President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, has been named as the architect of the controversial vacation letter by the president to the National Assembly.
Sahara Reporters reports that several high-ranking sources at the presidency confirmed that the decision to use the phrase, “the Vice President will coordinate the activities of the Government,” was singularly taken by Kyari.
The source also disclosed that Kyari had always seen Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and some ministers as countervailing forces against him, which is why he phrased the letter to the National Assembly in a way that degraded the VP’s powers to act fully during Buhari’s absence.
The source listed the following minister as those Kyari thinks should be cut ooff from President Buhari.
1. Lai Mohammed
He is the Minister of Information and Culture.
2. Babatunde Fashola
He is the Minister of Power, Works and Housing.
3. Rotimi Amaechi
He is the Minister of Transportation.
4. Audu Ogbeh
He is the Minister of Agriculture.
5. Hadi Sirika
He is the Minister of State for Aviation..
6. Abubakar Malami
He is the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
7. Jummai Alhassan
She is the Minister of Women Affairs.
Buhari’s letter to the National Assembly informing them of his latest trip to London had sparked a heated debate. In the letter, he wrote that Osinbajo was to coordinate government activities unlike previous ones where he was named acting president.
There was at the National Assembly. A senator, Mao Ohabunwa, faulted the position given to Osinbajo in the letter. He noted that there was no provision in the Nigerian constitution for a coordinating vice president as stated in the president’s letter.
