SGF: The Devious Plan Revealing How Fashola Was Left Out

The latest appointments of president Buhari came as shocker to many political onlookers who believed former Lagos governor, Babatunde Fashola would be part as one of the key appointees.

President Buhari and Fashola

Recall that President Buhari had on Thursday sidelined the favorite nominees including Fashola and former Governor Ogbonnonya Onu to appoint Engr. David Lawal, the national vice-chairman, Northeast, of the All Progressives Congress, APC as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF. He also approved the former newspaper editor and banker, Alhaji Abba Kyari as chief of staff while the erstwhile chief of staff to Buhari, Col. Hammed Ali (retd.) was appointed as the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service.

Fashola had been speculated for the position for various reasons ranging from his excellent performance as the Lagos state governor. However, it was speculated that the emergence of the former governor of Lagos state as chief of staff, might make him have more edge than the Southwest APC political leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Although Tinubu recently denied his personal involvement in the campaign against Fashola that was mounted through publication of allegedly inflated contract awards by his administration, his close associates were, however, known to have deployed other political schemes to knock Fashola out of contention for either the position of SGF or Chief of Staff.

Vanguard reveals that the ultimate weapon that was used in neutralizing Fashola, was the nomination of a former commissioner in the Fashola administration as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the president but delegated to the office of the vice-president. It was gathered that Mr. Ade Ipaye, SAN who worked as attorney general and commissioner for justice in the second term of the Fashola administration, has been marked as the deputy chief of staff to the president with responsibilities of working under the vice-president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

This marking down of Mr. Ipaye, is said to have been the political masterstroke used in knocking Fashola out of the Chief of Staff race. Sources also reveal that those against Fashola took advantage of the fact that Buhari is bent on operating a single presidency with only one chief of staff who would oversee the president’s affairs and a deputy chief of staff who would oversee the duties of the vice-president. Given that Ipaye was projected to work with Osinbajo, it became untenable to have another Lagosian in the person of Fashola work as chief of staff.

“You cannot have two of them from Lagos working as chief of staff and deputy chief of staff in the same government,” a source privy to the development disclosed.

Ipaye’s choice as deputy chief of staff was also accepted because he had worked as special assistant to Osinbajo before he was later appointed by Fashola. However, despite the uproar that Buhari’s appointments have been loop sided, there are reports that the appointment of Mr. Lawal as SGF was at the weekend being welcomed as another medicine by Buhari to soothe the long cries of marginalization by northern minorities.

Mr. Lawal from Adamawa State, a pastor and missionary, became the first Christian from the North to get the high profile position of SGF. His appointment sources said flowed from the comfort and confidence the president has in him arising from his long association with the president. Lawal was a leading supporter of Buhari ahead of the presidential primaries and helped to ensure that Buhari defeated Atiku Abubakar in the APC presidential primaries in Adamawa State and the Northeast.

Besides his integrity and political capacity that recommended him for the office, Mr. Lawal’s emergence as SGF was at the weekend also receiving critical acclaim by northern minorities on account of the long history of marginalisation of Northern Christians into sensitive positions in the recent past. However, one northern leader was not impressed yesterday saying that it was a move to lure the disenchanted northern minorities back to the agenda of one north. “This is just a move to woo the northern minorities back to the Hausa Fulani agenda before they will again humiliate us after they have achieved their purpose,” the northern leader, a former member of the National Assembly and presidential aide had said.

It would be worthy to note that this President Muhammadu Buhari’s latest appointments have torn the northern socio-political groups apart.