Aso Villa, Abuja – Ajuri Ngelale, the special adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on media and publicity, has gone on an âindefinite leaveâ.
A statement he signed and submitted to the chief of staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila, stated that his decision was tied to medical matters presently affecting his immediate nuclear family.
The development means President Tinubu is now in the hunt for a new spokesman.
Who are the likeliest candidates to replace Ngelale? TimesNow.com.ng highlights some names. Check them out below:
Ogunlesi is a former special assistant on digital/new media to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.
The 42-year-old is a former winner of the Arts and Culture Prize of the defunct CNN Multichoice African Journalism Awards.
Onanuga is the current special adviser on information and strategy to President Tinubu.
He co-founded TheNews magazine and is a former managing director (MD) of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Dare served as the minister of youth and sports from 2019 to 2023. He previously held the position of executive commissioner of the stakeholder management at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), having been appointed by then-president, Buhari in August 2016.
Although Dare was widely tipped for appointment as a minister in Tinubu’s first cabinet, he was not chosen.
The 58-year-old is the proprietor of Omoluabi 87.7 FM, Mokola, Ibadan, a radio station he started in January 2024.
Rahman is presently the senior special assistant (SSA) on media to President Tinubu.
Rahman was media aide and chief of staff to Tinubu before he was elected president.
Ajayi, who described himself as a political actor, serves as the senior special assistant to President Tinubu on media and publicity.
Ajayi is a public relations expert and writer who worked on the Tinubu campaign in addition to having a long history of working at the Tinubu media office. He is also known to be affiliated with the Western Post newspaper owned by Tunde Rahman. He studied at the Lagos Business School and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun state.
Borno-born Bwala worked with a presidential hopeful, Atiku Abubakar. He was a spokesperson for the former vice-president’s presidential campaign organisation, a position he held during the 2023 presidential campaign.
Presently an open supporter of President Tinubu, Bwala has been touted as a potential candidate for the vacant spokesperson role.
In July 2023, President Tinubu appointed Ogra as his senior special assistant on digital/new media.
Six years earlier, Ogra was among 105 Nigerians, aged 18 to 31, shortlisted for The Future Awards Africa.
