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The Villa’s Chief of Staff

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2 months ago

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The office of the Chief of Staff to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has suddenly acquired a larger than life aura. The powers believed to be domicile in that office are now synonymous with that of the president himself. The progression of that office, through the window of time, started in recent years.
Rising from the backwaters of official obscurity, akin to the civil service rule of “being seen but not heard”, the office of the chief of staff to the president is now one that many people would do anything – indeed go to any length – to occupy.
Although not a constitutional creation, its functions are largely at the discretion of the president, with direct supervision of his activities, personal staff, and security details.
Since 1999, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo introduced the idea patterned after the US presidency, Aso Rock Villa, has played host to a few persons as chief of staff to successive presidents. Each of them lived their time and left their marks in the sand of time.

 

From General Abdullahi Mohammed under Olusegun Obasanjo to Gbolade Osinowo under Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Mike Oghiadomhe and Jones Arogbofa under Goodluck Jonathan, Abba Kyari and Ibrahim Gambari under Muhammadu Buhari and now Femi Gbajabiamila, under the current president, Bola Tinubu, that office has been shaped largely by the content of the characters of the individual appointees.
Unfortunately, apart from the late Mallam Abba Kyari, who was considered “too powerful” under Buhari and thus, received constant knocks and criticisms for doing his job and taking the flaks for his principal, none other comes close to Gbajabiamila in terms of attacks and constant machination of antics designed exclusively to get rid of him.
Today, Gbajabiamila is one of the most popular persons in the country – holding office or not. This, sadly, is not on account of the fact that he was not doing his job well. But essentially, because he has in his hands what several other people desperately covet.

 

Perhaps, it comes with the job and the territory. But the recent interpretations accorded an otherwise innocuous statement by the presidency, which last week hinted at possible cabinet reshuffle was rather discrediting.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, while addressing State House correspondents in Abuja, said Tinubu would be aided in his decision by public opinions that have been empirically extracted.
In company with another Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, O’tega Ogra, Onanuga said there was no timeline to when Tinubu would reshuffle his cabinet, which he inaugurated in August, 2023.
“I don’t have any timeline. The president has expressed his desire to reshuffle his cabinet, and he will do it. I don’t know whether he’s going to do it before October 1, but he will surely do it.

 

“So that’s what I will say. He has not given us any timeline he’ll do it, but he will do it. He has expressed his plan he wants to do it,” he said.
Ogra would further shed more light on the planned exercise. He explained that the president would be guided by an empirical process, making reference to the performance indicator of everyone.
This, of course, was being coordinated by none other than the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination and head of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman.
He added: “We also need to realise that the president’s decision to reshuffle is also based on empirical evidence. He said it during the retreat for the ministers that they were going to have periodic reviews, and the decisions that are extracted from these reviews will be used to make that final decision.

 

“I know he’s got a couple of reports, and as Mr. Onanuga said, when he’s ready to do that, I believe he will,” he said, adding that the president has also instructed his ministers to actively promote the accomplishments of his administration.
“The president has given an order to all his ministers at the last Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting to go out there and speak about the activities of his administration.
“Some of them have been media shy, television shy, radio shy, and he wants them to overcome all that and go out there and speak about what they have been doing.
“Because the feeling out there is that government is not doing enough and the government has been doing a lot. It is up to them to go out there and blow their own trumpet. They should go out there and talk about what their ministries have been doing,” he added.

 

Nothing in the statement above suggested that the president had hinted at the possibility of dropping any of his appointees. At best, the statement was big on the word “reshuffle” and not “shake-up” even though they both mean changes to the cabinet.
However, while the former presupposes moving people around to improve the effectiveness of the government, the latter indicates a more chaotic situation, which suggests dropping some appointees outright, albeit for the same purpose. Still, it would not be out of place if he drops anyone as he deems fit.
But the brazen misinterpretation of facts in some of the reports, insinuating that Gbajabiamila was top on the list of those who had been penciled in to be relieved of their duties, was not only curious, but further exposed the reality of the forces that seemed to have piled up against the chief of staff since he assumed office.

 

For context, the expanded work of the chief of staff varies from president to president. Aside from the ability to exercise discretion, in addition to the rudimentary responsibilities of the office, he functions majorly at the whims of his principal.
In the case of Gbajabiamila, he had so earned his principal’s confidence that the president once deemed it expedient to come out to defend and as well reiterate his confidence in him, at the peak of the attacks against him.
This happened at one of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings in October 2023, during which Tinubu also set the ground rules for those eligible to attend the meeting.
“Let me reiterate  that a lot of stories are going around about what is happening. I’ve told everyone that I can make mistakes. They’re bound to air them out and correct them.
“Perfection is of God. I have confidence in the integrity of my chief of staff. All campaigns of calumny and insinuations should stop. The buck stops here.
“If I make a mistake, I’m ready to own up to it. We’re all joining hands to fight corruption, and we want to enforce the law with you,” he explained.
Even if it was a façade (which it didn’t really seem like), the fact that the president came out to stoutly defend his chief of staff was enough to douse insinuations and quell the vacuous struggle for that office, intended to viciously pull down the current occupant, Gbajabiamila.
The office of the chief of staff is not elective, and therefore, the struggle to acquire it is not just unsightly but also dishonourable. This insatiable lust for power accentuated by poverty of ambition, has peaked in this case, sadly, with disturbing consequences on the polity and governance.
Isn’t it strange, therefore, that a chief of staff has many jobs on his hands and yet, in the same stroke, has none? Even worse, it is such a thankless call to service that earns the individual a legion of enemies as against medals. So, what about the vain struggle?
In fact, at the state level, many governors had long adopted the idea of abandoning their chief of staff to make very good use of their deputy chief of staff, for personal reasons, instead. If the chief of staff was indispensable, why would they travel that route in the first place?
It is, therefore, interesting to note how some people arrogate so much power to this office and rustle up huge imaginations about the identity of the occupant, sometimes beyond his own grasp.
For instance, how in anyone’s wildest imagination is the chief of staff responsible for the state of economy or the rising costs of living? In what capacity, beyond advisory, would a chief of staff give instructions or directive to ministers, the CBN governor, heads of parastatals and agencies outside of the personal staff of the president?
Yet, the impression created out there by the political hawks is that the chief of staff is the alternate president, a dip that could equally create a needless friction between the principal and his staff, where maturity and trust are lacking. This battle for space could even be extended to the vice-president, who might think he’d been shoved aside for the chief of staff to thrive. It’s a dangerous power gambit!
For Gbajabiamila, there’s no gainsaying that the last 17 months must be the longest in his over two decades of public service and career. He has waltzed through some of the most demeaning allegations of corruption to being tagged the most powerful man in the country, in obvious moves to pit him against his boss.
These ungodly orchestrations by the vermin in the corridors of power are enough to mess with his mental health and emotional stability, especially for a man with grownup kids, whose friends also read some of the “devastating lies” and are wont to ask relevant questions.
Unfortunately, for both his real and perceived enemies, while Gbajabiamila does not appear desperate, his fate is clearly not in their hands either, but his principal, who once publicly stood for him, based on convictions.
It also doesn’t mean they would back off if they failed in their current adventure. It is just characteristic of the filthy power play in a black society, where every approach is considered fair, so long the end justifies the means. They are likely to moot and sculpt other more devastating plots in no time.
Until the president decides what he ultimately does with his appointees, some of whom are being reportedly considered for reshuffling in the coming days, the political jobbers currently strutting the turf and fretting their hours on dead wishes, should, at least, let Gbajabiamila breathe?

 

As published today in Thisday Newspaper https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2024/10/08/the-villas-chief-of-staff/

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Christmas, Cash Scarcity and Attacks against CBN’s Proactive Stance – Toni Kan

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23 hours ago

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December 20, 2024

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Let us look at a few figures……..

Nigeria’s population is put at a little over 200 million people while the UK population is about 68 million. This means that the Nigerian population is about three (3) times that of the UK.

As at June 2023, the UK banking system had about 49,421 Automatic Teller Machines and almost 2.3 million Point of Sales Terminals.

By contrast, the Nigerian banking system had a little over 22,600 ATMS according to TechCabal and is projected to reach 29,000 by 2029 according to Statista. Conversely, Nigeria boasted 1,665,664 POS terminals as at December 2022. Meanwhile, figures attributed to Inlaks, which is described as Nigeria’s biggest ATM operator, suggest that Nigeria needs at least 60,000 ATM machines to serve its population of over 200 million.

Where is all this going? Well to borrow a phrase from the comedian, Jeff Foxworthy; hold my beer, sir!

Those who know me well know what my favourite Igbo proverb is. It goes something like this in translation – “the disease that gives you warning, does not kill you!” It is a proverb that underlines the imperative of proactivity, what the Igbo people might call igba mbo.

So, I was really pleased when I read that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was taking a proactive step to ensure that there is no cash scarcity this Christmas.

Nigerians love cash and that love can become obsessive and reach fever pitch at festive periods. Have you been to Abeokuta during Ojude Oba? Or to Kano during the Durbar? Or Onitsha during Ofala? Those are regional festivities. So, you can imagine what happens at Christmas!

All efforts at driving a cashless policy and economy seem to collapse when festivities come around the corner and this year, the CBN was quick to take proactive action weeks before the festivities reach fever pitch. But the apex bank’s interventions seem to be having unintended consequences even though as at the time of writing this, the apex bank had put out three (3) different circulars and one press release around the issue.

First, is a not-so-surprising pushback from the banks and then a seeming lack of understanding by the general public no thanks to rampant mis-information.

The issue of cash scarcity around the Christmas period worsened under the sway of Godwin Emefiele at the CBN. The fall-out from the disastrous naira redesign he superintended over at the apex bank continues to haunt our banking vaults but Olayemi Cardoso and team are focused on making sure we turn that dark corner.

Let us begin with the first circular dated November 29, 2024: “Cash Availability Over the Counter in Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).” The circular had two sections: DMBs were directed to ensure efficient cash disbursement to customers Over the Counter (OTC) with the CBN insisting that it will enforce the directive and ensure compliance.

Secondly, members of the general public were encouraged to report instances where they are unable to get cash Over the Counter or through ATMs. The CBN ended with a list of 37 email addresses and phone numbers across the 36 states and FCT for reporting issues.

On paper, it looked like Nigerians and the cash worries were all sorted this Christmas but it didn’t take time for the expected pushback to occur. News reports began to circulate of long queues at banks and of ATMs struggling to dispense more than N10,000. “NAN reports that long queues have emerged at ATM stands around the city as residents struggle to have access to cash…Meanwhile POS operators are currently taking advantage of the situation to demand exorbitant charges on transactions.”

While Nigerians were still trying to make sense of the reason behind the long queues, another report had an official of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance, and Financial Institutions (ASBIFI) pointing fingers. According to the report, “ASSBIFI President, Olusoji Oluwole, told the Punch that “Banks have only two sources of cash: the CBN and retailers. The CBN has not met banks’ demands, and retailers often sell cash for profit, making it harder for banks to access funds.”

As if in response to the charge, the apex bank responded “with their full chest” as we say on social media with a December 13, 2024 circular – Updated Penalty on Inappropriate Cash Disbursement Practices by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in which it condemned the “illicit flow of mint banknotes to currency hawkers and other unscrupulous economic agents that commodify naira bank notes thus impeding efficient and effective cash distribution to banks’ customers and general public.”

Giving bite to the circular the CBN said any bank found culpable of “facilitating, aiding or abetting, by direct actions or inactions, illicit flow of mint banknotes” would be fined N150m and then hit with the full weight of the relevant provisions of BOFIA 2020.

This time no pointing fingers were seen but the CBN was not done. Eager to completely squelch rumours around “the validity or lack thereof of the old ₦1000, ₦500, and ₦200 banknotes” the refusal of which was contributing to the long queues, the CBN issued a press release shutting it down: “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has observed the misinformation regarding the validity of the old ₦1000, ₦500, and ₦200 banknotes currently in circulation….the CBN wishes to reiterate that the subsisting Supreme Court ruling granted on November 29, 2023, permits the concurrent circulation of all versions of the ₦1000, ₦500, and ₦200 denominations of the Naira indefinitely.”

The third circular from the CBN which it said was in line with its “ongoing efforts to advance a cash-less economy” seems to have hit a raw nerve among Nigerians who, as we have already noted, love their cash even though it is now an offence to spray the naira.

News outlets also seemed to also get it wrong. The CBN circular of December 17, 2024 did not put a limit on how much cash you and I can withdraw from banks. The limits imposed in the circular titled – CIRCULAR ON CASH-OUT LIMITS FOR AGENT BANKING TRANSACTIONS – are “for agency banking operations” and as reported by TheCable is among interventions intended to address “identified challenges, combat fraud and establish uniform operational standards across the industry.”

Now, can I have my beer back as I attempt to outline how easily well-intentioned policies are rubbished by that euphemistically named malady known as the “Nigerian factor”.

