Buhari influenced by Jonathan’s style on Chief of Staff, others

When President Muhammadu Buhari last week told ministers to channel all submissions and requests through his Chief of Staff, he was only taking a cue from the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Buhari had earlier in 2019 in his closing remarks at a presidential retreat directed incoming ministers to submit any request meant for him to his then Chief of Staff, the late Mallam Abba Kyari.

He again issued the controversial directive on Tuesday while speaking at the first-year ministerial performance review retreat of his administration in Abuja.

“All submissions for my attention or meeting requests should be channeled through the Chief of Staff, while all Federal Executive Council matters should be coordinated through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation,” the President said.

But a former Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan, who served in the office of the Chief of Staff, told Daily Times that an official handbook had been produced on how to route and process communication in the presidential villa.

According to him, the handbook was used throughout the Jonathan administration and the template was eventually handed over to the Buhari government.

The former presidential aide who declined to be named, explained: “This is how it worked. If you wrote a letter to the President, let’s say on behalf of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, and you said you wanted to see the president, or Cassava Farmers Association of Nigeria wrote a letter to the president, or the Honourable Minister of Works sent a memo to the president, all correspondence addressed to the presidency goes to the office of the president, and they land on the desk of the Senior Special Assistant, Administration to the President.

This individual is like the Private Confidential Secretary of the Head of State or the President. “It is different from the position which people call Principal Secretary.

The official title of this individual is SSAP Admin (Senior Special Assistant to the President on Admin).

He receives all of these letters and registers all of them as incoming mails to the office of the president.

“Except for a few category, if you like, of correspondence, for example, if it is a military matter, let’s say the letter came from the GOC in Ibadan; the SSAP Admin will bring that letter to the attention of the aide de camp (ADC) to the president.

It is on the advice of the ADC that the letter goes; because it depends on the contents of the letter.

That would determine whether that particular communication needs to be treated by the office of the National Security Adviser, or otherwise.

“Again, like I said, people forget that the National Security Adviser is an adviser to the president. But if you know the history of that office, it’s gone through all kinds of metamorphosis.

At one time, it used to be the office of the Coordinator of National Security. And that is why you see that, today, the National Security Adviser still plays that role of Coordinator of National Security.”

He noted further: “Let’s say the president is being invited to come to the passing-out parade, for example, of a particular course in Jaji.

The NSA need not weigh in on this. Between the president and the ADC, the ADC can liaise directly with the Commanding Officer in charge of this, and if the president decides that he wants to go, then the flimsy (file copy) of the letter is what will go to the NSA.

“If it is a matter of a different kind, concerning actual national security, then it will go to the office of the NSA, for the advice that the president needs on a matter like that.

But if it is something like a ceremonial matter, such as Armed Forces Remembrance Day, the president can handle such matters through the ADC to the President, who is the sole military/uniformed person within the administration of the State House that is not a technical person.

The others are maybe, the OC in charge of Artillery, Commander of Brigade of Guards, but the ADC is the one within the administrative circle.

“Now, all other correspondence goes to the office of the Chief of Staff. So, when you read in the papers, I think this is a directive that the president can give to the SSAP Admin.

All letters addressed to the president, have to go to the president’s office.”

Explaining why communications from ministers or any other person goes through the office of the Chief of Staff to the president, he said ministerial communications going through the office of the chief of staff is more for administrative purposes than for approvals, “The Chief of Staff can’t intercept them.

However, from the office of the president, they will go to the Chief of Staff. The reason is this – I don’t understand what they mean by routed.

If a minister is writing to the president, he doesn’t need to say ‘Your Excellency Mr President, Through the Chief of Staff’. No, that is wrong.

Ministers can write directly to the president.” According to the former presidential aide, “Private individuals can write letters to the president.

To ensure that there is no hanky-panky, let’s say we have a Chief of Staff who does not like a particular minister.

If the minister writes to the president through the CoS, and the letter goes to the office of the CoS before it goes to the office of the president, the CoS can kill the letter. He can deny that the letter came.

But if there is a record of the communication in the office of the president, that the letter came, with the SSAP Admin, it’s just to note that this letter came.

“The office of the SSAP Admin is next door to the office of the president. The CoS’ office is a separate building.

