President Buhari ‘Sacks’ 35 Aides In Osinbajo’s Office
President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked 35 aides working in the office of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Naijaparry understands.
The president who is currently in London, United Kingdom for a two-week “private visit” and expected back in Abuja on November 17, approved the sack on Tuesday.
Among those affected are Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants, Personal Assistants, Technical Assistants, and some whose appointments were approved in August.
The affected aides were said to have been posted out to some line ministries relevant to their designation in October, and that they are expected to be issued with disengagement letters on Wednesday.
“Although more than half of the aides are under the payroll of donor agencies, the cabal eased them out in order to whittle down the influence of the vice president.
“None of them were queried or interdicted for any wrongdoing. It is not about cutting cost, because no aide was sacked in the president’s office nor office of the First Lady, where six more aides appointed less than one month ago. They were just sacked to reduce the VP’s influence,” a source told DAILY NIGERIAN.
The development comes amid speculations of a frosty relationship between the president and his deputy since the beginning of their second term in office.
Naijaparry had reported that the president had previously asked Osinbajo to seek presidential approvals for agencies under his supervision and also moved the National Social Investment Programme (N-SIP) from his office to newly created Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development.
The SIPs include the famous TraderMoni, the Home-grown School Feeding Programme, Government Economic Empowerment Programme (N-Power), among others.
The president also replaced Osinbajo-led Economic Management Team with the Economic Advisory Council that will directly report to his office.
According to reports, even the controversial RUGA project has also been taken from Osinbajo’s control after the recommendation of the president’s Chief of Staff Abba Kyari.