I was not suspended, I went on leave - Buhari's Chief of Staff

Abba Kyari, chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, has denied the rumours that he was on suspension, saying he went on a two-week leave.


In an unusual manner, Kyari  stopped over at the press gallery of the council chamber while on his way to the president’s office.

Exchanging pleasantries with journalists, Kyari jocularly told them to tweet that he was back to work.

“Are you going to tweet that I am back?” he asked.

Accosted for interview, he declined, saying his job does not allow him to grant interviews.

“I don’t talk to the press. You know my job doesn’t allow me talking,” he said.

The reporters, who would not let him leave immediately, asked him to react to the reports of his suspension, and his response was: “Can’t I go on leave?”

There have been allegations that he was suspended over a bribery case involving MTN and the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC).

It was alleged that he collected N500 million from the telecoms giants in order to help reduce their fine from N1.04 trillion to N330 billion for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers.

TheCable obtained copies of letters he wrote to the Department of State Services (DSS), the police, and MTN, seeking them to investigate the claims.