Laolu Akande, erstwhile spokesperson for former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has rejected allegations by way of the previous Secretary to the Govt of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, about Mr Osinbajo’s dating with former President Muhammadu Buhari and the composition of his (Osinbajo’s) place of business.
Mr Akande, who served as Senior Particular Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Exposure from 2015 to 2023, mentioned he used to be responding as a result of he used to be a part of the Place of business of the Vice President and witnessed a number of of the choices Mr Lawal referred to.
Mr Osinbajo contested the APC presidential number one in June 2022 however misplaced to Mr Bola Tinubu, who ultimately changed into the birthday party’s presidential candidate.
Mr Lawal had alleged, amongst different issues, that Mr Buhari regarded as Mr Osinbajo’s determination to hunt the presidency in 2022 “immoral,” and that the previous vice chairman had submitted a memo containing greater than 20 names of proposed personnel which used to be allegedly not on time by way of the president’s leader of personnel.
Mr Akande rejected each claims.
In a commentary titled, “A reaction to Babachir Lawal’s falsehoods towards Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON,” Mr Akande described Mr Lawal’s claims as “a string of allegations”. He mentioned the previous SGF’s account contained fabrications that had to be corrected.
“Ordinarily, such fabrications would no longer deserve a reaction. However I served because the vice chairman’s spokesperson. I used to be within the room the place many of those selections had been taken,” he mentioned.
Buhari supported Osinbajo’s 2022 ambition — Akande
In line with Mr Akande, the declare that Mr Buhari regarded as Mr Osinbajo’s presidential ambition immoral used to be false.
He mentioned the previous president individually presented to fortify Mr Osinbajo’s political ambition on a minimum of 4 events.
“President Buhari individually presented to fortify the vice chairman, telling him it appears that evidently: ‘If I don’t fortify you, who will I fortify?’” Mr Akande mentioned.
He additionally recalled an incident all the way through the 2022 APC presidential number one marketing campaign when Mr Buhari praised Mr Osinbajo at a Federal Government Council assembly for engaging in what he described as a dignified and issues-based marketing campaign.
Mr Akande mentioned the president’s feedback had been made within the presence of participants of the council.
“That isn’t a president who discovered Osinbajo’s ambition distasteful. That could be a president who broached it, inspired and applauded it,” he mentioned.
Akande denies life of 20-name memo
Mr Akande additionally rejected Mr Lawal’s account of a memo allegedly containing the names of greater than 20 personnel participants proposed by way of Mr Osinbajo.
He described the declare that the memo used to be not on time by way of the Leader of Body of workers to the President and therefore taken to Mr Buhari by way of Mr Lawal as “an entire fabrication”.
“There used to be no such memo,” he mentioned.
Mr Akande additionally disputed the declare that Mr Buhari made an ethnic statement concerning the proposed personnel, pronouncing such habits used to be inconsistent with the previous president.
He defined that Mr Osinbajo had direct get entry to to Mr Buhari and ordinarily took his memos at once to the president for approval.
In line with him, as soon as licensed, the memos had been handed to Mr Osinbajo’s Leader of Body of workers, Ade Ipaye, who communicated them to the related companies for implementation.
He mentioned the SGF’s place of business used to be no longer excited about that procedure apart from on the level of issuing appointment letters to personnel.
Mr Akande additionally challenged Mr Lawal’s declare that the alleged memo have been not on time for 3 months.
“I resumed within the Place of business of the Vice President in June 2015, along a number of different colleagues. So did a lot of the ones whose names he now invents. There used to be no three-month prolong,” he mentioned.
He mentioned the method concerned other batches of memos submitted by way of Mr Osinbajo at other instances because the place of business used to be being established and executive insurance policies developed.
He mentioned no unmarried record of personnel appointments used to be in keeping with ethnic or non secular issues.
‘Osinbajo’s place of business used to be pan-Nigerian’
Mr Akande additional rejected Mr Lawal’s allegation that Mr Osinbajo staffed his place of business in large part with participants of his church.
He described the declare as false, pronouncing the place of business’s composition confirmed another way.
“The Place of business used to be one of the vital inclusive, pan-Nigerian workplaces in that executive — North, South, East, West, Christian, and Muslim,” he mentioned.
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He cited the appointment of Mr Ipaye, a Muslim attorney, as deputy leader of personnel to the vice chairman as proof of the place of business’s non secular variety.
Mr Akande additionally mentioned 3 of Mr Osinbajo’s 4 particular advisers had been Muslims, together with Maryam Uwais, who served as particular adviser on Social Investments, and Ahmad Zakari.
He argued that the personnel composition contradicted the declare that Mr Osinbajo operated a slim non secular schedule.
Mr Akande mentioned his reaction used to be supposed to position the disputed claims on file, stressing that he had firsthand wisdom of the workings of the Vice-President’s place of business all the way through the duration beneath evaluate.
“It’s fairly merely implausible that Mr Lawal would create such falsehood,” he mentioned.
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