Don’t intimidate HoS, groups warn FG

Various groups and individuals on Wednesday warned the Federal
Government against any attempt to intimidate the Head of Service,
Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita over the leaked memo on the Abdulrasheed
Maina saga.

Speaking on the issue, the convener of the Coalition of Northern
Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr Junaid
Mohammed, said the “verbal tirade” against Oyo-Ita by the
President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, was obviously an attempt to
intimidate her into silence.

He said, “This shameless act by the Chief of Staff clearly shows
you how desperate this administration can get. Most of the
questions we as Nigerians have been asking about what Mr. President
knows about this whole Maina saga have been answered by this leaked
memo.

“We have been asking what does Mr. President know about this
whole thing and when was it brought to his attention? Unless he
comes clean, no attempt by a chief of staff to intimidate a
thorough bred career civil servant whose record of performance he
can never match can wash this administration clean of this crime
against the Nigerian people.

“If anybody feels strongly about what she said in her reply to
the query issued to her such a person should produce a superior
counter-argument instead of trying to intimidate her into silence.
Nigerians are watching. This woman was queried, she merely replied,
what tells you that it was not members of the cabal that leaked the
document to make her look bad?”

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights has also flayed
Kyari for attacking Oyo-Ita, saying it was an embarrassment to the
Buhari administration.

The CDHR President, Malachy Ugwummadu, said, “The Maina issue
has become very scandalising and embarrassing. It is not
unexpected. Some of us have repeatedly expressed our resentment
over the poor coordination of the entire affairs of this
government.

“The height of that resentment was the show of shame that
characterised the altercation and near fisticuffs of the Chief of
Staff and the Head of Service. I think the President at this point
needs to address the drift.”

The Director, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership,
Debo Adeniran, however, said, “What happened between Abba Kyari and
Oyo-Ita was a private discussion which we should not worry about,
except Kyari was seen to be an interloper in matters which concern
the President.”

Various groups and individuals on Wednesday warned the Federal
Government against any attempt to intimidate the Head of Service,
Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita over the leaked memo on the Abdulrasheed
Maina saga.

Speaking on the issue, the convener of the Coalition of Northern
Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr Junaid
Mohammed, said the “verbal tirade” against Oyo-Ita by the
President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, was obviously an attempt to
intimidate her into silence.

He said, “This shameless act by the Chief of Staff clearly shows
you how desperate this administration can get. Most of the
questions we as Nigerians have been asking about what Mr. President
knows about this whole Maina saga have been answered by this leaked
memo.

“We have been asking what does Mr. President know about this
whole thing and when was it brought to his attention? Unless he
comes clean, no attempt by a chief of staff to intimidate a
thorough bred career civil servant whose record of performance he
can never match can wash this administration clean of this crime
against the Nigerian people.

“If anybody feels strongly about what she said in her reply to
the query issued to her such a person should produce a superior
counter-argument instead of trying to intimidate her into silence.
Nigerians are watching. This woman was queried, she merely replied,
what tells you that it was not members of the cabal that leaked the
document to make her look bad?”

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights has also flayed
Kyari for attacking Oyo-Ita, saying it was an embarrassment to the
Buhari administration.

The CDHR President, Malachy Ugwummadu, said, “The Maina issue
has become very scandalising and embarrassing. It is not
unexpected. Some of us have repeatedly expressed our resentment
over the poor coordination of the entire affairs of this
government.

“The height of that resentment was the show of shame that
characterised the altercation and near fisticuffs of the Chief of
Staff and the Head of Service. I think the President at this point
needs to address the drift.”

The Director, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership,
Debo Adeniran, however, said, “What happened between Abba Kyari and
Oyo-Ita was a private discussion which we should not worry about,
except Kyari was seen to be an interloper in matters which concern
the President.”