Tinubu’s loyalists are pressing for Gbajabiamila’s dismissal

Reports have surfaced suggesting that the tenure of the Chief of Staff, CoS, under President Femi Gbajabiamila may be coming to an end due to accusations that he has been giving presidential positions to the highest-bidding parties.

The discontent among Tinubu’s supporters is intensifying, as they are determined to ensure that Gbajabiamila is gradually removed from the Presidential Villa.

Recall that ten Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were appointed by the President last week.
The Chief of Staff is said to have substituted the President’s approval for the majority of the names on appointment lists since Tinubu took office.

A trustworthy source stated that one such instance saw the Ekiti REC’s identity being changed to that of a former commissioner serving under the governor of Ekiti state at the time, Kayode Fayemi.

“The man was Fayemi’s former commissioner, and that was not the person Asiwaju signed off on,” the insider added of the REC from Ekiti that Gbajabiamila placed there. One Toyin (Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola), the former INEC legal adviser, was the person Asiwaju approved.

Two members of the President’s cabinet met with him after the announcement was made, expressing their dissatisfaction that their nominee had been replaced with someone else. The President claimed that before signing the list, he looked up the woman’s name out of rage.

When his CoS showed there, he was stuttering, despite having called for him. The President requested that he bring the signed list.

“The President stated that whatever he signs will be altered, and he has been informed that this is accurate. The President cited three instances where he signed a document only to have it modified. With regret, he sent him one final warning. He gave the order that the woman’s name needed to be on the list.

There was a strategy in place to gradually get Gbajabiamila out of the Villa, the person continued.

The President is being embarrassed by the CoS for what feels like the fifth time. Giving him an ambassadorial role is part of the strategy to gradually remove him from Villa, the person said.

Another report mentioned that a portion of the CoS’s duties was already being performed by President’s Private Principal Secretary, PPS, Akeem Okunola.

Furthermore, word has it that the President has already assembled a team to assist the CoS.

“The National Social Investments Programme (NSIP) issue too, that wasn’t the person Asiwaju recommended for the position,” the insider emphasized. The person Asiwaju suggested was Halima Sheu. Because Sheu was running for office, Sadiya Farouq, the recently retired Minister of Finance, fired her. After her dismissal, Asiwaju pledged to put her back in the same role or one that was more senior.

However, the CoS again marketed the role. Before Halima Sheu returned to NSIP, they had to fight it again. Because of the overwhelming shame, Asiwaju is assembling a team from outside CoS to assist him with the system. Akeem Okunola, the PPS, has begun working on some of his tasks.