Intrigue As Gbajabiamila ‘Eyes’ Chief Of Staff Position In Tinubu’s Govt

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, is reportedly eyeing the position of Chief of Staff (CoS) to the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the incoming government.

Naija News reports that Gbajabiamila was re-elected for the 6th consecutive time to represent his Surulere 1 federal constituency of Lagos State during the just-concluded National Assembly elections.

During his 20-year sojourn in the lower chamber, Gbajabiamila served as Minority Whip, Minority Leader, and Majority Leader before he was elected Speaker of the House in 2019.

However, the Speaker was absent from the presentation of Certificates of Return to Members-elect of the House of Representatives on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to Leadership, the leader of the Green Chamber may eventually not represent his constituency in the 10th National Assembly due to his alleged political ambition to become the next CoS in the Tinubu administration.

Speaking with the newspaper, a source close to Gbajabiamila said the Speaker is more likely to be considered for the plum job because he is one of Tinubu’s core loyalists and proteges for the last 25 years.

The source, however, said he does not know if Gbajabiamila will abandon his fresh mandate for the Chief of Staff appointment in the Tinubu government.

He said, “That is what we are hearing. If you notice, he didn’t come for his certificate of return on Wednesday. The truth is that he doesn’t need that certificate, he has everything to function optimally as Chief of Staff to the President in the new government. He has worked with politicians in every federal constituency and across political divides in the last 20 years.”

In a chat with Leadership newspaper, the spokesman to the Speaker, Lanre Lasisi, confirmed that his principal was unable to attend the presentation of the certificates of return ceremony.

Lasisi, however, declined to react to the rumour that his principal is eyeing to become the chief of staff to the president-elect.

“He was just not able to be in Abuja for the ceremony,” he said.