Leaked memo spat: Kyari, Oyo-Ita make up with an embrace

The Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, Abba Kyari and the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Winifred Oyo-Ita, put up a public display of reconciliation on Wednesday a week after their fiery exchange over leaked memo on the reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms.

The apparent reconciliation took place inside the Council Chamber of the presidential villa, Abuja where the initial confrontation happened last week.

Cameras were again trained on the duo who arrived and sat side by side waiting for the arrival of President Muhammadu Buhari for the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

However, this time, they stood up to engage in a warm embrace and smiled broadly in a deliberate move to put the incident of last a Wednesday behind them.

On arrival in the Chamber, the HCSF immediately went up to exchange pleasantries with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who was also a witness to their last verbal exchange.

She thereafter went into a discussion with the CoS who was just arriving and the embrace followed with a spontaneous eruption of clap from other people present.

They were both congratulated by the Vice President, National Security Advisers (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (retd); State House Permanent Secretary Jalal Arabi and the Permanent Secretary Ecological Office, Dr. Habiba Lawal who represented the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Muatapha, who was said to be on an official assignment.

There was drama last Wednesday inside the Council Chamber, Oyo-Ita and Kyari engaged in an argument over the leaked memo written by the HoS to President Buhari indicating that the president was aware of the the reinstatement of the sacked Abdulrasheed Maina to the civil service.

Maina was was the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms alleged to have looted pension funds before fleeing from the country rather than facing prosecution.

Both Oyo-Ita and Kyari had been present for the scheduled launch of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration 2018 Emblem and Appeal Fund as well as the swearing-in of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha,

when the confrontation took place.

A visibly angry HoS was apparently reacting to the circumstances surrounding the leaked memo when being questioned by both

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the Chief of Staff shortly before the commencement of the events.

For about 10 minutes, there were exchanges between Oyo-Ita and Kyari in the presence of other senior government functionaries including Senate President Bukola Saraki, House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, Chief of justice of the Federation, Walter Onnoghen; the Governor of Adamawa, Jubrila Bindu, All Progressive Congress (APC) National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, service chiefs, Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, heads of paramilitary services, among others.

The HoS showed her anger by gesticulating in an obvious effort to drum home her point in an argument with the CoS.

She rose and sat again on her seat a couple of times before moving towards the Vice President to continue to make her case.

Both the NSA) and the newly appointed SGF, Mustapha joined in the discussion apparently to calm frayed nerves.

Deputy Chief of Staff Femi Ipaye, was also seen prevailing on her to return to her seat.

The memo in question had recently surfaced in the media indicating that she had resisted the reengagement of Maina because of the damage it could do to Buhari’s war on corruption.

According to the memo, she had made that point to the president.

Maina had  in 2013 been recommended for dismissal by the Federal Civil Service Commission following a recommendation by the Office of the Head of Service over his activities at the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms.