Ajuri Ngelale, the broadcast journalist who made a name for himself with his eloquence and sonorous voice, did not resign as special adviser to the president on media and publicity to tend to a “vexatious medical situation” in his family as he claimed, FIJ can report.
Instead, FIJ understands, he was fired by the presidency and only allowed to publicly resign after his repeated pleas for a soft landing.
Ngelale, who was also the special presidential envoy on climate action, stunned Nigerians on Saturday morning when he announced his abrupt exit from office, citing “medical matters presently affecting my immediate, nuclear family”.
A FACE-SAVING COVER-UP
“On Friday, I submitted a memo to the Chief of Staff to the President informing my office that I am proceeding on an indefinite leave of absence to frontally deal with medical matters presently affecting my immediate, nuclear family,” Ngelale wrote.
“While I fully appreciate that the ship of state waits for no man, this agonising decision — entailing a pause of my functions as the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity and Official Spokesperson of the President; Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen — was taken after significant consultations with my family over the past several days as a vexatious medical situation has worsened at home.”
He said he looked “forward to returning to full-time national service when time, healing, and fate permit”, and respectfully asked “for some privacy for my family and I [sic] during this time”.
But multiple highly-placed sources in and around the presidency told FIJ on Saturday afternoon that Ngelale’s exit was not triggered by a family health emergency, but rather his loss in a power tussle with Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy.
