Deputy Editor, LEON USIGBE, writes on the altercation between the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari and the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, during the Federal Executive Council meeting.
The Presidency a few days ago denied that there was a hot verbal exchange between the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, Abba Kyari and the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, over the leaked HCSF memo to CoS on the circumstances surrounding the controversial reinstatement of sacked Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms wanted for alleged massive fraud.
The dramatic incident unfolded in the full glare of important government functionaries including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Bukola Saraki; House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara; Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen; the Governor of Adamawa state, Jubrila Bindow; All Progressive Congress (APC) National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun; service chiefs, Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris; heads of paramilitary services, among others, all waiting for the arrival of President Muhammadu Buhari inside the Council Chamber of the presidential villa, Abuja. They had gathered 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. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting was to follow immediately thereafter, which meant that all ministers were also present, waiting for the arrival of the President for the commencement of the events.
There was also a horde of State House correspondents waiting to capture the moments. Cameras were soon trained on the duo when cameramen realized that an ongoing interchange between an animated Oyo-Ita and Kyari was much more than a normal exchange of pleasantries. For about 10 minutes, there was a back and forth verbal altercation between the two as they seemed to put across their arguments to Osinbajo who calmly listened to them. The exchange also drew the attention of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, who ventured to calm things. But it was obvious that the Mrs Oyo-Ita was hurt and was keen to ventilate her complaint. The subject of discussion was ostensibly the HCSF’s leaked memo, stating her role in Maina’s re-engagement in the Federal Civil Service and particularly how she had fought against it by bringing the consequences of such action to the notice of the president. The media reported it as such but the Presidency thought they got it wrong as encapsulated in a statement issued two days after the incident by Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu.
In denying the Council Chamber’s incident, Shehu took the unusual step to publicly castigate the State House Press Corps for what he saw as their failure to exhibit a sense of responsibility in reporting the event of that day. The SSA after a meeting of admonishment with the corps, sought to highlight the failings of the media and as well deny the reported summon of the two characters by President Buhari over the incident in a statement that followed the meeting. It was to call “for a higher sense of responsibility among journalists in Nigeria, especially those assigned to the State House, who are supposed to be the cream of the crop.” He described reports of a fight between top government officials at the State House as fabrications that could only have been conjured by correspondents who would probably make better fiction writers than journalists. According to him, “by tradition, the media organizations send their best reporters to the State House. This should reflect, at all times on the quality of reporting.”
He went further to say: “I am a journalist myself, and in journalism, you are not supposed to report anything other than the facts of what you heard or observed directly, or what you were told by a firsthand or authoritative eyewitness,” before adding: “You cannot add two and two to make twenty-two and present it to the public as news.”
Shehu insisted that it was impossible for the conversation between Kyari and Oyo-Ita to have been heard by any journalist, as the distance between them and the two government officials as they addressed the Vice President, would have made their conversation completely inaudible to the journalists. “People can debate and argue over issues, but to suggest that there was a feud, a fight or a clash was to take matters beyond what they were,” the SSA said. He also denied categorically any suggestion that the two government officials had been summoned to see the President over the alleged skirmish, referring to that conclusion as yet another example of conjecture. On the reported summons, Shehu posited that “top government officials of that calibre see the President on a regular basis. To suggest that they were summoned to see him as a result of a so-called feud is just a fabrication, a conclusion that is below the level of responsible journalism that we expect from our State House correspondents.”
It is true that reporters were a few meters away from the actors but they had a clear view of the altercation from their position. Besides, there were a couple of cameramen close enough to eavesdrop on the exchange and they took in the issue in contention which they relayed to the rest members of the press corps. The position was validated by graphic still and video pictures that were circulated a short while later. Oyo-Ita was very agitated and seemed to demonstrate righteous indignation like someone falsely accused.
To observers though, the bottom-line is that if Maina had not been secretly recalled into services, an action that brought the propriety of some key administration officials to question, that Council Chamber incident would never have occurred. Their various roles are still subject of investigation but judging by what is already out in the open and the HCSF’s aggressive reaction in the Council Chamber, she may feel that she is being made the fall guy in the entire episode.
