By Milcah Tanimu
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, faced intense social media backlash, forcing him to delete a contentious tweet about the president. The incident highlights the ongoing tensions within Tinubu’s media team.
On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, O’tega Ogra, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Digital/New Media, shared a video of Tinubu addressing Nigerians. In the video, Tinubu acknowledged the hardships caused by the fuel subsidy removal and urged Nigerians to endure the temporary challenges, promising that his administration was working towards a more prosperous future.
Despite the video being an old clip from a 2023 broadcast, many Nigerians mistook it for a new message, given its relevance to the current situation. Hours later, Onanuga responded by clarifying in a now-deleted tweet that the video was not recent and that the president had not issued any new public statement since his last address on Sunday.
Onanuga’s tweet stirred up criticism, with many accusing the president’s media team of being disorganized and inconsistent in their messaging.
This incident is not the first time members of Tinubu’s media team have clashed publicly. In May, Ajuri Ngelale, another presidential spokesperson, dismissed a statement by Onanuga as fake, leading to a public disagreement. Earlier, in January, Onanuga had also contradicted Ngelale over the wording used in a statement regarding the dismissal of Tunde Irukera from his role as CEO of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
The ongoing conflicts within the media team raise concerns about the coordination and effectiveness of the president’s communication strategy.
