Ajuri Ngelale’s sudden departure as President Bola Tinubu’s spokesperson has raised many questions and sparked speculations about the true reasons behind his exit.
While Ngelale cited personal and medical reasons for his indefinite leave of absence, inside sources suggest a different story—one marked by infighting and power struggles within the Presidential Villa.
Reports indicate that Ngelale was not forced out because of his medical or personal issues but due to his failure to deliver effectively in his role. It is alleged that Ngelale lacked the necessary experience, contacts, and networks expected of a presidential spokesperson.
The FIJ report said, “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.”
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.
“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: “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.”
“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.”
