TheCable

For ten minutes on Wednesday morning, top government functionaries watched a confrontation between Winifred Oyo-Ita, head of the service of the federation, and Abba Kyari, chief of staff to the president, inside the council chambers, Aso Rock, TheCable can report.

The reason is a no-brainer — a letter written by Oyo-Ita indicting President Muhammadu Buhari in the reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina somehow found its way to the media.

In the memo addressed to Kyari, Oyo-Ita maintained that the president knew about the reinstatement and that she warned him there would be a public backlash.

But who leaked the memo to the media?

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and Kyari were seen questioning Oyo-Ita at 10.55am — just before the swearing-in of Boss Mustapha as the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) and the launch of the 2018 armed forces emblem.

Oyo-Ita, usually calm, was seen angrily gesticulating in the heated argument with Kyari.

She returned to her seat and angrily stood up again, this time heading straight to Osinbajo, who also discussed with her.

Babagana Monguno, retired major-general and national security adviser, then joined the conversation.

Mustapha, meanwhile, started his job as SGF as a peace maker by trying to calm Oyo-Ita.

Finally, Ade Ipaye, the deputy chief of staff, asked Oyo-Ita to return to her seat as the scene attracted the attention of everybody in the chambers.

She promptly did.

Those in the chambers included Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Walter Onnoghen, chief justice of the federation, Governor Jibrila Bindu of Adamawa, and John Odigie-Oyegun, national chairman of APC.

Also there were the chief of defence staff, service chiefs, inspector general of police and heads of paramilitary services.

Maina’s secret reinstatement had generated widespread anger, leading to an order for his immediate disengagement by Buhari, who then ordered Oyo-Ita to present a report on the recall same day.

But Oyo-Ita reportedly indicted the president himself — while holding Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general of the federation, and Abdurahman Dambazau, minister of interior, responsible for plotting the recall.

Dambazau had previously blamed Oyo-Ita’s office.