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War In Aso Rock As Oyo-Ita, Abba Kyari Exchange Exchange Hot Words!

First Bank Nigeria

Just before the launch of the emblem Wednesday, there was some mild drama when the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, engaged the Chief of Staff to the President, Alhaji Abba Kyari, in a heated argument that lasted for about 10 minutes.

The argument started when Kyari, while facing Oyo-Ita, pointedly wagged a finger at her, which was perceived by the latter as a personal affront and seen as accusing her of leaking her memo to the president on the embarrassing reinstatement of alleged pension thief, Abdulrasheed Maina, in the civil service.

The leaked memo, published by a national daily on October 31, was the response of the Head of Service to Buhari’s query, demanding a report on the circumstances leading to the recall of the fugitive and former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Force, Maina.

The Head of Service, according to the leaked memo, had reminded Buhari that she brought to his attention the implication of reinstating Maina in the civil service after a meeting of the cabinet on October 11, before his recall became public, which prompted the president to order that he be dismissed.

The submission of Oyo-Ita in the memo had exposed the president’s feigned ignorance of Maina’s recall and promotion from Assistant Director to Deputy Director in the Ministry of Interior.

Ostensibly, Kyari must have been upset about the memo, which projected the president in a bad light.
However, following Kyari’s finger pointing, a visibly angry Oyo-Ita confronted the chief of staff, informing him that she had attained the peak of her career as a civil servant and had no reason to fear anything because she was neither a politician, nor an elected representative.

“I have reached the peak of my career. I am not an elected politician,” Oyo-Ita stated without any fear of equivocation in the presence of guests who had been invited to the chamber to witness the swearing-in of the new SGF, Mustapha Boss and the launch of the 2018 Armed Forces emblem by the president.

The guests included Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara; the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen; Adamawa State Governor, Jubrilla Bindow; the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Ibok-Ette Ekwe Ibas; Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshall Abubakar Sadique; Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris; and the heads of paramilitary organisations, among others.

Oyo-Ita, in a complete departure from her usual calm and quiet self, after engaging Kyari in a heated exchange, returned to her seat but feeling that she had not yet exhausted her rage against her traducer, rose up again from her seat and headed straight to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who eventually calmed the frayed nerves between the two officers.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, later joined the conversation as the new SGF also assisted in placating the exasperated Head of Service.

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Femi Ipaye, having observed that all eyes were fixed on her, encouraged the aggrieved civil service head to return to her seat.

Maina had been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2013, following the discovery of a N195 billion fraud by the then Joint Senate Committee on Public Service, Establishment and State and Local Government when Maina was the head of the Pension Task Force.

However, Maina who had absconded from the country to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which led to his dismissal from the civil service by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, was secretly reinstated on September 28, following a series of correspondence between the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, and the Head of Service.

But the bubble burst when Premium Times blew open the secret reinstatement, forcing Buhari to order Maina’s disengagement from the civil service and the issuance of a query to Oyo-Ita on October 23 to explain the circumstance of Maina’s reinstatement.

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