Former spokesperson to ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Laolu Akande, has described allegations made by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, against his former boss on a podcast platform as ‘falsehoods’ and ‘pure fiction.’
Akande served as Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President between 2015 and 2023.
In a lengthy post on his X platform on Saturday, Akande said he was compelled to respond to claims by Lawal because they touched directly on the staff of the Office of the Vice President and decisions he was privy to.
Akande stated that he had watched Lawal’s video containing the allegations against Prof. Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, and insisted that ‘facts only must be stated.’
While dismissing clas of Babachir Lawal in th interview, Akande said his claim that President Muhammadu Buhari considered Osinbajo’s 2022 presidential aspiration ‘immoral,’ is false.
Contrary to the claim, he said the late President supported the aspiration of his deputy to succeed him.
‘On at least four separate occasions, President Buhari personally offered to support the Vice President, telling him plainly: ‘If I don’t support you, who will I support?” Akande said.
He added that before the APC presidential primaries in 2022, Buhari openly commended Osinbajo at a Federal Executive Council meeting for the ‘dignified, issues-based manner’ in which he conducted his campaign. ‘That is not a President who found Osinbajo’s ambition distasteful. That is a President who broached it, encouraged and applauded it,’ he stated.
Akande also described Lawal’s claim that a memo containing over 20 staff names was allegedly delayed by the President’s Chief of Staff because of the ethnic origin of the nominees and later taken to Buhari who rejected it by saying ‘these are all yorubas,’ as false.
‘There was no such memo,’ he said.
‘Anyone who knew President Buhari knows he does not engage in the kind of snide ethnic profiling Mr. Lawal attributed to him – ‘BD, these are all Yorubas.’ That language and that conduct are alien to President Buhari.’
Akande also asserted that Osinbajo always had direct access to the President, took his memos to him for approval, and passed the approved documents to his Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr. Ade Ipaye, for implementation.
He noted that Lawal’s timeline of the events also collapsed because many of the staff, including himself, resumed in June 2015, and there was no three-month delay.
‘By the time a good number of the appointments were made, Mr. Lawal had been sacked by President Buhari (not Osinbajo) for corrupt practices,’ Akande added.
Addressing the allegation that Osinbajo’s staff appointments were based on church membership, Akande described the Office of the Vice President as ‘one of the most inclusive, pan-Nigerian offices in that government – North, South, East, West, Christian and Muslim.’
He highlighted that the most senior official in the office, Deputy Chief of Staff Ade Ipaye, is a Muslim. Three of Osinbajo’s four Special Advisers were also Muslims, including two Northerners – Mrs. Maryam Uwais (Special Adviser on Social Investment) and Dr. Ahmad Zakari (Special Adviser on Infrastructure) and Senator Babafemi Ojudu.
Akande listed dozens of other aides from different parts of the country and religious backgrounds, including Prof. Balkisu Saidu, Amb. Abdullahi Gwary, Ismaeel Ahmed, Ajuri Ngelale, Damilola Ogunbiyi, and many others, stressing: ‘This was a truly national team. It was never a church list.’
On the appointment of Dr. Okey Enelamah as minister, Akande clarified that the former private equity executive was proposed by individuals in the financial services industry and that it was the late Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari, who informed Osinbajo of President Buhari’s decision.
‘I recall this vividly because when speculations were rife that Osinbajo had brought Enelamah, I asked the Vice President directly. It was then he told me how Kyari had informed him of the President’s decision,’ Akande said.
Regarding board appointments made while Osinbajo served as Acting President, Akande stated that any changes were strictly based on compliance with the law – federal character, age, qualification, or professional requirements – and that President Buhari was fully briefed upon his return and raised no objections.
Akande suggested that Lawal’s claims may stem from personal grievance following his removal as SGF.
He noted that the Senate and the Attorney-General’s report had already indicted Lawal before Osinbajo was asked to chair the investigation panel, and that Lawal himself inadvertently provided evidence that implicated him.
‘But personal grievance cannot justify the manufacture of falsehoods against a man who served with integrity,’ Akande said. ‘Prof. Osinbajo served President Buhari loyally for eight years, without blemish, with an inclusive team that reflected the best of Nigeria. The records are there for anyone who cares to check.’
Read the full response by AKande below
A RESPONSE TO MR. BABACHIR LAWAL’S FALSEHOODS AGAINST PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON
I have watched the video in which former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, made a string of allegations against former Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. Ordinarily, such fabrications would not deserve a response.
But I served as the Vice President’s spokesperson. I was in the room where many of these decisions were taken. And the allegations touch directly on the staff of the Office of the Vice President – of which I was a part. For the sake of the record, facts only must be stated.
**1. On the claim that President Buhari considered Osinbajo’s 2022 aspiration ‘immoral’
This is false.
On at least four separate occasions, President Buhari personally offered to support the Vice President, telling him plainly: ‘If I don’t support you, who will I support?’
He was consistent. During the APC presidential primaries in 2022, while campaigns were underway, President Buhari openly commended Vice President Osinbajo at a Federal Executive Council meeting for the dignified, issues-based manner in which he was conducting his campaign across the country. He spoke in a laudatory tone. The entire Council witnessed it.
That is not a President who found Osinbajo’s ambition distasteful. That is a President who broached it, encouraged and applauded it.
**2. On the so-called memo of 20+ staff names:
Mr. Lawal’s claim that Osinbajo wrote a memo containing over 20 staff names, which was sat on by the President’s Chief of Staff, and which he, Mr. Lawal, then took to President Buhari, is a complete fabrication. There was no such memo.
Anyone who knew President Buhari knows he does not engage in the kind of snide ethnic profiling Mr. Lawal attributed to him – ‘BD, these are all Yorubas.’ That language and that conduct are alien to President Buhari.
