President Bola Tinubu’s close aides are reportedly in contention for the position of Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, a role vacated by Chief Ajuri Ngelele who resigned on Friday.
Ngelele stepped down due to family health issues and has taken an indefinite leave of absence.
His resignation was submitted via a memo to Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila.
The departure of Ngelale has created a competitive race among Tinubu’s media team.
Bayo Onanuga, currently serving as Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, is a potential candidate due to his prior collaboration with the presidential spokesperson.
However, he is facing competition from Sunday Dare and Tunde Rahman, both of whom are highly regarded within Tinubu’s inner circle.
Dare, formerly the Minister of Youths and Sports and Tinubu’s former personal chief of staff, has a background in media as an editor for The News Magazine.
Rahman, who has extensive media experience as a former editor at Punch and ThisDay newspapers, is currently serving as Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media.
The decision on the new appointee is largely dependent on Gbajabiamila’s choice, with the possibility that he might select someone outside the current contenders.
“The three are in contention for the job, they’re all pulling strings at the villa to get the job.
But it is whoever Gbajabiamila picks that gets the job, he may even pick outside of them”, a source told The Whistler.
