Following a stunning revelation by erstwhile Special Adviser in the Presidency Mallam Hakeem Baba-Ahmed that he left his post because he could not come to terms with the fact that he was been paid for being redundant, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to trim down his dozens of presidential aides as a costs cutting measure to reduce the toxic high costs of governance in Nigeria.
Making the observation is the prominent pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) which described the decision of the President to doll out several appointments to politicians and his associates and these officials who give Nigeria zero-value addition and are obviously redundant are drawing humongous salaries monthly from the taxpayers for doing next to nothing but only because they are boys and girls of the president and prominent friends and associates connected to President Tinubu.
“As civil rights campaigners operating our head office from Abuja the seat of power and with many of our affiliates and associates enjoying access to government offices, we know that over 50 of the aides of the President who were appointed since two years back are doing next to nothing but sleep in their offices, wallow away precious times but still smile to their banks with generous salaries and allowances.”
HURIWA admonished the President to adopt the global best practices by trimming down the number of domestic and official assistants and advisers to just 5 given that even powerfully advanced democracies like Great Britain, United States of America, Canada, Japan, Australia, amongst others, the leaders of those nations have fewer aides.
The Rights group said even the most powerful President in the World Mr. Donald John Trump of the USA has just one Press Adviser but the Nigerian President who go cap- in- hands to western nations, the World Bank, IMF, China to beg for loans to pay for computers used in government offices in Nigeria has not less than 2 dozens of Special assistants and aides attached to media and communication office including three Special Advisers on media related assignments earning salaries and allowances equivalent to those of cabinet level ministers since they too are members of the Executive Council of the federation set up by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
HURIWA said even most of the ministers do not come to their offices since they really don’t have anything to do with some of them occupying themselves with campaigning for President Tinubu’s second term ambition. “We are aware of some ministers who haven’t showed up in their offices for two months with some of them living practically in Dubai, UK, USA but yet show up during the Federal Executive Council meetings and are drawing huge allowances.”
HURIWA recalled that Mr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed had explained why he stepped down from his position as Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu. He said the main reason was that he didn’t have much to do in the role. He said he is not someone who enjoys sitting around without being active or useful.
Speaking in an interview with Arise TV, Baba Ahmed said he expected to be more involved in important matters where he could share his ideas and advice, but that didn’t happen. He said he wasn’t given the opportunity to contribute in the way he had hoped.
Baba Ahmed said that he didn’t feel comfortable receiving a salary while not being truly engaged in any meaningful work. He said it didn’t feel right to him to just sit and earn money without doing something useful.
In Baba Ahmed’s words: “There was not much to do, I was not used to sitting idle and there was a lot to be done. If I had been involved I would have offered my humble advise or opinion but I wasn’t. I couldn’t just be collecting salaries and just sit down and do nothing.
HURIWA explained that in the Vice President’s office for instance whereby the Special Adviser had just resigned his position, there are over one dozen aides just as the Vice President is virtually redundant except attending only very few meetings which in the thinking of HURIWA means that it is just a colossal waste of public funds to be paying redundant aides. The Rights group pointedly said even within the office of the President there are over 18 domestic staff drawing salaries from taxpayers money, contributing nothing to the GDP but consuming exotic foods paid with taxpayers money and would now enjoy cobstabt power supply through the solar system in which N10 billion of taxpayers money had already been spent as announced officially. “We have a bunch of people who wear beautiful identity cards as staff of ASOROCK but are in actual fact redundant but are fed all throughout the day on the bills of the taxpayers money whereas 133 million Nigerian households suffer from absolute and multidimensional poverty. This insensitivity borders on wickedness and should be curbed immediately so the government spends wisely given the general economic hardship in the Country.
HURIWA said from available record, there are over 60 Presidential aides such as the following names listed out in several newspaper reports: 1. Mr. Yau Darazo; Special Adviser, Political and Intergovernmental Affairs.
