National
Ajuri Ngelale Did Not Resign Due to ‘Vexatious Medical Situation’. He Was Fired
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. Ngelale, who was also the special presidential envoy on climate action, stunned Nigerians on Saturday morning when he announced his abrupt exit from office, citing “medical matters presently affecting my immediate, nuclear family”.
A FACE-SAVING COVER-UP “On Friday, I submitted a memo to the Chief of Staff to the President informing my office that I am proceeding on an indefinite leave of absence to frontally deal with medical matters presently affecting my immediate, nuclear family,”
Ngelale wrote. “While I fully appreciate that the ship of state waits for no man, this agonising decision — entailing a pause of my functions as the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity and Official Spokesperson of the President; Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen — was taken after significant consultations with my family over the past several days as a vexatious medical situation has worsened at home.”
He said he looked “forward to returning to full-time national service when time, healing, and fate permit”, and respectfully asked “for some privacy for my family and I [sic] during this time”.
But 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. LONG-RUNNING FEUD WITH ONANUGA FIJ understands that following the election of Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s president in 2023, Ngelale did not exactly hit it off with Onanuga, largely because having been in government before Onanuga — President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Ngelale his senior special adviser on public affairs in 2019 and he served in this position until the end of Buhari’s tenure — he considered himself Onanuga’s boss.
Ngelale, 38, began his career with the Africa Independent Television (AIT) in the 2000s, while Onanuga, 67, a former Managing Director of the News Agency of NJigeria (NAN), began his career in the 1980s. There was one problem, though: while Ngelale was special adviser on media and publicity, Onanuga was the special adviser on information and strategy.
FIJ understands that civil servants found the roles confusing. This was nothing like in the Buhari administration when Femi Adesina was the special adviser on media and publicity and Garba Shehu the senior special assistant on media publicity. In the latter case, everyone knew Adesina, as SA, was senior, while Shehu, as SSA, was subordinate. Ngelale and Onanuga both had special adviser roles; and the profolios seemed similar. However, by design, the civil service structure of the villa reported to the SA media, and that was Ngelale.
FAVOURITE OF THE PRESIDENT — AND HIS SON
“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.” ‘BLOCKING ONANUGA’ FROM HAVING AN OFFICE 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. 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 and 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.”
SO, HOW?
How Ajuri ingratiated himself with Tinubu “During the 2023 presidential electioneering, Jumoke Oduwole, the special adviser on Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), introduced Ngelale to Gbajabiamila,” said the source. “When Ngelale got there, he met Seyi. He told Seyi he would facilitate a CNN interview during which Tinubu’s presidential ambition would be discussed. Seyi thought it was impossible, but Ngelale did it. He secured the interview on CNN.
He then told Seyi the time and date it would air. Seyi promised Ngelale that Tinubu would phone him if he pulled it off. Immediately after the interview was aired, Tinubu called Ngelale. “When Tinubu won the election, Ngelale was abroad. People told him to return home but he said no; he insisted he would get his own appointment once he arrived in the country. And that was exactly what happened: Ngelale’s appointment by Tinubu was announced days after his return to Nigeria.
“Conversely, Gbajabiamila delayed the announcement of Onanuga’s appointment for at least two months. It required Chief Bisi Akande, who originally made the case for Onanuga’s appointment, to return to Tinubu for follow-up conversations. That was when Tinubu ordered that Onanuga’s appointment should be made, and that was how Onanuga came to the villa.”
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.
The senate has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to restore the Aniocha north II state constituency in Delta state in compliance with the supreme court’s judgment in suit no. SC/129/2019.
The upper legislative arm also directed the electoral commission to conduct an election into the Aniocha north II state constituency in the next state house of assembly poll in Delta state.
The senate’s approval followed a motion sponsored by Ned Nwoko, the senator representing Delta north.
Speaking with journalists after the senate’s plenary on Tuesday, Nwoko said the constituency, comprising towns such as Idumuje-Unor, Idumuje-Ugboko, and others in Aniocha north LGA, was initially created in 1991 but was later delineated.
He said residents initiated legal action in 2014 to restore the constituency but was dismissed by the federal high court.
The senator noted that the suit was upheld in 2017 by the court of appeal and affirmed by the supreme court.
“I am glad that we have managed to pull it through because it was not as straightforward as people might think,” Nwoko said.
“But the fact remains that this was a supreme court judgment and we all respect supreme court judgments.
“On this particular matter, it has taken several stages from the court of appeal and then supreme court.
“INEC also wrote to us seeking our consent to implement the supreme court judgment. I don’t know why INEC should seek our consent, but that is exactly what happened.