The procedure was simple and verifiable: Prof. Osinbajo always had direct access to the President. He took his memos directly to the President, obtained approval, and passed the approved memo to (his own Chief of Staff), Mr. Ade Ipaye, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President who then communicated it to the relevant agencies for action. At no stage did this require the SGF, except for the subsequent issuance of appointment letters for staff.
Mr. Lawal’s timeline also collapses. He claimed the memo was delayed for three months. I resumed in the Office of the Vice President in June 2015, alongside several other colleagues. So did many of those whose names he now invents. There was no three-month delay. To those of us who were there, this story is pure fiction.
What actually happened in 2015 is that Osinbajo took different batches of memos to the President at different times for different categories of staff as the office was being set up and as government policies evolved. That is standard practice. There was never a single, bloated, religiously and ethnically-charged list. It is quite simply incredible that Mr Lawal would create such falsehood. It is also noteworthy that by the time a good number of the appointments were made Mr Lawal had been sacked by President Buhari (not Osinbajo) for corrupt practices.
**3. On the composition of Osinbajo’s staff – the church claim:
The claim that Osinbajo appointed people because they were church members is false and is easily disproved by the staff list itself. The Office was one of the most inclusive, pan-Nigerian offices in that government – North, South, East, West, Christian and Muslim.
To suggest a narrow church agenda is not only to ignore the facts, but to pursue a curious and worrying vendetta.
Let the facts speak:
The most senior official in the Office – the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President – was Mr. Ade Ipaye, a Muslim and a distinguished lawyer.
Three of his four Special Advisers were Muslims, including two Northerners: Mrs. Maryam Uwais, Special Adviser on Social Investment, and Dr. Ahmad Zakari, Special Adviser on Infrastructure. The others were Senator Babafemi Ojudu, a Muslim, and Amb. (Dr.) Adeyemi Dipeolu.
The wider team included: Laolu Akande – SSA Media and Publicity; Prof. Balkisu Saidu – SSA Legal, Research and Compliance; Amb. Abdullahi Gwary – SSA Foreign Affairs; Emmanuel Bright – SSA Economic Management; Edobor Iyamu – SSA Economic Affairs; Ismaeel Ahmed – SSA Social Investment; Olayinka Oyeneyin – SSA Project Management; Fadi Rose Audu – SA Domestic; Imeh Patience Okon – SSA Infrastructure; Lillian Idiaghe – SA Legal; Arukaino Umukoro – SA Communication Projects; Daniel Ikuenobe – SA ERGP; Folarin Alayande – SA ERGP; Dr. Effiong Essien – SA ERGP; Olaolu Beckley – SA Documentation; Abdulrahman Baffa – S.A Political; Rotimi Akinnadeju – SA Media; Novo Isioro – SA Visual Communication; Feyishayo Aina – SA Strategic Communications; Gambo Manzo – PA Political; Hafiz Ibrahim – SSA; Nonye Ojekwe – SSA Community Engagement; Dr. Nicholas Audifferen – SSA/Personal Physician to the VP; Ayoleke Adu – SSA Economic; Ajuri Ngelale – SSA Public Affairs; Louis Odion – STA Print Media; Foluso Idumu – SSA Administration; Edewede Akhidenor; Lanre Osibona – SSA ICT; Tolani Alli – SA Media; Tola Asekun – SSA Budget; Damilola Ogunbiyi – SSA Power; Mariam Masha – SSA IDPs; Chiedu Ugbo – SSA Power Privatization; Jumoke Oduwole – SSA Trade and Investment; Muktar Tijani – SA Power; Tochi Nwachukwu – SA Power Privatization; Mohammed Brimah – SA IDPs; Yahaya Maibe – SA Social Investments; Jibola Ajayi – SA BPE; Ife Adebayo – SA Innovation; Myani Bukar – SSA Legal; Nkoli Anyaoku – SA; Phil Obin – TA New Media; Lillian Chukwueke – SA Legal, and many more.
This was a truly national team. It was never a church list.
4. On Dr. Okey Enelamah:
Mr. Lawal claimed the pastor who took over Prof. Osinbajo’s RCCG parish was made minister because of Osinbajo. The pastor in question is Dr. Okey Enelamah.
The truth: Dr. Enelamah at the time of his appointment headed one of Africa’s largest private equity firms. He was proposed by two individuals in the financial services industry and it was President Buhari’s Chief of Staff, the late Mallam Abba Kyari who informed Prof. Osinbajo that the President wanted to appoint Enelamah. Dr. Enelamah is alive and well. He can confirm these facts.
I recall this vividly because when speculations were rife that Osinbajo had brought Enelamah, I asked the Vice President directly. It was then he told me how Kyari had informed him of the President’s decision. I had assumed, like many others, that because Enelamah was close to Osinbajo, he must have nominated him. He did not.
5. On board appointments as Acting President:
When Prof. Osinbajo acted as President, he was constitutionally required to review lists of board nominees before transmission for confirmation. Where changes were made, they were strictly on grounds of compliance with the law – federal character, age, qualification, or professional requirements. President Buhari was fully briefed upon his return and had no issue with those corrections. Due process, not personal preference, guided those decisions.
Conclusion
I understand that Mr. Lawal may still be reeling from the pains of his removal as SGF. It is noteworthy that before the President asked Prof. Osinbajo to chair the investigation into the allegations against Mr. Lawal, the Senate and the Attorney-General’s report had indicted him on the same allegations. It is also noteworthy that it was he himself who inadvertently provided the evidence to the investigation panel that implicated him.
But personal grievance cannot justify the manufacture of falsehoods against a man who served with integrity.
Prof. Osinbajo served President Buhari loyally for eight years, without blemish, with an inclusive team that reflected the best of Nigeria. The records are there for anyone who cares to check.