Tinubu Not First President To Appoint CoS From His Ethnicity –Omokri

By Daniel Dafe

Former Presidential aide, Reno Omokri has defended President Bola Tinubu on his decision to pick his Chief of Staff from the same tribe with him.

Criticisms have trailed the choice of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

In a tweet, Omokri, said: “it is false to assert that President Bola Tinubu is the first Nigerian President to appoint a Chief of Staff from his ethnicity.”

He added: “The office of the Chief of Staff was created by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. It did not exist in Nigeria’s Presidency before 1999, and the Nigerian Constitution does not recognise the office.

“President Obasanjo appointed a fellow Yoruba from Kwara, in the person of Abdullahi Mohammed, a retired major general. Not only was the Chief of Staff under Obasanjo a fellow Yoruba, but the Deputy Chief of Staff under Obasanjo, Prince Olusola Akanmode, was also a fellow Yoruba.

ALSO READ: Ex-model Sues Bill Cosby For 1969 Sexual Assault

“The immediate past Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, is Fulani, like his boss, General Buhari. And his predecessor, Abba Kyari, was Kanuri, as was General Buhari’s mother.”

Continuing, he said “what we should be concerned about is whether or not the persons who are appointed by President Tinubu are qualified. And to me, a former Speaker is eminently qualified for the job.”

“There will be more than enough for us in the opposition to use in opposing Tinubu. But whenever we do, our criticism must be based on truth, to the best of our knowledge,” he opined.