So, letters directed to the president go to the president daily, where they are recorded as incoming mails.

The SSAP then makes a note that letters from so and so either went to the CoS, or as the case may be.

“It is in the office of the president that letters are opened, but everything is now moved to the CoS.

Now, the CoS is the one directly in charge of and the person to whom operatives within the State House directly report.

“Like I said, if there is a letter, say, from the Honourable Minister of Power, there is a desk officer, usually, Senior Special Assistant to the President, a desk officer, who reports directly to the CoS on, let’s say, Infrastructure.

So, the CoS minutes on that letter from the Minister to SSAP Infrastructure or SSAP Economic Matters, or SSAP whatever is his title.

“Some ministries have one SSAP looking after them. Other ministries have one SSAP looking after three or four or five of the things they do in one ministry.

So, you could have one SSAP in charge of Infrastructure, whether the matter is about Housing, or Power, or Roads, or Water, it goes to that Special Assistant.”

He explained further: “So, these are the people who run the country. It is the SSAP who will analyse that correspondence.

It is that SSAP who will summarize it, that the attached letter is from the Honourable Minister of so and so, that the minister requests the approval of the President for this or that.

That is his summary. Then, he makes his comments…the minister’s request is pursuant to so and so, maybe there was a little error before, maybe it is regarding a new guideline, etc.

He makes his comments on the letter and then, he gives his prayers; that is the professional advice of the official desk officer.

“That memo goes back from that desk officer to the CoS. It goes to the CoS like a draft memo for the signature of the CoS. It goes like a draft memo from the CoS to the president. The CoS can correct it, can amend it.

Within the office of the CoS, the final memo that goes to the president on the subject matter of the letter from the minister is then produced and the CoS signs it.

“If the president approves the ministerial request, that approval will be on the memo sent to the president by the CoS. Of course, that memo from the CoS is the memo drafted by the desk officer.

That is why you always see that presidential approvals to ministerial memos always have CoS and the minister. Then the president will say ‘approved’ or whatever he is going to write on it.”

The former presidential aide, who said he left the service of the President before the end of that administration, noted that until he did, the system remained and he believes nothing much has changed.

“This was what we were doing and it worked perfectly. It ensured that people didn’t kill other people’s correspondences to the president because you had a record in the president’s office.

“And usually, when the president approves something, it goes to the SSA Admin. He is the one who schedules the letters coming out, just like he schedules the ones going in.

He is the one who will write you a letter saying, ‘Mr President, please include the approval of the memo from the Chief of Staff ’.

He is the one who will write the letter to say the president has approved the letter which you requested.”

Speaking on the procedures for ministers or other presidential appointees to schedule a meeting with the president, he said it takes a slightly different pattern, “If a minister wants to see the president, he does not necessarily have to pass through the CoS.

This is elementary logic – if a minister wants to see the president, then he/ she should indicate to the staff of the office of the president; all of whom are under the CoS.

The CoS is a very powerful position because the CoS is not just the right hand man, but the right hand of the president.

“But in the national order of protocol, ministers rank higher than the CoS. The CoS has more power just like the National Security Adviser will have more power than a minister. But the NSA is an adviser to the president.

He doesn’t need a senate approval just like the CoS. “Ministers, technically, are representatives of their states because the constitution mandates that the FEC must have at least one representative from each of the states of the federation and they wield this power through their assessment of ministerial memos for the president’s consideration.

That is why you see there is so much effort to cultivate a good relationship with the CoS.”

The former presidential aide added: “If the office of the CoS wants your memo killed, they will summarise it differently, comment on it differently and their prayers will be different from what you have.

So, the office of the CoS can tell the president, Mr President is invited to consider the minister’s memo and disapprove of the request based on the analysis, comments.

“To answer your question, under normal circumstances, the president reserves the right to see his ministers on a one-to-one basis.

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For example, if the minister’s memo has gone through all the processes I’ve explained to you and the president wants to talk to him about it, he can’t ask the CoS. The president can send for the minister.

“If the minister also feels that there is something he doesn’t want to commit to paper, he can seek an audience to see the president.

With regards to official memos, we almost forbade the president from approving anything that has not been analysed by the office of the CoS.

And it is under that memo from the CoS that the president should put his signature.”