How he lost out despite ‘closeness’ to President, his son, Seyi, Chief of Staff, Gbajabiamila
. Alleged to have considered himself ‘untouchable,’ ‘maltreated’ older presidential aides
Strong indications have emerged on why Ajuri Ngelale suddenly quit his plum job as the spokesperson of President Bola Tinubu.
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The strongest of these reasons, it was learnt was his fear of being sacked and disgraced out of Aso Rock following his shocking defeat in the power game in the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Recall that on Saturday Ngelale announced his decision to take an “indefinite” leave of absence from work over medical and personal issues.
Later same day, the Presidency in a statement, confirmed and accepted Ngelale’s decision to step down as Tinubu’s spokesperson.
But quoting sources, Premium Times in a publication on Sunday, reported that Ngelale’s exit was due to his inability to deliver on the job.
The publication claimed that some members of Tinubu’s cabinet said that Ngelale lacked the requisite “experience, contacts and networks” required for the job of a spokesperson to the President.
A source told Premium Times, “It is a misnomer and a miscalculation for the President to have appointed such a junior journalist to such a senior position. It is no surprise that he could not deliver as expected.”
In the same vein, the Foundation for Investigative Journalism Nigeria reported that contrary to claims made by the former presidential spokesperson, Ngelale was actually fired from his job by the Presidency.
In August 2023, Ngelale was appointed as Tinubu’s spokesperson.
Last year, the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations had described Ngelale as unfit to hold the position as Tinubu’s spokesperson.
But FIJ stated on Sunday, “Ajuri Ngelale, the broadcast journalist who made a name for himself with his eloquence and sonorous voice, did not resign as special adviser to the president on media and publicity to tend to a “vexatious medical situation” in his family as he claimed, FIJ can report.
“Instead, FIJ understands, he was fired by the presidency and only allowed to publicly resign after his repeated pleas for a soft landing.”
It noted that Ngelale must have lost out in his long-running battle with the senior journalist and Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Mr Bayo Onanuga, describing his attribution of his hurried resignation to health issues affecting him and his family members as “a face-saving cover-up.”
“Multiple highly-placed sources in and around the presidency told FIJ on Saturday afternoon that Ngelale’s exit was not triggered by a family health emergency, but rather his loss in a power tussle with Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy,” FIJ stated.
It added that despite Ngelale’s perceived closeness to Tinubu and his son, Seyi, who was said to have influenced his appointment as the President’s spokesperson, as well as the Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, his long feud with Onanuga, coupled with other reasons, eventually cost him his job.
The FIJ report added, “Ngelale considered himself untouchable because he had the backing of the president’s son Seyi and Femi Gbajabiamila, the president’s chief of staff,” one source who asked not to be named for fear of retribution told FIJ.
“He was fired; I became aware of this on Tuesday, but I won’t rule out the possibility that it happened earlier. When he got the letter, he started to plead to be allowed to resign as a soft landing. He was eventually given a soft landing, which is understandable. News of his sacking in public would have thoroughly embarrassed not just Ngelale but the presidency too.””
“Although this source expressed regrets that things eventually got to a head, they conceded that there was no other way out, given Ngelale’s unwillingness to discuss his long-drawn-out feud with Onanuga when the opportunities were presented to him.
“The Ngelale-Onanuga feud was no secret in the villa, so several top appointees and cabinet members attempted to intervene at separate times; and while Onanuga was open to peace talks, Ngelale wasn’t,” the source continued.
“For example, Mohammed Idris Malagi, the minister of information and national orientation, called for talks four times. Onanuga was willing to attend but Ngelale snubbed them all, always claiming he was busy.”
Ngelale was also reported to have, for several months, blocked Onanuga from having his own office in Aso Rock.
This situation, according to FIJ turned Onanuga to a squatter in the office of another presidential media aide, Tunde Rahman, until recently when he moved to the office vacated by another presidential aide who was recently upgraded.
The FIJ further reported, “Civil servants who asked not to be named, as well as a source familiar with presidency happenings, told FIJ that Onanuga, despite being formally appointed in October 2023 “was a squatter in the presidency and did not have an office of his own until just a few months ago”.
“When Onanuga was appointed, he had no office. He was squatting in Tunde Rahman’s office,” said one of the sources. “It was just recently that he eventually got an office that belonged to either Wale Edun or Zacheus Adedeji when they were still advisers.
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“Rahman, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, was appointed in July 2023 — three months earlier than Onanuga’s appointment. Meanwhile, Zacheus Adedeji was appointed special adviser on revenue while Wale Edun was appointed special adviser on monetary policy in June 2023.
“While Adedeji has since become the executive chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Edun has since become minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy. Notably, all three appointments came months ahead of Onanuga’s.
‘These were people who had been with Tinubu for decades, unlike Ngelale, so how did Ngelale become so powerful that he got appointed earlier, blocked Onanuga from having an office to himself and all the aforementioned appointees could not fix Onanuga an office?
“As written earlier, Ngelale had the backing of Seyi Tinubu and Gbajabiamila, but a third source took it even further, saying: “It was about how he got the job.””
The FIJ report concluded as follows:
THE STRAW THAT BROKE THE CAMEL’S BACK
FIJ understands that villa staff and civil servants whose work related to the president’s communication strategy noticed the tension between Ngelale and Onanuga and thought if they worked with one, then the other thought they were against him.
“This meant the work of publicising the president’s progressive policies was derailed,” said the source.
“By the way, Ngelale instructed civil servants that no statement from Onanuga could go out if he had not personally cleared it. If you speak with sources across divides, they would tell you Onanuga was the more peace-seeking of the duo. But this particular order from Ngelale to civil servants annoyed Onanuga.”
FIJ understands Ngelale’s standing with Tinubu started to plummet once it was easy to pitch to the president how Ngelale’s unharmonious relationship not just with Onanuga but with the media was hindering good publicity for the president.
“He did not have a good relationship with journalists. Ask the reporters; ask the state house correspondents. And also ask editors,” added the source.
“Many people consider him disrespectful and arrogant, even the editors. You can hardly find any important editor in Nigeria who likes or regards Ngelale.”
NGELALE, ONANUGA MUM
FIJ sent a text and WhatsApp messages to Ngelale, seeking his comments, but they were not replied. FIJ also made cellular and WhatsApp calls to Ngelale’s number, but none was answered.
When FIJ repeated the process with Onanuga, the outcome was the same.
