Former presidential aide Laolu Akande has blamed what he described as Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila’s poor performance for President Bola Tinubu’s decision to rely on Hakeem Muri-Okunola to manage his schedule.
Akande made the assertion during an interview on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, arguing that the involvement of Muri-Okunola, the president’s Principal Private Secretary, raised questions about the effectiveness of the Chief of Staff’s office.
According to him, the president would not have needed Muri-Okunola to handle his schedule if Gbajabiamila had been performing his duties effectively.
“If the chief of staff was doing his job properly, he wouldn’t need HMO; that’s the truth,” Akande said.
He also criticised Tinubu’s approach to managing the Presidency, arguing that the president had not fully utilised the abilities of some experienced politicians and public officials within his administration.
Akande said there were capable individuals in the government but suggested that they lacked sufficient influence to help the president deliver his best.
He cited former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso as examples of individuals whose experience and influence could benefit the administration.
“So, the president has not managed to give us his best, and there are very good people in this administration. There are good people, few people, but they don’t have that kind of influence that people like Fashola, Osinbajo, Aregbesola, Cardoso,” he said.
Akande, who served as Senior Media Aide to Osinbajo under former President Muhammadu Buhari, particularly commended Cardoso’s performance at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He suggested that Tinubu’s familiarity with Cardoso had allowed the apex bank governor sufficient room to operate without undue interference.
“The president even doesn’t try to interfere with Cardoso because he knows him. I think they call him Head Master or whatever. He looks everything. The president doesn’t have people like that around him,” Akande said.
Muri-Okunola, a former Lagos State Head of Service, was appointed Tinubu’s Principal Private Secretary after the president assumed office in 2023.