Yoruba Union flags Tinubu over alleged shielding of Gbajabiamila in N27.4billion agency scandal, demands suspension

By Adebayo Obajemu

The Yoruba socio-cultural group, Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá, has pointed accusing fingers at President Bola Tinubu of shielding his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, over allegations involving Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, who has insisted that he is the Director-General of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

The group described the Presidency’s defence of Gbajabiamila as “like using urine as water and semen as soap for bathing,” insisting that the allegations against the President’s Chief of Staff warrant an independent investigation rather than public denials.

Adeyemi had alleged that Gbajabiamila demanded 48 per cent of the agency’s N27.4 billion take-off grant and received N400 million through a proxy to facilitate his appointment, while claiming that an outstanding balance of N200 million remains unpaid.

Rather than suspending Gbajabiamila and constituting an investigative committee to establish the facts surrounding the allegations, the Yoruba Union said the Presidency “without shame” came out publicly to shield the President’s Chief of Staff.

In a statement signed on Thursday by the Convener of the group, Olusola Badero, and released through its Home Director, Princess Balogun, the organisation stated that the agency in question had been liaising with government institutions and receiving allocations from Nigeria’s public purse despite the Presidency’s claim that it does not exist.

“It is shameful that Bayo Onanuga, the government spokesperson, without any iota of shame, will come to the public to mislead Nigerians because one of them is involved in a scandal,” Yoruba Union said.

“How on earth will the non-existent agency claimed by Gbajabiamila and Onanuga get its way into the 2026 budget and receive the assent of President Tinubu? Who are they deceiving and who are they hiding that they don’t want Nigerians to know about?

“The same way they lied last year that no one was planning a coup until SaharaReporters exposed the failed government is the same pattern repeating itself.”

The group further argued that Adeyemi and the agency had been collaborating with the Nigerian Senate, the House of Representatives of Nigeria, and other senior government officials.

According to the union, it is contradictory for the Tinubu administration to describe the agency as fake after it had been recognised by institutions responsible for making Nigeria’s laws.

“Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá explained that Adeyemi and his agency have been collaborating with the Senate, the House of Representatives and other top government officials, yet the Tinubu government, without shame, came to lie to its citizens that the agency is fake and does not exist.

“How come it was recognised by those who make laws in the country? How come it found itself in Nigeria’s budget?” the organisation added.

The group also challenged Gbajabiamila to explain how the agency obtained a domiciliary pounds account and a Treasury Single Account allegedly domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria, if the Presidency maintains that the agency does not exist.

“It is obvious that the country is being piloted by wicked and heartless people who prioritise their personal interests above the country’s.

“Gbajabiamila, who is the former Speaker of the country, should come out and tell Nigerians how the agency got a domiciliary pounds account and a Treasury Single Account domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria if the agency is fake.”

The Yoruba Union maintained that Nigerians should not be “gaslighted” by either Gbajabiamila or Onanuga, insisting that the public deserves a full explanation of the controversy.

The group called on President Tinubu to immediately suspend Gbajabiamila and establish an independent investigative panel to probe the allegations, arguing that failure to do so would reinforce public suspicion that the Presidency was attempting to shield senior officials from scrutiny.

“Nigerians are not fools and they cannot be gaslighted by either Gbajabiamila or Onanuga. Nigerians deserve to know what transpired, and Gbajabiamila should be suspended by Tinubu if indeed the President is not involved in the whole scandal.”