By Starrys Obazei | June 2, 2023.
starrys@ddnewsonline.com
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed. former House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila Chief of Staff. No official confirmation yet.
Tinubu in a statement by State House spokesman Abiodun Oladunjoye also announced the appointment of former Governor of Benue State and immediate past Minister of Special Duties, George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF)
The President also appointed Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, a former Deputy Governor of Jigawa State, as Deputy Chief of Staff.
Tinubu is currently in a meeting with governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Gbajabiamila was tight-lipped on Thursday when asked about his rumored appointment as Chief of Staff to Tinubu.
“Be patient. The system works in its own way – allow the system to work,” Gbajabiamila told a journalist that quizzed him at the State House in Abuja.
A report by Leadership Newspaper claimed that Tinubu appointed Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff. There was no official confirmation of the report.
Gbajabiamila was reelected as a House of Representatives member for Surulere Constituency in Lagos State during the February National Assembly elections.
Since the election which took place on the same day as the presidential election won by Tinubu, Gbajabiamila has been tagged the president’s ‘right-hand man’ due to his visibility in the majority of the president’s engagements.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan said Tinubu would have made a wise decision if Gbajabiamila is appointed as his Chief of Staff.
“I am waiting for the announcement. You are speculating,” Lawan said. “I’m not. The speaker of the House of representatives has been rumored to be the Chief of Staff designate. First of all, I pray that it comes to pass. If that happens, Mr. President would have made a wise decision.
“At this moment, you need a Chief of Staff with very versed experience in the area of legislation, in the area of cooperating with the executive which the Speaker spearheaded from the house.”