How fraudster clinched top government job after posing as TY Danjuma’s son

A serial fraudster, Matthew Obobo Solomon, has duped the Nigerian government into offering him a top job at the Ministry of Niger Delta after posing as a son of retired Army General and former Minister of Defence, TY Danjuma.
Mr. Danjuma, a billionaire philanthropist and chairman of Intervention Programmes for the North East, commands the respect of Nigerian authorities, including President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr. Solomon began hatching the identity theft plan on June 11, 2013, when he placed a classified advert (Change of Name) in a Nigerian newspaper, wishing to be known and addressed as Matthew Theophilus Danjuma.
Matthew Solomon Obobo (Tikari TY Danjuma)

Few readers who noticed the classified advert drew the attention of Mr. Danjuma, who simply dismissed Mr. Solomon’s claims as spurious and puerile without issuing a disclaimer in the national dailies.

Daily Nigerian gathered that in order to perfect his plan, Mr. Solomon established contact with one the distant relatives of Mr. Danjuma and told him that Mr. Danjuma was his father, and that he was born out of wedlock.
According to some of Mr. Danjuma’s relatives, Mr. Solomon, who moves around with siren and bodyguards in the Niger Delta region, claimed that he decided to trace his roots after his dying grandmother told him that TY Danjuma was his father.
“When we asked him why he made no attempt to confront TY Danjuma with the issue, he said Danjuma will kill him. Based on that premise, we took him to the village without Danjuma’s knowledge and organised a homecoming, where he was renamed Tikari,” said a source who craved anonymity.
 After the baptism of Mr. Solomon at a Takum village in Taraba State, he again changed his name to Tikari.
Sources told Daily Nigerian that a year or so after the placement of the classified advert, Mr. Danjuma started receiving torrents of complaints on one Matthew TY Danjuma duping government agencies and individuals, while parading himself as his son.
“It was after the embarrassment became out of hand that TY Danjuma decided to issue a disclaimer,” said a family source.
It was gathered that Mr. Danjuma’s disclaimer did not stop Mr. Solomon from name-dropping and seeking government contracts, appointment and favours until after securing a lucrative job.
On October 14, 2016, a statement by the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Usani, announced the appointment of Mr. Tikari T.Y. Danjuma as the Coordinator of Niger Delta Riverine Protection Programme.
But a month after Mr. Solomon’s appointment, several groups in the region petitioned the ministry that he was a fraudster, and that Mr. Danjuma was not his father.
“Even if TY Danjuma were his father, the job is ideally not for people from Taraba State,” said one of the petitioners.
But Mr. Solomon’s job at the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs suddenly came to an end a few months after his appointment.
A statement by Mr. Usani’s spokesman on January 6 said, “The Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani has alerted the general public to be wary of the activities of Mr. Tikari T.Y Danjuma whose appointment as the coordinator of the Niger Delta Riverine Protection Programme was terminated in December, 2016”.
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Usani

The statement continues, “According to the Minister, in spite of his sack by the Federal Government, Mr. Tikari has been parading himself as the Coordinator of the Niger Delta Riverine Protection Programme.

“Usani reiterated that anyone who relates with Mr. Tikari in such capacity is doing so at his or her own risk. The Minister stressed that Tikari was no longer operating on behalf of the Government and any action of his in such capacity is illegal.
“In a letter addressed to Tikari and personally signed by the Minister to this effect, The Minister said: ‘Recall that you were appointed as Coordinator of the Niger Delta Riverine Protection Programme with a mandate to recover arms from the Niger Delta militants, three months after this assignment, there has been no visible outcome, to this effect, your appointment is hereby terminated forthwith.”
Daily Nigerian reliably gathered that apart from receiving several petitions against Mr. Solomon (Tikari), Mr. Danjuma personally wrote to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, disclaiming him as his son.
Investigations show that Mr. Solomon’s parents are all alive, and he had a history of duping individuals, including governors, ministers and other heads of government agencies.
Sources said Mr. Solomon was a militant and renowned oil bunkerer before deciding to change his identity to gain favours.
Efforts to speak with Mr. Solomon proved unsuccessful as his mobile number was not getting through.

TY Danjuma denies any role in Niger Delta programme.

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northeast Initiative, PCNI, Theophilus Danjuma, has reacted to news reports on Friday where he was referred to as the Coordinator of Niger Delta Riverine Protection Program.

 

In a statement by the spokesperson of PCNI, Alkasim Abdulkadir, Mr. Danjuma said that the mandate he has from the Federal Government of Nigeria remains his role as Chairman of the Public/Private sector Fund known as the Presidential Committee for the Victims Support Fund, VSF, and PCNI which was recently inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

The retired general said “he is not purportedly related in any way or form to one Tikari TY Danjuma who heads the (Niger Delta) program,” the statement said.

 

Mr. Danjuma advised newspaper editors and media organizations to ensure that news reports were always “diligently edited, balanced and factual to avoid similar misrepresentations in the future.”

APC Taraba Accuses TY Danjuma Of Bribing INEC With N2b

The Youth mobilisation leader of Aisha campaign, comrade Bala Abubakar Maina who spoke to our correspondent in the private house of Senator Aisha Alhassan in Jalingo said that INEC was alleged to collect whopping sum up to two Billion naira in the interest of People Democracy party, PDP, which is having a candidate many believe is the political anointed son of TY Danjuma.

Comrade Bala said no matter the evil arrangement of PDP to rig this election, it cannot work because they already have permutations that they are the winner of April 11th Polls.

The rerun election is still going to Show as all hands are on desk to see that the APC mandate in the state is not truncated by PDP as they are told that people like T Y Danjuma are the ones behind all the political problems in the state.

“I am assuring you that with their TY Danjuma and the bribe money, Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan, Maman Taraba insha Allah will certainly be the next governor of the state,” Bala said.

Reacting in a similar vein, the secretary of Arch.Darius Yakubu campaign organisation who are in a  mission to rescue Taraba, Mr Nelson Lens accused APC of been indifferent to accept a fact that Taraba is a PDP state, and undoubtedly is going to remain a PDP state should the rerun elections take place in the affected areas that made the election in the state to be declared inconclusive by INEC.

Nelson exonerated T Y Danjuma from having any affairs with the PDP in the state so much so that he can bribe INEC with 2 billion naira, describing him to be a father to everybody in Taraba and Nigeria as a country; his duty is to see that Nigeria is intact not only Taraba.

“TY is too big for this allegation, with our candidate who is already a marketable and sellable candidate, chief Darius did his homework very well; he has been nice to the people of Taraba even before his venturing into politics,” Nelson said.

Read Moreelombah,com

TY Danjuma Face Criticsms Over Ojukwu Comment

Reactions are beginning to pour in over the statement credited to former Defense Minister, General Theophilus Danjuma, on the conduct of the late Biafran Leader, late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, during the Nigerian civil war.

Reacting to Danjuma’s comments, some Igbo leaders accused him of ridiculing the president, insulting Ojukwu and continuing the genocide against the Igbo by other means.

Among those who berated Danjuma are former Secretary-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo and officer in the Biafran Army, Col Joe Achuzia; Second Republic Politician, Chief Guy Ikokwu; botched Third Republic Governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife and former Deputy National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chief Abia Onyike.

Read More: vanguardngr

 

TY Danjuma Refuses To Endorse Jonathan After Visit

former Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, on Wednesday had a secret meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The former military personel, however failed to endorse President Jonathan for another term.

It was gathered that the brief meeting, which lasted for about 15 minutes, took place inside Jonathan’s residence earlier on Wednesday.

Read More: dailypost