The ASBIFI official was quick to point fingers even though simple logic can show that Over the Counter cash scarcity and at ATMs has little to do with the CBN or its cash distribution operations but with our Nigerian any-how-ness.

Let’s consider this. How is it that banks cannot fill up 22,600 ATMS, most of which are within or in close proximity to their branches but can afford to give cash to 1.6m PS operators? Doesn’t this seem to suggest that someone is out to make sure that the ATMs don’t have cash while the PoS operators continue to make a killing?

And why does it seem right that Nigerians should continue to pay between N250 and N400 per N10,000 withdrawals to PoS operators when ATM charges are far lower at N35 and only after you have made multiple withdrawals from other bank ATMs?

Oh, bankers have said ATMs are difficult to maintain on account of several factors and this takes us back to the figures we shared from the UK. Of the 49,421 ATMs in the UK, “78% were free to use” during the period under reference. So, why do we always talk about maintenance when it comes to Nigeria? Imagine if we paid N10 per ATM transaction, wouldn’t that be better than paying N250 to a PoS operator for every N10,000 withdrawn?

And for context, in 2014, data on various e-payment channels indicated that Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) remained the most patronised payment mode in Nigeria accounting for 89.7% of all electronic transactions with PoS transactions accounting for just 4.58 per cent. Today, the reverse is the case and the question to ask remains; what changed? The answer has something to do with financial inclusion but that is a topic for another day.

As you ponder that poser, ask yourself why is it always difficult to get mint bank notes over the counter in the banks meanwhile, step into any event center and you will see some hawker waving bright new notes in your face. Surely, they don’t get those notes from the CBN.

When the CBN referenced the Supreme Court ruling granted on November 29, 2023 to the effect that the old notes are still legal tender, their X Formerly Twitter page was filled with bile. But what many are failing to contend with is that the current leadership is only trying to make sure the mess they inherited doesn’t get worse.

As we prepare for Christmas and the New Year the advice is simple; go to your bank and ask for your money or withdraw from the ATMs and if you suspect any funny business, email or call the hotlines provided by the CBN.

Say no to any-how-ness this yuletide.

 

Toni Kan is a PR expret and financial analyst.

 

 

 

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Aviation Minister Leads Delta APC Leadership To National Chairman, Advocates Unity Ahead of 2027 Elections

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December 19, 2024

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The Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Olorogun Festus Keyamo SAN, today, led the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, to the National Chairman of the APC, His Excellency Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, at the APC National Headquarters in Abuja.

 

During the meeting, the Delta APC leaders briefed the National Chairman on the current state of the party in the state and the ongoing efforts to reconcile party members. They presented the report of the Reconciliation Committee, which has been approved by the Delta State APC State Working Committee (SWC) and earlier submitted to the National Chairman.

The delegation emphasized the importance of collaboration, stating that the era of a one-man leadership style in Delta APC is over. They reaffirmed their collective commitment to working as a united team to reposition the party and strengthen its prospects ahead of the 2027 general elections. This new direction was evident in the composition of the high-powered delegation that visited the National Chairman.

 

In his response, the National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, commended the Delta APC leadership for their efforts to foster unity and ensure the party’s victory in future elections. He assured them of his commitment to work with Delta APC leaders, including those absent from the meeting, to build a united and formidable front. During the meeting, Dr. Ganduje also spoke with Delta State APC Chairman, Elder Omeni Sobotie, who was unavoidably absent due to health reasons, and wished him a swift recovery following his recent surgery.

 

The delegation to the meeting comprised prominent leaders of the Delta APC, including: Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, OON-Founding Leader of APC in Delta State,

Elder Godsday Orubebe- Former Minister,

Senator Ede Dafinone,

Senator Joel Thomas-Onowakpo,

Rev. Francis Waive- Member, House of Representatives and

Hon. Victor Ochei-former Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly.

The meeting was concluded with a renewed sense of purpose among the Delta APC leaders and a shared commitment to repositioning the party for electoral success in 2027.

 

 

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Just In: Alleged N110.4billion Money Laundering: Yahaya Bello Begs Court: Spare me Landed Property in Maitama for Bail.

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2 days ago

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December 19, 2024

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A former governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello has pleaded with Justice Maryann Anenih of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to spare him the possession of a landed property in the Maitama district of Abuja as one of the conditions for bail.

 

Details later…

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