leadership the State desires, in-fact the State shall be better left in the hands of the current leadership than further mortgage ourselves to unknown, inexperienced, non-exposed and invisible personalities that have no records whatsoever of their contributions to the State or its citizens or both just because they believe  they can  aspire to such an  important Office which, again, because  the Constitution  of the Federal  Republic of Nigeria  provides equal opportunity for all who qualify to aspire to such an Office, it should not be taken  that  it can  be accessed  cheaply and easily by anyone regardless of whether such a person truly qualifies to even aspire to such an important Office or not.

Again in Paragraph 19 (I quote);

Although the former Minister is currently in the APC, he has the resources to spring a surprise through another platform , analysts said.”

I again wonder who informed him that I am a Member of the APC. I was never a Member of any Political Party since my exit from the PDP in 2015 immediately after the Presidential elections. When I decide on which Political Party to be a Member of, which shall be purely on ideology, the Nigerian public will be fully informed. This writer surely needs to be educated on the need for research before any publication or the Editors of your Media should pay more attention to such freelance writers whose texts are either outdated or irrelevant .

Lastly while I thank you very much for giving time to my representation, I suggest strongly that Media trust Limited tightens its write-ups delivery openings by carefully scrutinizing all such write-ups to ensure that a balanced reporting is ensured on those personalities on whose faces these reports are circulated.

My Comments are partly a response to the entire write-up as a citizen of Niger State and partly as one of those wrongly presented in  the write-up as a correctional   response.

Engr. Mustafa Bello, FNSE, COREN. Regd.