EXCLUSIVE: Keyamo receives N450million from NNPC for APC Media and Publicity

A source close to top APC Chieftain, Alhaji Nasiru Danu (The Dan Amarna of Dutse & Director of Logistics, Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Organisation) who is also an NNPC major marketer has told newsmen that the NNPC has given Festus Keyamo, SAN (Director of Strategic Communications & official Spokesperson of PMB Presidential Campaign) the sum of N450million initial payment for the full commencement of media and publicity for the Buhari campaign.

The source has said that this is part payment for the Directorate of Media and Publicity which Mr. Keyamo heads. The source said Keyamo gave the NNPC GMD, Maikanti Baru a budget of N7.5billion to cover money for Tv ads, social media ads, payment of social media influencers nationwide, payment of media owners, editors, columnists, and notable journalists in the country under the subheading of PR and other expenses.

This newspaper had promised to publish details of how Festus Keyamo, Director of Strategic Communications & official Spokesperson of Buhari Presidential Campaign was mobilized by the Group Managing Director of the State’s owned oil firm, the NNPC through one of his major oil marketer, Alhaji Nasir Danu who is also the Director of Logistics and Mobilization.

A source close to Mr. Danu narrated to newsmen on how Festus Keyamo met the oil mogul two months ago to discuss the need on how the directorate can take over the narrative and help project the president whose public image has been negatively battered.

Keyamo, Newsflash247 understands also intimated Alhaji Danu on the growing disenchantment among media owners, Newspaper editors, online influencers who have vowed to carry negative news about the administration due to lack of sponsorship, undue interference in their activities by the NBC and other government regulators.

“My Director, the Media Owners, Influencers and editors are angry with oga (President Buhari) and there is an urgent need for us to appease them and win them back to our side as the campaign for 2019 begins. It will be suicidal on our part to have these men against us. Something urgent needs to be done”. – Keyamo was quoted as telling Alhaji Danu during the meeting.

Alhaji Danu, according to sources, placed a call to the NNPC GMD to begin the funding of the media campaign of the president. Danu scheduled a meeting between the GMD and Keyamo and the latter made a similar presentation of the proposal for the media office, situation room and other needs of the Directorate to the GMD.

The GMD assured Danu and Keyamo of their cooperation with the Campaign Organization and promised that the corporation will look into the proposal and come up with a robust plan on how to fund the office and also get many beneficiaries of contracts from the NNPC and other agencies under it to lend support in order to avoid the mistakes of the former administration in which monies were taken directly from government coffers to fund the campaign.

The GMD according to our source present at the meeting, told Danu to instruct all the contributors to make their donations to the campaign organization in cash.

Danu is a front man for NNPC and he recently got Crude OIL lifting contract from the NNPC. The contract is a backdoor channel that NNPC will use to help fund the campaign organization of the President.

NNPC is not only mandated to fund the Media directorate of the campaign, it also has a mandate of sponsoring other directorates and sub committees within the campaign organization.

A source also gathered that Mr. Danu also enjoys close ties with the First Lady, Aisha Buhari. He is the link man between the President’s wife and many oil contractors who seek favour from Aisha Buhari.

You would recall that in 2017,  had exclusively reported that Cronies of President Muhammadu Buhari with no experience in the Oil and Gas sector have found their way into the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the sale of Nigerian crude for 2017/2018.

The NNPC had done everything during the bidding process to accommodate the President’s interest, his wife, Chief of Staff and other Senior members of his kitchen cabinet.

The NNPC, had recently released the names of 39 bidders for the sale and purchase of Nigerian crude, which include 18 Nigerian companies and 11 International Traders. Also, five foreign refineries, three National Oil Companies (NOCs) and two NNPC trading arms were selected.

According to Africa Energy Intelligence, “while the majority of 18 local trading chosen by NNPC to sell its crude know the ropes a few have no experience of this type of contract,” – these are the Buhari men enlisted in the oil business to protect the President’s interest.

AEI reported in its last issue (Aei 785), that “several traders appeared for the first time on a list of companies winning cargoes from NNPC in 2017-18.”

The AEI report exposing Buhari’s greenhorns-oil-mafia and the Buhari favourites. Some of the newest trading companies hadn’t won an allocation until president Muhammadu Buhari took office. This was the case of Setana Energy which was incorporated and is headed by Edward Edozian, cousin of Louis Edozian, Permanent Secretary at the energy ministry. Setana is also present in Ivory Coast where it is represented by Foungniguetene Silue, founder of the local trading concern Sigma Energy.

Another firm appearing on NNPC’s list for the 1st time, Cassiva Energy, is run by businessman Alhaji Nasir Danu, who’s very close to the Nigerian leader. He was the number two man in the Muhammadu Buhari Presidential Campaign Organization in 2011 and currently the Director of Logistics and Mobilization of Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Organization.

Though Keyamo has gotten the first part payment of N450M from the NNPC through Nasir Danu, he is yet to disburse the money and continues to tell members of the directorate that he has not been mobilized.

A member of the directorate who spoke to newsmen on a condition of anonymity said, Keyamo is a greedy man who looks after his own interest.

“Many of us in this directorate are hungry. What he keeps telling us everyday is that there is no money but we have on a good authority that he has been mobilized and he collects money from different people to run the day-to-day activities of the organisation.”

“If he claims he has not been mobilized, where does he get the money he spends on frivolities and setting up the situation room from? Where are all the bags containing cash that people are bringing to him?”.

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