MODIBO Kawu, former Director General Of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) who is facing corruption charges to the tune of N2.5b, has been appointed as the Deputy Director of Media and Publicity of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu’s campaign organisation.
Kawu was accused by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) of allegedly making payment of N2.5b seed grant to Pinnacle Communications Limited, one of the signal distributors for the Digital Switch-over projects.
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In a statement signed by Rasheedat Okoduwa, the then spokesperson of the ICPC, the Commission said it quizzed Kawu and other top management staff of the agency over their alleged involvement in the misapplication of the fund.
The presidency had in 2016 released N10 billion to the Ministry of Information and Culture for the digital switch-over programme, which includes the migration of telephone lines from analogue to digital platforms, and a White Paper was issued directing that government-affiliated company specifically handle the process.
Based on the guidelines provided by the White Paper, two companies were nominated to handle the process, one of which was ITS, an affiliate of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). About N1.7 billion was released as a seed grant for the commencement of the switch-over.
However, ICPC investigation discovered that the process was fraught with corruption.
Kawu was, therefore, charged along Lucky Omoluwa (now deceased) and Dipo Onifade, Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Pinnacle Communications Ltd.
In February 2020, Kawu was suspended, pending the conclusion of investigations into the allegations against him.
He was removed from office through a memo from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, directing him to hand over to the most senior person in the Commission.
This is coming months after the ICPC urged the government to suspend him and 32 other public officers undergoing corruption trial at the time.
The government later replaced Kawu with Armstrong Idachaba as the acting DG.
Until his appointment as the DG of NBC in 2016, Kawu was a columnist in Vanguard Newspapers.
The allegation of corruption made the former DG disappear from public space until August 2022, when Bola Ahmed Tinubu Campaign Organisation announced him as the Deputy Director of Media and Publicity.
This was disclosed in a statement released by Bayo Onanuga, the Director of Media and Publicity.
Responding to the request from The ICIR on the status of the case, the ICPC spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, said the case is ongoing.
“Yes, I am Just seeing this. The case is still ongoing,” she told The iCIR.
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