Maina was an Assistant Director at the time he was made the task force chairman in 2010 under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. But in 2012, he was accused of leading the perpetration of pension fraud worth about N100 billion. He was investigated by the Senate which issued a warrant of arrest against him. He fled the country in order to avoid prosecution even though he kept claiming innocence of the charges that were brought against him. Maina was recommended for dismissal in 2013. His reappearance as the Director of Human Resources at the Ministry of Interior in an All Progressive Congress (APC) administration which professes to be an anti-corruption government, left many tongues wagging and immediately gave rise to the term “Mainagate.” Since the story broke, officials fingered in it have done their best to extricate themselves of the blame.
From facts out already, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, played a major role and he has defended that role by claiming that he acted in public interest. However, questions remain as to exactly what his role was and how it was in public interest. His Ministry of Interior counterpart, Abdulrahman Dambazau, denied that he himself was responsible for Maina’s recall, shifting the responsibility to the office of the HCSF and Civil Service Commission who he argued are the statutory government agencies responsible for recruitment and deployment to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
But Oyo-Ita gave a different impression as to how the recall was executed in her own side of the story as contained in her leaked memo which appears to be the source of her troubles. In it, Mrs Oyo-Ita claimed that President Buhari was aware of Maina’s reinstatement but that she had advised him against it. She said she had to warn the President because of the possible implications of such reinstatement. Her memo followed the president’s directive that the circumstances of the reinstatement should be investigated. Consequently, Oyo-Ita wrote the memo, titled, “Re: Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina,” and received in the office of the CoS to on October 23. In it, she stated that she met the President after the FEC meeting of Wednesday, October 11, when she verbally advised him against bringing Maina back to the service.
Parts of her memo stated: “Please, note that the OHCSF was never in agreement with the reinstatement and consequently never conveyed the approval of the FCPC to Mr. A. A. Maina, nor approved his posting to the Ministry of Interior or any other MDA. Rather, I sought an audience with His Excellency, Mr. President on Wednesday, October 11th , 2017 after the FEC meeting where I briefed His Excellency verbally on the wide-ranging implications of the reinstatement of Mr. A. A. Maina, especially the damaging impact on the anti-corruption stance of this administration.”
The HCSF memo further stated: “The move to recall Mr. A. A. Maina was at the instance of a series of letters from the Attorney General of the Federation to the Federal Civil Service Commission requesting the commission to give consequential effect to the judgment that voided the warrant of arrest issued against Mr. A. A. Maina, which formed the basis for the query and his eventual dismissal.”
“The FCSC thereafter requested that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation should advise the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior to consider the AGF’s letter and make appropriate recommendations to the commission and this was so communicated to the Ministry of Interior.
“The Ministry of Interior took the matter to the Senior Staff Committee of the ministry and recommended the reinstatement of Mr. A. A. Maina into the service as Deputy Director.
“The OHCSF forwarded the recommendation to the FCSC which has the constitutional responsibility for appointments, promotion, and discipline for further action.
“The FCSC in consideration of the letter from the AGF and the recommendations of the SSC of the Ministry of Interior consequently approved and conveyed the reinstatement of Mr. A. A. Maina with effect from February 21st 2013 vide letter herewith attached as Annex IV.
“The letter of reinstatement, as communicated to HCSF Ref. FC. 4029.82/Vol. III/179 dated September 18th, 2017, ostensibly also copied the Ministry of Interior which is the one erroneously used to document Mr. A. A. Maina on a claim that he has resumed work since September 28th 2017. The Ministry of Interior informed the OHCSF of this development vide letter Ref. MI/1436/II/24 dated October 16th, 2017 from Ministry of Interior stating that Mr. A. A. Maina has resumed with effect from September 28th 2017 is attached as Annex V.
“Please note that the OHCSF was never in agreement with the reinstatement and consequently never conveyed the approval of the FCSC to Mr. A. A. Maina nor approved his posting to the Ministry of Interior or any other MDA. Rather, I sought an audience with His Excellency, Mr. President on Wednesday, October 11th 2017 after the FEC meeting where I briefed His Excellency verbally on the wide-ranging implications of the reinstatement of Mr. A. A. Maina, especially the damaging impact on the anti-corruption stance of this administration.
“However, I have requested the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, to provide any documentary evidence to support the claim of reinstatement and posting of Mr. A. A. Maina by OHCSF, since after his dismissal.”
President Buhari has since ordered Maina’s dismissal and Maina has gone underground once again but many cynics are of the view that not a little damage has been done to the perception of the Buhari administration’s war against corruption. Many also believe that redemption will only begin from a comprehensive investigation that will determine the various role played by all the principal characters, with a view to meting out appropriate sanctions to those culpable, rather than seeking to make an individual a scapegoat.
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