Against all permutations, President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed 75-year-old Prof. Ibrahim Gambari as his new Chief of Staff (CoS) and replacement for Mallam Abba Kyari, who died on April 17, 2020.
New Telegraph gathered that the appointment of Gambari followed a painstaking head hunt for a “near perfect replacement” for Kyari, the last occupant of the position. According to sources conversant with the process, the choice of Gambari was arrived at after the Presidency screened the credentials of about 14 candidates mostly serving ministers and political associates of the president. It was learnt that though most of them were eminently qualified, Gambari was picked because of his rich background in the academia, public service and international diplomacy.
In addition, his apolitical disposition was also considered a unique selling point as the office needed a level headed person who will not allow the office to be dragged into partisan politics. A top presidential source told New Telegraph that what helped Gambari apart from his rich background was that he was not part of those scheming for the office.
“Gambari doesn’t belong to any of the camps struggling to replace the late Kyari. Most of those who indicated interest were political associates of the president, except a few outsiders like Gambari. The quest for the position of CoS has split some of the president’s associates.
“The president had to expand his search outside his cabinet when the lobby became intense. He needs someone who has no political affinity or interest in 2023 elections. ‘That was why he settled for Gambari who has rich background and won’t be distracted by politicking.
Buhari needs a strong personality that is wellfocused,” the source said. Gambari, a former Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Minister of External Affairs between 1984 and 1985 when Buhari was Nigeria’s military Head of State,was yesterday received by senior Presidency officials, including the Director of Protocol, Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed and the Permanent Secretary, State House, Mallam Tijani Umar. Others include the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs, Office of the Vice President, Amb. Abdullahi Gwari, as well as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Mallam Garba Shehu, who all ushered him into the Aso Chambers of the State House, Abuja, venue of a virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
Those physically present at the virtual FEC meeting include the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, who offered the opening prayers, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono and Minister of Finance and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed. Others were ministers of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Power, Saleh Mamma, and Commerce, Niyi Adebayo. National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Mungonu was also present at the Council chambers. Other council members attended the meeting in the various offices. Shortly before the commencement of the FEC meeting, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, confirmed that President Buhari has approved the appointment of Gambari as his new Chief of Staff. Gambari was subsequently presented to FEC members by the SGF.
This was followed by the observation of a minute silence in honour of some past members of the Council who had passed away. Gambari, who assumed duties yesterday after his appointment was announced at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, pledged that his guiding principle would be loyalty and service to the best of his ability. According to him, the president needed his loyalty, competence and support in the running of government business. On what Nigerians should expect from him, Gambari said: “I have not started, so, I will find out, but maybe, to serve the president to the best of my ability. “I don’t report directly to the nation, I report directly to the president.
I want to thank the president of the Federal Republic, for giving me this opportunity to serve him and the country.” Following the death of former Chief of Staff (COS) to the President, Abba Kyari, there were speculations on who, among Buhari’s political associates and power brokers, will succeed him. Before his demise, Kyari was unarguably the closest government official to the president and the most powerful man in the administration.
His exit had therefore created a big vacuum in an administration where he was generally regarded as the de facto president. The late Chief of Staff was so trusted by his boss that he directed all government officials seeking to have audience with him to pass through his office. He therefore became the inevitable gateway to the corridors of power at Aso Rock, the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
However, hours after he died as a result of health complications arising from COVID-19, various names were touted in the media as his possible successors. Presidency sources said the cabal, a powerful group believed to be working behind the scene, had already anointed another diplomat and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Amb. Babagana Kingigbe, to take over from him.
There were reports that Kingigbe had been coming around to do one or two things for the president when late Kyari was in isolation as a result of COVID- 19 infection. Apart from Kingigbe, there were some pundits who predicted that the president may consider the incumbent Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hammed Ali (rtd), for the plum job. Ali, the Bauchi Stateborn retired military officer, has been a close confidant of the president and regarded as one of the powerful men determining the fate of the country.
At that time, there were also speculations that the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, a fellow Fulani from Katsina State and a close ally of President Buhari might be considered to take Kyari’s place. Similarly, some political heavyweights in the ruling party were said to be pulling strings and mounting pressures on the president to appoint the Deputy National Chairman (South- West) of the APC and immediate past governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi for the position.
The Ajimobi option was projected as an opportunity to strike a balance in the political equation at the Presidency and clear the perception that the position was reserved for people from a particular region of the country. Also in the race was the former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Brig.- Gen. Buba Marwa who has also been close to the power brokers in the current administration. Meanwhile, investigations have revealed that the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who was one of the strong contenders lost the position of the Chief of Staff to Prof. Gambari because of the perception that he was overambitious, having lobbied to take over the position from Kyari in 2019. According to a Presidency source, the so-called cabal in the Presidency refused to support Adamu’s nomination as the president’s CoS because of their loyalty to Kyari.
They rather saw his aspiration as an opportunity to pay him back for what they perceived as the minister’s earlier attempt to pull the rug off Kyari’s feet. The source alleged that the cabal believes that Adamu was behind the protests against the reappointment of Kyari in 2019 after the swearing-in of President Buhari for his second term. It would be recalled that the late CoS faced a stiff opposition against his reappointment as there were several protests against him (Kyari) asking President Buhari not to reappoint him.
The protests only stopped as the president reappointed Kyari as his Chief of Staff and he, in turn, blocked Adamu’s access to the president, as punishment for his failed plot to unseat him. “As you know, Adamu Adamu was one of the ministers that were so close to the president and had a free access to him in the first tenure of this administration.
“But it is not so in this second term as Abba Kyari blocked him from having free assess to the president. “The cabal was also aware of what happened and supported the late Abba Kyari’s decision not to give the education minister free access to the president. “As you are aware, the late Kyari worked with the cabal throughout his time as the CoS to the president,” the source said. New Telegraph gathered that Adamu’s name was struck out at the last minute of the recruitment exercise. (New Telegraph)
