By Pascal Ibe

Introduction

Since the inception of the administration of President Bola Tinubu in May 2023, many critics believe that most of the president’s appointees are mere praise singers and sycophants who only came close to the corridors of power to worship him.

Among those who went back on their words is Daniel Bwala, a former spokesperson for the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, in 2023.

Two years after being one of the hardest critics of President Tinubu, Bwala was appointed as one of the president’s spokesmen. 

On Tuesday, when he appeared on the Arise News programme, Bayo Onanuga, a media aide to the president, set the Nigerian social media space on fire with his infamous comment that “he doesn’t see the level of hunger Nigerians complain about under the administration of President Tinubu ”.

Onanuga also accused sections of the Nigerian media of creating a false impression that the country is overwhelmed by insecurity, insisting that security challenges, though real, do not mean the nation is under siege.

His comments have sparked outrage since then, with many Nigerians expressing anger over the remarks.

Claim

Among those to react to Onanuga’s comments was an X user, @Chidi_nwammiri, who claimed that Ajuri Ngelale, a former spokesperson to the president, was the only person who ever resigned from Tinubu’s government.

@Chidi_nwammiri posted an image of President Tinubu and Ngelale together with a caption that reads: His name is Ajuri Ngelale from Rivers State, the only person that ever resigned from Tinubu’s government and just left the filth called APC and Nigerian politics.

Some X users who commented under the post, believed the claim and hailed Ngelale as an “honourable” man.

The post has garnered over 500k views, thousands of reposts, and likes.

Did Ngelale even resigned voluntary?

Appointed the president’s spokesperson in July 2023, Ngelale suddenly tendered his resignation letter to the Chief of Staff in September 2024, citing “family emergency health issues” for his decision.

However, an exclusive report by Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) revealed that the former president’s aide was sacked over the unending clash he had with Onanuga.

According to FIJ, Ngelale was fired by the presidency and only allowed to publicly resign after his repeated pleas for a soft landing.

“Ngelale considered himself untouchable because he had the backing of the president’s son Seyi and Femi Gbajabiamila, the president’s chief of staff,” one source who asked not to be named for fear of retribution told FIJ.

“He was fired; I became aware of this on Tuesday, but I won’t rule out the possibility that it happened earlier. When he got the letter, he started to plead to be allowed to resign as a soft landing. He was eventually given a soft landing, which is understandable. News of his sacking in public would have thoroughly embarrassed not just Ngelale but the presidency too.”

Although this source expressed regrets that things eventually got to a head, they conceded that there was no other way out, given Ngelale’s unwillingness to discuss his long-drawn-out feud with Onanuga when the opportunities were presented to him.

“The Ngelale-Onanuga feud was no secret in the villa, so several top appointees and cabinet members attempted to intervene at separate times; and while Onanuga was open to peace talks, Ngelale wasn’t,” the source continued.

“For example, Mohammed Idris Malagi, the minister of information and national orientation, called for talks four times. Onanuga was willing to attend but Ngelale snubbed them all, always claiming he was busy.”

Other appointees who resigned from Tinubu’s cabinet

In April 2025, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Tinubu, resigned from his position, nearly two years after his appointment in 2023.

Baba-Ahmed stated that he has no regrets about serving in the administration but he would not consider returning to government.

In June 2025, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Aliyu Audu, resigned without giving any reason for his action.

In a letter dated 8 June of that year, and addressed to the president through his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, Audu said his resignation took effect immediately.

“I remain deeply grateful to you, M. President, for the opportunity to serve my fatherland under your visionary leadership. It has been an honour to contribute to the public communication efforts of this administration,” he wrote.

In December last year, Mohammed Badaru resigned from Tinubu’s cabinet with immediate effect, citing health concerns. 

His resignation was conveyed in a letter dated December 1 and accepted by the president, according to a State House statement by presidential aide Bayo Onanuga on Monday, December 1.

Badaru’s departure was on the heels of the recently declared national security emergency and the insecurity that has continued to ravage the country.

Last September,  a two-year-long investigation by Premium Times found that the former minister of science and technology, Uche Nnaji’s university certificate and his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate were forged, thereby forcing him to resign a few days after the investigation was published.

Verdict

Contrary to the claim that only Ngelale so far resigned from Tinubu’s cabinet, findings have proven this to be FALSE.