How cabal members smuggled memos to late President Buhari behind me ---- former Chief of Staf,f Prof Ibrahim Gambari
Former Chief of Staff, CoS, to late ex- President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, says that members of Buhari's cabal bypassed him to smuggle memos to his former boss.
Former Chief of Staff, CoS, to late ex- President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, says that members of Buhari's cabal bypassed him to smuggle memos to his former boss.
Gambari, a former United Nations special envoy, was Buhari’s chief of staff from May 13, 2020, to May 29, 2023.
He spoke on Channels Television on Friday, while reflecting on his time with Buhari, who died on Sunday, July 13, 2025, noting that Buhari loved his appointees just as he loved other Nigerians.
He spoke on Channels Television on Friday, while reflecting on his time with Buhari, who died on Sunday, July 13, 2025, noting that Buhari loved his appointees just as he loved other Nigerians.
According to Gambari, Buhari's love for his appointees accounted for why he was reluctant to sack members of his cabinet despite overwhelming calls in that direction.
Gambari confirmed that though Buhari had a group of powerful individuals who shaped his opinions and decisions on national issues, “they knew their limits”.
“Some have more powers than others, but I’m bold to say that every government has a cabal of some kind or another, whatever name it is called. So, there was (a cabal under Buhari).
“I was a minister 1884-1985 but I wasn’t privy to why he was removed by his colleagues; they put him there but one of the reasons I’m told was the military people were resenting the fact that Head of State Buhari was now getting a lot of advice and second-guessing the decision of his military colleagues – the Supreme Military Council.”
His words, "They say there was a cabal, there was. Every government has a cabal. They may call them a kitchen cabinet; they may call them a think tank.
“(Former President Olusegun) Obasanjo had a group of people. The Aboyades of this world and others – a small group of people. It’s the nature of the office of the president that they must have some people in and out of government whom they can let their guard down to and talk to freely.“Some have more powers than others, but I’m bold to say that every government has a cabal of some kind or another, whatever name it is called. So, there was (a cabal under Buhari).
“I was a minister 1884-1985 but I wasn’t privy to why he was removed by his colleagues; they put him there but one of the reasons I’m told was the military people were resenting the fact that Head of State Buhari was now getting a lot of advice and second-guessing the decision of his military colleagues – the Supreme Military Council.”
“They (members of his canal) knew his weak moments, they knew when to smuggle (memos) because they knew him as they interacted with him informally.
“When I came as Chief of Staff to the President, he made a statement publicly. He said all memos must go through the Chief of Staff before coming to him.
“Even the Vice President (Yemi Osinbajo), to his credit, always passed his memos through me and several ministers, but our people still got their memos to him from behind because they knew his weak point and who to use and he never stopped them but the advantage I had was that the memos came back to me."
The octogenarian described his late former principal as a compassionate man who served Nigeria with everything he had, adding that the nature of the office of the president required having a think tank.
He was appointed as CoS, shortly after the death of Abba Kyari, who occupied the office till his passing.
“Even the Vice President (Yemi Osinbajo), to his credit, always passed his memos through me and several ministers, but our people still got their memos to him from behind because they knew his weak point and who to use and he never stopped them but the advantage I had was that the memos came back to me."
The octogenarian described his late former principal as a compassionate man who served Nigeria with everything he had, adding that the nature of the office of the president required having a think tank.
He was appointed as CoS, shortly after the death of Abba Kyari, who occupied the office till his passing.
What's Your Reaction?
