Former presidential aide, Laolu Akande, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, of failing to perform his duties effectively, arguing that the appointment of Hakeem Muri-Okunola to help organise the president’s schedule reflects shortcomings in the management of the Presidency.
Akande made the allegation during an appearance on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, where he criticised Tinubu’s handling of his administration and questioned why the president needed his Principal Private Secretary to organise his schedule despite having a chief of staff.
According to Akande, the arrangement suggests that Gbajabiamila has not effectively discharged his responsibilities.
“If the chief of staff was doing his job properly, he wouldn’t need HMO; that’s the truth,” he said.
Muri-Okunola, a former Lagos State Head of Service, serves as Tinubu’s Principal Private Secretary at the Presidency.
Akande argued that Tinubu had yet to deliver his best in office despite having capable individuals within his administration, blaming the situation partly on his failure to give influential and experienced figures sufficient authority to shape governance.
“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.
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 experienced figures whose influence, he argued, could strengthen the administration.
Akande, who served as Senior Media Aide to Osinbajo under the late President Muhammadu Buhari, also praised Cardoso’s performance at the apex bank.
He suggested that Tinubu’s familiarity with Cardoso had allowed the CBN governor greater 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.
His comments come amid broader questions about the coordination of government business and the roles of senior officials within the Presidency.
However, Akande’s assessment of Gbajabiamila’s performance and the reasons behind Muri-Okunola’s role were not accompanied by an official response from the Presidency or the Chief of Staff.
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