“They sought our consent at the senate and house of reps to implement the supreme court judgement.
“I am happy that we got it right. There are so many of such matters across the country and I am sure they will take cue from this particular matter today.”
By Abubakar Yunusa
Oil marketers have cried out about the negative impacts of unstable prices of Premium Motor Spirit or petrol in the country on their businesses.
President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gilly-Harris raised concern during Channels Television’s Business Morning on Tuesday.
According to him, fluctuating petrol prices in the last few weeks are constituting potential threats to the survival of businesses of its members.
Gilly-Harris’ concern comes on the heels of ongoign price war between the Dangote Refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Following the announcement of a price cut by the Dangote Refinery by N65 at the ex-depot price, the retail price at filling stations affiliated with Dangote dropped from N925-N930 to N860.
No sooner after, the NNPCL also reduced its price at its retail stations, further deepening rivalry between the two dominant players.
Billy-Harris said “In our consistently weekly reviews, we discovered that the size of loss, and the possibility of most of us getting out of business is glaring at us in the face. Because in today’s Nigeria, we have collaborative efforts being made between all the stakeholders, and we reach out to one another to know how the businesses are doing.
“As much as we are making efforts to make sure that Nigerians have product affordability from our end as the last mile in the industry, we also want to stay afloat and liquid.
“The challenge we have is that we buy products at a price today, and before the close of business, the price has reduced. We thought there should be a mechanism by which prices are analysed and ensure it doesn’t impact negatively on the industry.
“I have always said that every business can only survive by making some minimal profits that are commensurate to the price of paying the cost of doing business.
“We are fully aware that the international prices of crude oil and other related expenses are also being reduced. But when we invest to buy products at say N880, we are not going to sell at that price. And if such products become reduced to N840, N850, N860 or even N870 per litre, it becomes challenging how we will be able to recover our costs.”
Commenting on price monopoly in the downstream sector, Gilly-Harris said its members can either import products or buy from local refineries, however, it would not sell products at the expense of the survival of PETROAN members’ businesses.
He said “Yes, we have been in the forefront of always implementing what stakeholders agree. We have the capacity to import our products. We also have the capacity to buy locally refined products. But we see that prices consistently shift up or down, and there is no clear business consultation on how this should be done. That is why we said the NMDPRA and the consumer protection agency should swing into action and be able to work together with other stakeholders so that we can be able to have a stable market and a stable price.”
A non-governmental organisation, the Global Initiative for Peace, Love, and Care (GIPLC), in collaboration with the Dickens Sanomi Foundation, has donated ₦200 million to fund medical treatment for conjoined twins Hassan and Hussaina, along with 11 other children requiring urgent medical attention.
At a cheque presentation ceremony in Abuja on Tuesday, GIPLC Director-General Nuhu Kwajafa emphasised the importance of providing timely assistance to children facing severe medical conditions.
“When you have children in this kind of condition, you need to bring them out so they can get help,” Kwajafa said.
“This is not the first time we’ve supported a set of conjoined twins. About a year and a half ago, we assisted another pair. Two years ago, a different set of conjoined twins had been in a government hospital for over a year before the King Salman Foundation of Saudi Arabia sent an air ambulance to evacuate them for treatment.”
Hassan and Hussaina, however, were not able to secure international support, prompting GIPLC and its partners to take immediate action.
“We launched a fundraiser, and within a day, we raised $100 million for the twins. The following day, another ₦100 million was raised for 11 other children in need,” Kwajafa explained.
The grand patron of GIPLC, Igho Charles Sanomi, reiterated the foundation’s commitment to ensuring vulnerable children receive the support they need.
“Our ultimate goal is to provide children with a platform where they can compete and build a future for themselves,” said Sanomi, who was represented by Goodluck Hayi, the Chief Operating Officer of the Dickens Sanomi Foundation.
“There are many challenges, but we must come together and support trustworthy organisations that are making a difference.”
Hayi urged private individuals and organisations to contribute to such initiatives, noting that government resources are often stretched.
“The government has many responsibilities, but private individuals can step in and support platforms that are transparent and accountable. This way, we can reach more children who are physically challenged or in need of urgent care,” he said.
He added that the foundation partners only with verifiable and trustworthy organisations.
“Our chairman, the grand patron of GIPLC, was raised by a father who valued love and care. This initiative is our way of giving back to society in his honour.”
The father of the conjoined twins, Muhammad Halilu from Kebbi State, expressed gratitude to the foundation, revealing the hardships his family has endured.
“The twins will be five years old by may ,” he said. “I lost my job because I had to stay home to support their mother. She could not take care of them alone. Eventually, we even lost our home.”