Yayale warns Anyim not to ignore Sambo

THE immediate past Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Mahmud Ahmed Yayale, on Tuesday, lamented the gradual erosion of the functions and responsibilities of office of the Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF), saying the office may become “irrelevant, and ineffective”.
Yayale, also warned the new SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, not to discountenance the office of Vice-President Namadi Sambo because of the chummy relationship he may enjoy with President Goodluck Jonathan.


Alhaji Yayale spoke in Abuja, during a brief handover ceremony to his successor, Senator Anyim.
President Jonathan had, on Monday, approved the appointment of the former Senate President, Senator Anyim as the new SGF and dissolution of the federal cabinet.
Yayale said the greatest challenge he faced as SGF was the gradual erosion of the relevance of the office, noting, however, that it was at the whims and caprices of the appointing authority, the president.
He said: “Over the years, the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has gone through a lot of changes. The greatest challenge, however, remained the gradual eroding of the functions and responsibilities of the office.
“While this phenomenon may be circumstantial, the cumulative effect could be traced to the convenience of the appointing authority – Mr. President. I hold the strong view that the system must be allowed to work otherwise the office will be rendered irrelevant, and ineffective.”
The former SGF also recommended rationalisation of the SGF office because of what he described as duplication and overlapping of functions , so as to reduce cost of governance.
He said: “Another area of concern is the unwieldy nature of the office. I have had a critical look at the structure of the office and recommended the rationalisation of the same with a view to removing duplication and overlapping of functions. I believe that this will reduce the cost of governance.”
Meanwhile, Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State has attributed the selection of former Senate president, Anyim Pius Anyim, by President Goodluck Jonathan for the position of the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) on his “uncommon” loyalty to the president.
He told State House correspondents in Abuja shortly after the swearing in of Anyim, on Tuesday, that the appointment was also based on extensive consultations with stakeholders including state governors, adding that the President made the right choice.
He defended the appointment noting that “the first thing is of course the responsiveness of the President. As you know through this period, there has been a lot of talk on the nature and the character of those who are going to get appointed and that the president consulted extensively and I am aware of those consultations.”

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