N3bn Memo: NEYGA Defends Gbajabiamila, Says Detractors Have Failed

A group, Northern Ethnic Youth Group Assembly (NEYGA), has blamed persons it called “hawks” within and outside the Presidential Villa for scheming to take over the job of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

NEYGA accused them of hatching a plot to link the former speaker of the House of Representatives to the transactions carried out by the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.

Memos have continued to leak from the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry and its agencies, following the suspension of Edu, who is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Recall that a leaked memo dated December 18, 2023, from the Office of Chief of Staff to the President revealed that President Bola Tinubu had approved N3billion from the COVID-19 Palliative Fund to the suspended Minister for verification of the National Social Register.

The viral memo sparked outrage among some Nigerians on social media.

But, reacting to the leaked memo, NEYGA, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Mr. Ibrahim Dan-Musa, sent to journalists in Abuja, said: “detractors have failed in your plot against the engineroom of Tinubu administration.”

According to the group, the latest memo that came to the public domain was just an attempt by some persons within and outside the Presidential Villa to tie Gbajabiamila to the Betta Edu investigation.

Dan-Musa stated that: “This is a time for the government to settle down,” commending the President for suspending Betta Edu and questioning those attempting to implicate Gbajabiamila because of a letter of approval for fund.

The group wondered how the Chief of Staff can assume the position of authority, urging politicians to learn tolerance instead of engaging in a direct campaign of calumny against Gbajabiamila, who has served eight years as speaker without scandal.

Dan-Musa asserted that mischief makers were blinded by ignorance, hence the campaign of calumny against the Chief of Staff to the President.

He noted that such memos would continue to circulate, with Gbajabiamila as the prime target.

The statement read, “To say Gbaja is an authority in law and a professor in government procedures is not an overstatement.

“It is clear some people are still seeking the downfall of one of the best brains in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, but they have failed.

“Someone who managed 360 elected representatives of the Federal House of Representatives for a solid four years without a blemish will not fall for a peanut. Detractors do not understand the quality and value of Femi Gbajabiamila.

“The Chief of Staff has crossed the bridge before it collapsed, so what they are pursuing is emptiness, the second day after the market day!

“We, the concerned citizens for good governance, will soon expose all of you behind the evils you planned.

“It is now an open secret that you want the government of President Bola Tinubu to fail by trying to pull down the pillars of support behind him.

“Whether you are a Christian or Muslim, whatever you sow, you shall reap. We will go after all of you and expose you to the world.

“The current Chief of Staff has not faced 20 per cent of the attacks one of his predecessors, Abba Kyari, got over wrong allegations. President Tinubu’s verdict on his Chief of Staff’s integrity is known to the public.”