Dele Alake, the recently appointed Minister of Solid Minerals is a victim of intense politicking in Aso Villa, Daniel Bwala, a spokesman of Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate has said.
He claimed that Alake “was sent out of Aso Villa” to satisfy some powerful interests in the Presidency.
The PDP spokesman who was reacting to Alake’s appointment said the former commissioner of Information in Lagos state lost out in the power tussle among President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s men for control of the presidency.
Alake had earlier debunked the suggestion that he has fallen out with power brokers in the presidency, insisting that he specifically asked President Tinubu to assign him to the Ministry of Solid Minerals.
His appointment as the Minister of Solid Minerals has elicited divergent views among Nigerians, with some claiming that he has lost out favour among Aso Rock power brokers.
Not a few Nigerians had expected that President Tinubu will appoint Alake as the Minister of Information considering his pedigree in information management, also bearing in mind that he had earlier been appointed the Special Adviser to the President on Communication, Strategy, and Special projects as soon as Tinubu took power on May 29, 2023.
His failure to clinch the Information portfolio, therefore, shocked even some leaders of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.
According to Bwala who spoke on Channels Television on Wednesday, Alake’s expectations to be appointed as the Minister of Information may have been dashed due to the fact that “he’s not able to manage the chief of staff” to the president, adding that “Since Alake left the performance of the president in terms of the media has been poor.”
The PDP spokesman further asserted that Alake is a victim of the power struggle between him and Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of Staff to the President.
Alake had earlier debunked the suggestion saying it’s his choice to be Minister of Solid Minerals because of the potentials in the sector that are yet to be tapped.
“The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, as you know, is a sensitive position in this period of economic renewal. So, that position was one that I specifically asked Mr President to give me, and he obliged. The ministry is key to the administration, and the president wanted someone that he trusted and believed would deliver effectively,” Alake said.
