…the cabal knew his weak moments. They knew when and how to smuggle memos.
ABUJA, NIGERIA – The iNews Times reports that Professor Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has revealed how members of Buhari’s cabal consistently bypassed official channels to smuggle sensitive memos directly to the former president.
Gambari, who served as Chief of Staff from May 2020 until Buhari left office in May 2023, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Inside Sources on Friday.
According to him, despite Buhari’s public directive that all memos be routed through his office, some aides and associates exploited the president’s “weak moments” to bypass due process.
“They knew his weak moments. They knew when and how to smuggle memos because of their informal relationship with him,” Gambari said.
“When I assumed office, the President made it clear that all memos must pass through the Chief of Staff before reaching him. Even the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, always complied, as did several ministers.”
However, Gambari admitted that certain individuals within the so-called “cabal” found ways around the rule. “Our people still got their memos to him from behind because they knew his weak points and who to use. And he never stopped them. The advantage I had was that the memos always came back to me eventually,” he added.
Gambari, a seasoned diplomat and former United Nations envoy, said the practice reflected the power struggles and behind-the-scenes maneuvers that characterized Buhari’s presidency.
