PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari threatened to sack finance minister Kemi Adeosun and her budget and planning counterpart Udo Udoma during their recent trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after they both raised objections to the bilateral deal he entered into.
While in Dubai, President Buhari agreed a bilateral deal with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Al Nah Yan, the Crown Prince of the UAE that involved six cardinal agreements. However, Mrs Adeosun and Senator Udoma objected to the agreement, saying Nigeria was giving too much away and a bitter argument ensued between them and the president.
Both ministers expressed serious concerns over the provisions of several of the treaties President Buhari planned on signing with the UAE. They added that the commercial and financial agreements entered into were not in Nigeria's interest and the country was giving too much away.
Mrs Adeosun and Senator Udoma counselled President Buhari not to sign those agreements but he waved away their objections and in exasperation, threatened to sack both of the ministers. Apparently, President Buhari was not interested in his ministers’ arguments that the economic agreements between Nigeria and the UAE were weighted against the country.
One source at the talks said: “Mr. President was focused on doing whatever was necessary to repatriate stolen funds and extradite criminals hiding in the UAE. He was so concerned about that sole issue that he became incensed about the warning from some members of his team.”
He added that at one point in the debate, President Buhari declared his readiness to relieve Mrs Adeosun and Senator Udoma of their portfolios if they did not drop their opposition to the agreements. Both ministers realised the importance of identifying and reclaiming assets illicitly stashed away by corrupt Nigerians in the UAE, especially Dubai but felt that Nigeria gave away too much in terms of its bilateral economic interests in order to achieve the president’s major goal.
According to documents from the talks, the six agreements President Buhari entered into focused on four main areas. These include extraditing criminals in the UAE to Nigeria, the transfer of incarcerated and sentenced persons, mutual legal assistance on criminal matters, and mutual assistance on civil and commercial issues.
In addition, the bilateral agreement expressly states that these agreements relate to the recovery and repatriation of stolen Nigerian assets. President Buhari's spokesman Garba Shehu, stated that Nigeria also expects to get more support from the UAE for its war against terrorism and with regards to the recovery of stolen funds.
