President Bola Tinubu on Monday said he has “absolute confidence” in the integrity of his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Tinubu said this just before the commencement of this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
His comments come just 48 hours after a report emerged that the CoS may be battling an integrity crisis following allegations that he has been “trading off appointments in the government of President Tinubu to the highest bidder.”
The report alleged a growing outcry among Tinubu’s loyalists who are insisting that “Gbajabiamila is eased out of the Presidential Villa.”
Citing the appointment of 10 Resident Electoral Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the report quoted sources who claimed that the name of Ekiti REC was replaced with the name of a former commissioner under the immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi.
“Another source noted that President’s Private Principal Secretary Akeem Okunola, was already doing some of his (Gbajabiamila’s) work…the President was already putting up a team that will help the CoS,” the report said.
But responding to the allegations, President Tinubu affirmed that “I have absolute confidence in my Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
“So, all campaign of calumny, the buck stops here! If I make mistakes, I’ll own up to them.
“Like everyone in the country, I make mistakes. And when I make mistakes, I iron them out and correct them. Perfection is of God Almighty.”
