There is a cold war in the Presidency over pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack his Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe.
 |
| Jonathan |
The fate of Oghiadomhe has split the kitchen cabinet of the President and his top aides into two.
It was learnt that the recommendation of the Chairman of AIT, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, by some forces as a replacement to Oghiadomhe is at the heart of the war in the Presidency.
According to findings, some forces outside the Presidency are collaborating with a few aides to prevail on the President to remove Oghiadomhe.
They alleged that the Chief of Staff had been preventing them from “having the ears of the President to get juicy contracts and political appointments.”
They alleged that Oghiadomhe has also been a stickler for “due process” even when political compromise was needed.
The forces decided to go for Dokpesi who was once a Chief of Staff to Bamanga Tukur when he was the governor of Old Gongola State, that they consider “politically amenable.”
They alleged that the Chief of Staff had also been “rude” to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tony Anenih.
It was gathered it was on the basis of the push for Dokpesi that the media mogul had been reaching out to key Northern leaders to soft-pedal on their opposition to the President’s second term bid.
A top source said: “Some people are making a strong case for Dokpesi because in a crisis situation like this, the President needs a Chief of Staff with political mileage.
“We are moving towards 2015 and Oghiadomhe is sticking to his role as a bureaucrat. With Dokpesi, Jonathan can reclaim the North.”
It was learnt that some members of the kitchen cabinet of Jonathan, including two governors, had met with the President and cautioned him against appointment of Dokpesi as Chief of Staff.
One of the aides said: “Some of us have said that we cannot work with Dokpesi because when it mattered most, he was the Director-General of the IBB Campaign Organization during the countdown to the 2011 poll.
“Dokpesi was a good Chief of Staff to Tukur, and he has recorded success in every business. But in politics, you do not take things for granted. The businessman has a good network of friends that would hinder him from working as a Chief of Staff to the President.
“The disagreement between AIT and the government on broadcast equipment for the U-17 World Cup also became a personal issue which made Dokpesi oppose the election of Jonathan as President.
“Although the President has reconciled with Dokpesi, we are asking him to be cautious.”
But those seeking for the retention of Oghiadomhe attributed the gang-up against the Chief of Staff to “the consequences of Edo politics.”
A source said: “Some forces are just out to call Oghiadomhe a bad name in order to hang him. None of them has been able to fault the Chief of Staff on his performance in office.
“Since he became the Chief of Staff, there is no situation where he has led the President to sign a wrong document or where Oghiadomhe has initiated a policy which was rejected by the President.
“You cannot fault Oghiadomhe as an administrator. He has fared well in office. But for political reasons, some people are not happy with him.
“All they accuse him of doing is alleged disrespect to Anenih which is not true at all. The Chief of Staff is not fighting Anenih at all.
“It is those who are pro-Anenih that excluded the name of the Chief of Staff from the Edo PDP delegates’ list to the recently-concluded National Convention of the party to cast a slight on him.
“Yet, Oghiadomhe does not interfere with the party structure in the state.”
As at press time, it was learnt that the President was considering security reports on Oghiadomhe and Dokpesi.
A third source added: “We are seriously divided, but the majority prefer Oghiadomhe. Some people have protested to some agencies.
“We are awaiting the President’s response to the security reports.”
Post a Comment