3 times Ajuri Ngelale goofed as President Tinubu's spokesman

The former Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, came into the job with the requisite experience and good public ratings but stuttered a few times along the way.

Anywhere in the world, working for the president is a pressure cooker, a task that could easily turn even the most competent hand into a mediocre in the eyes of the public in a flash.

It’s even more demanding if such a person shoulders the huge responsibility of publicising the principal’s daily affairs which requires direct interaction with the media who yearns for information to feed an ever-curious citizenry.

Such was the fate of Ngelale, a renowned journalist who first came into the national limelight thanks to his hard-punching questions and probing arguments with his guests during his days as a television show host.

Ngelale was appointed as a presidential spokesman deployed to the Office of the Vice President by the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, in 2019.

He played an integral role in the campaigns of Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election and was duly rewarded with the role of the president’s spokesman after the former Lagos State Governor assumed office.

His appointment was received with a lot of optimism, given his reputation and the added responsibilities that came with working directly with the president, a privilege he may not have enjoyed before 2023.

However, after barely over a year on the job, Ngelale has stepped down from his role.

He conveyed his decision in a memo submitted to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, wherein he cited medical matters presently affecting his immediate and nuclear family as the reason for his resignation.

As Ngelale proceeds on an indefinite leave of absence, we look back on some of his mistakes that got Nigerians talking.

Dubai 'visa ban reversal'

In September last year, President Tinubu and his United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had a meeting in Abu Dhabi to repair a diplomatic standoff between the two countries.

After the meeting, Ngelale announced to Nigerians that the UAE had resolved to lift the visa ban on Nigerians that was imposed in October 2022 over various disputes, including the inability of Emirates Airlines to repatriate its trapped funds from Nigeria.

At the same time, he claimed that Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines would resume flight operations to and from Nigeria immediately without any payment by the Nigerian government, adding that the two countries had established a framework for investments worth billions of dollars across multiple sectors.

However, a UAE official later contradicted the claims and accused Ngelale of exaggerating the achievements of the diplomatic meeting.

A check on the official website of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs for reports regarding Tinubu’s meeting with the UAE president also revealed there was no explicit mention of the visa ban reversal for Nigerians at the time.

Dismissal or relieved?

When Tinubu replaced Babatunde Irukera as the CEO of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and his Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) counterpart, Alexander Ayoola Okoh, in January, Ngelale appeared to have miscommunicated the decision.

While announcing the development in a statement, the journalist said Tinubu 'dismissed' Irukera and Okoh “In conformity with plans to restructure and reposition critical agencies.”

However, it appeared Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the president on Information and Strategy, was not comfortable with Ngelale’s choice of words.

In what looks like a counter-statement, Onanuga on the night of Tuesday, January 9, 2023, said Irukera and Okoh were relieved of their duties not dismissed.

“I have followed the concerns in the media on the report that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu dismissed Babatunde Irukera EVC/CEO, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and Alexander Ayoola Okoh — Director-General/CEO, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). The President’s directive did not intend a dismissal,” Onanuga said.

“The two men who have served our country were relieved of their duties by the President, as he scouts for their successors. The connotations implied in using the word dismissal were clearly not intended in the statement issued.”

Tinubu first African leader to ring bell at NASDAQ

While attending United Nations events in the United States in 2023, the President made a stop at the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatics Quotation System (NASDAQ) headquarters in New York to conduct a symbolic closing ceremony to signal the end of the trading session.

Tinubu, while performing the task, was in the company of some Nigerian business leaders and officials of the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX).

Meanwhile, announcing the event, Ngelale claimed President Tinubu was the first African leader to ring the closing bell at the NASDAQ.

However, the claim was later found to be false as former Tanzanian President, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete had rang the bell on September 21, 2011.

Ngelale later issued a statement to debunk the claim and apologised to Nigerians for the misinformation.