2. Mrs. Olu Verheijen; Special Adviser, Energy.
3. Mr. John Ugochukwu Uwajumogu; Special Adviser, Industry, Trade and Investment.
4. Dr (Mrs.) Salma Ibrahim Anas; Special Adviser, Health.
5. Abdullahi Tanko Yakasai – SSA Community Engagement (North-West).
6. Chioma Nweze – SSA Community Engagement (South-East).
7. Abiodun Essiet – SSA Community Engagement (North-Central).
8. Moremi Ojudu – SSA Community Engagement (South-West).
9. Abdulhamid Yahaya Abba – SSA Community Engagement (North-East).
10. Gift John Bull – SSA Community Engagement (South-South).
11. Tope Kolade Fasua – Special Adviser Economy.
12. Stanley Nkwocha – SSA Media (Vice President’s Office).
13. Sadiq S Jambo – SA Economy (Vice President’s Office).
14. Dr. Muhammad Bulama – SSA Special Duty (Vice President’s Office).
15. Mahmud Muhammad – Personal Assistant Domestic North-East (Vice President’s Office).
16. Ahmed Ningi – SSA Digital Media and Emergency Management (Vice President’s Office)
17. Musa Amshi Muhammad Al-Amin – SSA Special Duties (Vice President’s Office).
17. Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola – PPS (Principal Private Secretary to the President).
19. Usman Dabban – PA Catering.
20. Elijah Adeniyi – PA Teleprompter.
21. Barr. Yejide Ogundipe – SSA Food Security.
22. Abiodun Arogundade – SSA Technical Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education.
23. Emmanuella Eduozor – SA Multimedia Content Production.
24. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire – SSA Sustainable Development Goal.
25. Princess Atika – Senior Special Advisor to the President on Social Events.
26. Yetunde Adeniji – SSA on School Feeding.
27. Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye – Board member of the National Population Commission.
27. Jide Obanikoro – SA Education.
28. Yetunde Adeniji – Special Assistant on Women Affairs.
30. Dr. Aliyu Modibbo – SA General Duties.
31. Hon. Abiodun Yunusa – SA Agriculture.
32. Ajuri Ngelale – Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.
33. Mr Fela Durotoye Senior Special Assistant to the President — National Values & Social Justice.
34. Mr Fredrick Nwabufo, Senior Special Assistant to the President — Public Engagement.
35. Mrs Linda Nwabuwa Akhigbe, Senior Special Assistant to the President — Strategic Communications.
36. Mr Aliyu Audu, Special Assistant to the President — Public Affairs.
37. Mr Francis Adah Abah Personal Assistant to the President — Special Duties.
38. Hadiza Bala Usman, special adviser on policy coordination.
38. Abdullahi Abubakar Gumel, senior special assistant, national assembly matters.
40. Toyin Subair – Special Assistant on Special Duties and Domestic Affairs.
41. Bayo Onanuga – SA on Information and Strategy.
42. Delu Yakubu – Senior Special Assistant on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
43. Tunde Rahman, SSA (Media).
44. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz (SSA Print Media); and Ibrahim Masari (SSA Political).
45. Adekunle Tinubu – Personal Physician.
46. Damilotun Aderemi – Senior Special Assistant (Private Secretary).
47. O’tega Ogra – Senior Special Assistant (Digital/New Media).
48. Demola Oshodi – Senior Special Assistant (Protocol).
49. Tope Ajayi – Senior Special Assistant (Media & Public Affairs).
50. Yetunde Sekoni – Senior Special Assistant.
51. Motunrayo Jinadu – Senior Special Assistant.
52. Segun Dada – Special Assistant (Social Media).
53. Paul Adekanye – Special Assistant (Logistics).
54. Friday Soton – Special Assistant (Housekeeping).
55. Shitta-Bey Akande – Special Assistant (Catering).
56. Nosa Asemota – Special Assistant (Visual Communication) Personal Photographer.
57. Kamal Yusuf – Personal Assistant (Special Duties).
58. Wale Fadairo – Personal Assistant (General Duties).
59. Sunday Moses – Personal Assistant (Videography).
60. Taiwo Okanlawon – Personal Assistant (State Photographer).
61. Mr. Mohammed Abba Isa – Senior Special Assistant to the President on Disability Matters.
62. Hon. (Barr) Olarewaju Kunle Ibrahim -Senior Special Assistant, National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives).
63. Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser.
64. Baba Agba – Special Assistant to the President on Creativity.
65. Sadiq Munir Isyaku Rabiu – Special Assistant to the president on Capacity Development.
