Former presidential spokesperson Laolu Akande has questioned the effectiveness of President Bola Tinubu’s leadership structure, arguing that the appointment of Hakeem Muri-Okunola to manage the president’s schedule points to shortcomings in Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila’s performance.
Akande made the observation during an appearance on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, where he assessed the president’s inner circle and its capacity to support effective governance.
According to the former aide to ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the need to assign Muri-Okunola responsibilities involving the president’s schedule raises questions about whether the Chief of Staff is adequately fulfilling his role.
Akande maintained that a properly functioning Chief of Staff should be capable of coordinating such responsibilities without requiring the president to bring in another official to handle them.
“If the chief of staff was doing his job properly, he wouldn’t need HMO; that’s the truth,” he said, referring to Muri-Okunola by his initials.
Beyond the issue of presidential scheduling, Akande argued that Tinubu had not fully utilised the potential of his administration. He acknowledged that the government included competent individuals but suggested that some lacked the influence necessary to shape major decisions and improve governance.
He pointed to former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, Osinbajo, former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso as examples of experienced figures whose presence and influence, in his view, could strengthen the president’s leadership team.
Akande particularly commended Cardoso’s work at the apex bank, suggesting that the relationship between the CBN governor and Tinubu had helped create room for him to operate without undue interference.
“The president even doesn’t try to interfere with Cardoso because he knows him,” Akande said, adding that Tinubu needed more influential figures of similar standing around him.
Muri-Okunola, a former Lagos State Head of Service, currently serves as Tinubu’s Principal Private Secretary. His role in the Presidency has now become part of a wider debate, raised by Akande, over the division of responsibilities among the president’s senior aides.
Akande’s remarks ultimately questioned whether Tinubu’s current team is providing the level of coordination, experience and influence required to maximise the administration’s performance.
