After years of ignoring the advice of those who had counselled against the retention of Chief Mike Oghiadomhe as his Chief of Staff, President Goodluck Jonathan, Monday February 2014, finally relieved him of his post.
THISDAY learnt from presidency sources that in order to give him a soft landing, Jonathan asked Oghiadomhe to resign.
His resignation was confirmed by the president’s Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, who said there was “nothing extensive to add other than to confirm that the chief of staff has resigned his appointment” and it had nothing to do with a speculative report published by an online news medium linking him to the allegation on the non-repatriation of oil revenue to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
However, sources informed THISDAY that by asking Oghiadomhe to resign, Jonathan had finally bowed to pressure to replace the former chief of staff with someone who has the capacity to inject professionalism into the running of the affairs of the Office of the President.
Oghiadomhe, a former deputy governor of Edo State and ally of Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, had been variously accused of using the Office of the President to dispense and curry favours.
Another source said he had bungled a lot of assignments given to him by the president and had allowed pecuniary interests to influence his decision-making.
“A perfect example was his bungling of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s meeting with the president shortly after seven governors of the PDP and Atiku broke away to form the splinter New PDP last year.
“Another one was the president’s visit to Sokoto at the weekend, which was also mishandled when Oghiadomhe failed to observe protocol by informing the governor of the state, Aliyu Wamakko of Jonathan’s visit.
“Instead it was the deputy governor, Muktar Shagari, who was informed and received the president during the visit,” the source said.
Shagari had refused to move to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) along with the governor, a development that automatically made him the leader of the PDP in the state.
However, Wamakko, according to the presidency source, complained bitterly of being treated with disdain during Jonathan’s visit but still made arrangements for a hitch-free visit by providing accommodation and other necessary logistics.
When the development was brought to his notice, Jonathan was said to have been livid with anger, and as such took a decision on Saturday to remove his chief of staff.
Another issue that counted against Oghiadomhe was his failure to acknowledge a request by Niger State traditional rulers to pay the president a thank-you visit following the foundation laying ceremony of the Zungeru hydro power project in the state late last year.
Niger State Governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, was said to have expressed his displeasure to Jonathan that months after the royal fathers wrote, making a request for the visit, the Office of the Chief of Staff failed to even acknowledge their letter. This again was seen as another lapse on the part of Oghiadomhe.
On reading the handwriting on the wall, the former chief of staff was said to have started packing his belonging in his office at the Presidential Villa at the weekend.
However, Oghiadomhe attended one final meeting with the president alongside other presidential aides after which he tendered his resignation letter Monday.
With his forced resignation, the presidency source said this signposts the preparedness of the president to implement a major cabinet shake-up as the country enters another election cycle.
Speaking on the former chief of staff’s resignation, Abati said: “The president received the letter today (yesterday) which was titled Letter of Resignation and it said he wished to pursue other political necessities in our great party.”
Abati further recalled that about two weeks ago before the president travelled to Ethiopia, he had announced in council that if there was any member of the cabinet or any major political appointee who wanted to pursue some other political roles, such people should let him know.
The president’s media aide added that the president had informed members of his cabinet that if they knew that they were going to be really busy, and such activities might occupy their time, they should step aside or come and see him for discussions.
“That you can confirm. It happened on the open floor of the council. So you can see what I have pointed out as the reason for the chief of staff’s resignation is in line with that.
“As such, we find the speculation particularly by some of the online platforms callous and completely unreasonable considering that this is a man who has served and given time and energy to the pursuit of the good interest of our country.
“Mr. President appreciates his contributions and he would like to put on record that indeed he was a man who discharged his responsibilities diligently and the country is very grateful to him. The president personally would like to wish him well in his future endeavours,” Abati said.
He however disclosed that there was no replacement yet for the former chief of staff.
Also, confirming his resignation yesterday, Oghiadomhe said he stepped down voluntarily from his post as chief of staff.
