Gbaja And His Many Controversies; Will Tinubu Sack Him?

Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu seems to have become controversy personified.

A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Gbaja as he is fondly called by admirers was appointed into that position in June last year by the president, making him one of the most influential government officials in the administration.

His position in government has also not escaped some controversies trailing him behind, especially on issues relating to corruption.

The latest of such is that the president’s CoS is one of the beneficiaries of proceeds of corruption in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON.

The CBN under its former Governor Godwin Emefiele is currently under probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

According to Presidency sources, a probe panel headed by Jim Obazee, a special investigator appointed by President Tinubu to probe the nation’s apex bank, has indicted Gbajabiamila as one of the beneficiaries of stolen funds in which Emefiele is now being investigated by the government.

Recall that the CoS to the president recently sparked an outrage among not a few Nigerians after a leaked memo dated December 18, 2023, indicated that Gbajabiamila approved N3 billion from the COVID-19 Palliative Fund for verification of the National Social Register, for suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Beta Edu without authorization from the president.

Edu was recently suspended from office after a viral memo showed that she directed the Accountant General of the Federation to pay close to N600 million poverty alleviation funds into a private account.

The recent controversy trailing Gbajabiamila may further put pressure on the president to sack him, those monitoring the Presidency said.

According to the allegations, Gbajabiamila benefitted from the sales of properties seized by AMCON during his tenure as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

It is based on this, that he has been using his influence in the Presidency to block the removal of AMCOM boss Ahmed Kuru, who according to records has spent a maximum eight years in the position.

Sahara Reporters quoted sources in the Presidency saying the former Speaker benefitted from Kuru’s “largesse of Ikoyi properties from his days as Speaker of the House of Representatives”.

The source claimed that Gbajabiamila, in return, had ensured Kuru remained as AMCON’s Chief Executive after about nine years.

“President Bola Tinubu is under pressure from some political associates, whom Kuru has soiled their white robes, including the Hon Femi Gbajabiamila (President’s Chief of Staff), who has benefitted from Ahmed Kuru’s largesse of Ikoyi properties from his days as Speaker of the House of Representatives,” the source said.

Recall that the Special Investigator’s report on the probe of Emefiele uncovered the alarming sums of public funds which went into the fraudulent acquisition of Polaris, Keystone and Union banks under Emefiele and AMCON under Kuru’s leadership.

The former Speaker’s supporters have however described the controversies surrounding him as the work of his adversaries.

His detractors will fail in their quest to ensure his downfall, a group the Northern Ethnic Group Assembly, NEYGA, said last week, stressing that those responsible for the allegations want President Tinubu to fail.

NEYGA said: “It is clear some people are still seeking the downfall of one of the best brains in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, but they have failed.

“Someone who managed 360 elected representatives of the Federal House of Representatives for a solid four years without a blemish will not fall for a peanut. Detractors do not understand the quality and value of Femi Gbajabiamila.

“The Chief of Staff has crossed the bridge before it collapsed, so what they are pursuing is emptiness the second day after the Market day!

“We, the concerned citizens for good governance, will soon expose all of you behind the evils you planned.

“It is now an open secret that you want the government of President Bola Tinubu to fail by trying to pull down the pillars of support behind him,” the group stated.