President Muhammadu Buhari and Abba Kyari
The presidency on Saturday explained that President Muhammadu Buhari’s
directive that ministers willing to meet with the president pass through
the chief of staff, Abba Kyari, was not a new one.
President Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said that has been the policy even during Mr Buhari’s first term in office.
He said the president reiterated it to ministers last week because many of the ministers “are new appointments and cannot therefore be expected to know how matters of liaising with the president operate.”
Read Mr Shehu’s full statement below.
Recent media and social media reports on the responsibilities of the
Chief of Staff to the President have suggested that the role has
changed. This is not the case.
Today, under the Buhari II administration the role of Chief of Staff remains the same as it was under Buhari I.
It is worth stressing that the role and responsibilities of the Chief of
Staff and the method of communication and arranging scheduling between
Cabinet members and the President are, in Nigeria, based on the US
model, where the same system operates – and has done for decades – in
precisely the same way.
That role is to act as the head of the presidential administration at
Aso Rock; to be an adviser to the President on any and all matters; to
be the line manager for all staff at Aso Rock; and to manage
appointments and scheduling for the President.
In the traditional presidential system, it is a primary function of a
Chief of Staff, which may vary according to the needs and desires of
each President, to supervise key State House Staff, control access to
the office and the person of the President, manage communications and
information flow and this includes that which binds the relationship
with the two other arms of government.
During the President’s first term those were the responsibilities of the
Chief of Staff, and they remain the same responsibilities today. There
is no change.
When President Buhari explained to ministers that they would be expected
to communicate with him and arrange scheduling to meet with him
primarily via the Chief of Staff, he did so as many of the Buhari II
Cabinet ministerial appointments are new appointments and cannot
therefore be expected to know how matters of liaising with the President
operate.
This is to stress that access to the President is open to ministers. It is not true that this is denied them in the Second Term.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) on the other
hand is responsible for ensuring the effective coordination and
monitoring of the implementation of government policies and programmes.
All cabinet matters must go through him.
Under this dispensation, a performance evaluation of ministers and
Permanent Secretary will be maintained by the SGF. Two weeks after
assuming office, they are expected to sign mandate acceptance documents.
It is time to end the unnecessary controversy, for the key appointees of the President to carry out their jobs.