Ajuri Ngelale, the renowned broadcast journalist known for his eloquence and commanding voice, did not step down as Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity due to a “pressing medical issue” in his family, as he claimed, FIJ reports.
Sources reveal that Ngelale was actually dismissed by the presidency but was given the opportunity to publicly resign following his persistent requests for a more graceful departure.
Ngelale, who also served as the Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, surprised Nigerians on Saturday morning by announcing his sudden resignation, attributing it to “medical concerns currently affecting my immediate family.”
“On Friday, I submitted a memo to the Chief of Staff to the President, notifying that I am taking an indefinite leave of absence to directly address pressing medical issues within my immediate family,” Ngelale wrote.
“While I understand that the affairs of the state wait for no one, this difficult decision — involving a temporary halt in my duties as Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, Official Spokesperson of the President, Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, and Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen — was made after extensive consultations with my family over the past several days, as a troubling medical situation has worsened at home.”
He expressed hope to “return to full-time national service when time, healing, and fate allow,” and respectfully requested privacy for his family during this period.
However, multiple highly-placed sources within the presidency informed FIJ on Saturday that Ngelale’s departure was not due to a family health crisis, but rather a result of losing a power struggle with Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy.
FIJ understands that after Bola Tinubu became Nigeria’s president in 2023, Ngelale and Onanuga did not establish a strong working relationship. Ngelale, having been appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as Senior Special Adviser on Public Affairs in 2019 and serving in that role until Buhari’s tenure ended, saw himself as Onanuga’s superior.
Ngelale, 38, started his career with Africa Independent Television (AIT) in the 2000s, while Onanuga, 67, a former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), began his in the 1980s. The main issue, however, was that while Ngelale held the position of Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Onanuga was Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, leading to confusion among civil servants about their roles.
This was unlike the Buhari administration, where Femi Adesina, as Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, was clearly senior to Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant on Media. In the case of Ngelale and Onanuga, both held Special Adviser titles, and their portfolios seemed overlapping. However, in the villa’s civil service structure, it was Ngelale, as Special Adviser on Media, who had authority.
“Ngelale believed he was untouchable due to the support of the president’s son, Seyi, and Femi Gbajabiamila, the president’s chief of staff,” a source who requested anonymity for fear of retribution told FIJ.
“He was fired; I learned of it on Tuesday, though it might have happened earlier. After receiving the dismissal letter, he begged for the opportunity to resign for a softer exit. In the end, he was granted this concession, which makes sense. Publicizing his firing would have been a major embarrassment, not only for Ngelale but also for the presidency.”
While the source expressed regret that the situation reached this point, they acknowledged there was no other option, given Ngelale’s refusal to address his prolonged conflict with Onanuga when chances arose.
“The feud between Ngelale and Onanuga was common knowledge in the villa, and several top appointees and cabinet members tried to mediate. Onanuga was open to resolving the issue, but Ngelale wasn’t,” the source explained.
“For instance, Mohammed Idris Malagi, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, called for reconciliation talks on four occasions. Onanuga was willing to participate, but Ngelale declined every time, always citing other commitments.”
Civil servants and a source familiar with the inner workings of the presidency told FIJ that despite Onanuga’s formal appointment in October 2023, he was essentially a “squatter” at the presidency, lacking a permanent office until just a few months ago.
“When Onanuga was appointed, he had no office of his own and had to share space in Tunde Rahman’s office,” said one of the sources. “It wasn’t until recently that he was finally assigned an office, which previously belonged to either Wale Edun or Zacheus Adedeji when they were still serving as advisers.”
Tunde Rahman, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, was appointed in July 2023, three months before Onanuga. Zacheus Adedeji had been appointed Special Adviser on Revenue, and Wale Edun as Special Adviser on Monetary Policy in June 2023.
Since then, Adedeji has become the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Edun has taken on the role of Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. Notably, all three were appointed months before Onanuga.
These individuals had been longtime allies of Tinubu, unlike Ngelale. So how did Ngelale, appointed earlier, wield so much influence that he prevented Onanuga from securing his own office while these key appointees couldn’t resolve the issue?
As previously noted, Ngelale had the backing of Seyi Tinubu and Femi Gbajabiamila, but a third source pointed out a deeper reason, stating: “It was all about how he secured the job in the first place.”
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