Tinubu appoints Gbajabiamila as chief of staff, Akume is SGF

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed House of Representatives speaker Femi Gbajabiamila as chief of staff.

Tinubu in a statement by State House spokesman Abiodun Oladunjoye also announced appointment of former Governor of Benue State and immediate past Minister of Special Duties, George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

READ MORE: Gbajabiamila speaks on ‘appointment’ as chief of staff to Tinubu

The president also appointed Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, a former Deputy Governor of Jigawa State, as Deputy Chief of Staff.

Tinubu is currently in a meeting with governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Gbajabiamila was tight-lipped on Thursday when asked about his rumoured appointment as chief of staff to Tinubu.

“Be patient. The system works in its own way – allow the system to work,” Gbajabiamila told a journalist that quizzed him at the State House in Abuja.

A report by Leadership Newspaper claimed that Tinubu appointed Gbajabiamila as chief of staff. There was no official confirmation to the report.

Gbajabiamila was reelected as an House of Representatives member for Surulere Constituency in Lagos State during the February National Assembly elections.

Since the election which took place on the same day as presidential election won by Tinubu, Gbajabiamila has been tagged the president’s ‘right hand man’ due to his visibility in majority of the president’s engagements.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan said Tinubu would have made a wise decision if Gbajabiamila is appointed as his chief of staff.

“I am waiting for the announcement. You are speculating,” Lawan said. “I’m not. The speaker of the house of representatives has been rumoured to be the chief of staff designate. First of all, I pray that it comes to pass. If that happens, Mr president would have made a wise decision.

“At this moment, you need a chief of staff with very versed experience in the area of legislation, in the area of cooperating with the executive which the speaker spearheaded from the house.”