Buhari’s Cabinet In Disarray As National Security Adviser, Monguno Tackles Chief Of Staff, Abba Kyari Over Interfering In Security Matters
Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, has accused Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari of undue and dangerous interference in matters bordering on national security.
Consequently, Monguno in a memo ordered all security chiefs to stop reporting or taking directives from Kyari, without express approval from the President, according to a document seen by PREMIUM TIMES.
According to Monguno, Kyari’s directives to service chiefs were sometimes issued without the knowledge much less approval of the president, a practice he said has added to the government’s inability to contain insecurity.
Monguno in the letter said;
Chief of staff to the president is not a presiding head of security, neither is he sworn to an oath of defending the country. As such, unprofessional practices such as presiding over meetings with service chiefs and heads of security organisations as well as ambassadors and high commissioners to the exclusion of the NSA and/or supervising ministers are a violation of the Constitution and directly undermine the authority of Mr President. Such acts and continues meddlesomeness by chief of staff have not only ruptured our security and defence efforts, but have slowed down any meaningful gain that Mr President has sought to achieve.”
Mr Monguno’s letter comes as insecurity returns to centre stage as a major cause for worry among Nigerians.
Violent attacks linked to bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers and vandals continued to claim multiple lives and properties across the country.
The president has repeatedly promised to curb the crises, many of which he met in office, but has largely failed like his predecessors.
Security experts, opposition and federal lawmakers have responded by advising the president to fire his service chiefs as the service chiefs have been unable to rein in Boko Haram insurgents since 2015 when Mr Buhari named them to take charge of various arms of the nation’s security architecture.
National security sources told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that the fresh memo showed how Mr Kyari has helped in keeping the service chiefs in office despite overwhelming call for their ouster.
It also underscored the frustration faced by Mr Monguno and others who found Mr Kyari’s influence over the president too domineering for national benefit, sources said.
Mr Kyari and two presidential spokespersons, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, did not return requests for comments about the memo Monday afternoon.
Read below the full content of Mr Monguno’s letter, which was copied to the president and ministers for foreign affairs, defence, interior, police affairs and Mr Kyari himself.
