- Adamu, Marwa, Kingibe, Retired General Make Final List
By Hamilton Nwosa(Head, The New Diplomat’s business and data tracking desk)
As the battle to succeed late Mallam Abba Kyari, who was Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari intensifies with top contenders jostling seriously for the coveted office, impeccable sources have revealed that members of the President’s kitchen Cabinet have quietly narrowed down choices to four candidates.
The New Diplomat checks reveal that the candidates were streamlined to four, based on strategic criteria. The front runners include a dark horse who is a retired Army General with degrees in Law whose name has not been previously mentioned in the calculations (name with-held by The New Diplomat) in the media but may likely land the top job barring any last minute change in political algorithm.
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Top sources disclosed that the four candidates being considered for the CoS role are Adamu Adamu, current minister of education, Brig-General Buba Marwa, former military administrator of Lagos state, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, and a dark-horse, who is a retired Army General. Sources say President Buhari is weighing the option of either naming the retired General who is said to be very sound with experience in public service or Adamu Adamu, current minister of education as successor to late Kyari. Said an insider: “ The president likes the retired General. He is well educated, and very principled. And the President believes he is capable of bringing the needed reforms at this critical period when the country is facing severe challenges including economic and managerial.”
Another impeccable source disclosed that another contending interest within the deciding power blocs is however rooting for Marwa as a possible successor. The source said this boc is equally formidable but has some uphill road-blocks as it is not clear how far it can go as “ the President seems to be focusing on professionals whom he know personally with the right skill-sets, good experience and solid track record,and this is where the retired Major-General and Adamu Adamu have strong advantage.”
The New Diplomat’s checks reveal that other members of the kitchen cabinet are similarly pushing Kingibe’s candidature as a successor to Kyari. Investigations show that the pro-Kingibe forces are anchoring his strength on his political experience, and his knowledge of the country. Said an insider; ‘’ Nobody can tell you for certainty who can get it. But one thing I can tell you is that the President likes this retired General and Adamu Adamu. The two are front-line contenders. But there are other powerful members of the Kitchen cabinet who want Marwa, and then Kingibe in that order. That has narrowed the choice to four for now. Barring any last minute change of mind, the president might pick the next Chief of Staff from the list of four…’’
Recall that Abba Kyari died last week Friday arising from complications from coronavirus infection. And he was buried in Abuja the next day. However, it is not clear when a final decision would be taken on the streamlined list of candidates for the CoS seat, fueling reports that in the interim, the president is also weighing the option of directing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF), Boss Mustapha to combine both offices,(CoS and SGF), and act as a buffer to stem increasing wave of jostling.
A retired General who has a grasp of developments said this much in a confidential chat with The New Diplomat. He said: “ One option is also to ask the SGF to step up and combine both roles in the meantime while Mr President takes his time to thoroughly scrutinize the candidates for the CoS role as well as stop the wave of lobbying.”
He added: “ Some people want Mr President to appoint a Chief of Staff in the character of retired General Muhammed(But not him since he is too old and would not accept such a job at his age from what I know of him) who was Chief of Staff to Obasanjo and Abdullsalami. Gen. Muhammed was respected by all including former colleagues in the Army like Danjuma, Jemibewon, and Gusau who were equally in Obasanjo’s cabinet because of the manner he went about his brief. He was not into politics, and he delivered faithfully on his job. Obasanjo respected him. So some want that type of person hence they are pushing for a retired Major- General right now(Not Brig-Gen Marwa rtd). But there are others also who believe that the President should use the position to strike some balancing, like appointing a Northern Christian who is calm, non-controversial like the current SGF, Boss Mustapha. He is a young man who is very calm, and seems to understand his brief without controversy. Then don’t forget that Marwa is also being strongly supported by some domestic forces while Kingibe is the choice of late Kyari’s allies. But the final decision is left for Mr President to make.”
