The Democratic Initiative Network (DIN) has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and aggrieved members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of waging a coordinated smear campaign against the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, saying recent calls for his removal from office are driven by politics rather than facts.
At a press conference in Abuja on Friday, the group’s Director of Communications, Dr. Edwin Osuagwu, rejected Atiku’s demand that President Bola Tinubu sack the Chief of Staff, insisting that the allegations being amplified against Gbajabiamila are already the subject of ongoing investigations and judicial proceedings.
Osuagwu expressed surprise that a statesman of Atiku’s standing would publicly canvass such allegations without, in his words, first verifying the facts. He maintained that Gbajabiamila played no role in issues relating to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), including claims linking him to the party’s alleged deregistration.
Rather, he argued that available information indicates that the Office of the Chief of Staff was the institution that referred the matter to the appropriate security agencies for investigation, making attempts to portray the office as complicit both misleading and unfair.
According to the group, efforts to implicate the presidential aide are part of a wider political agenda aimed at weakening one of the administration’s key figures ahead of the evolving political landscape.
DIN also turned its attention to some dissatisfied APC aspirants, alleging that politicians who failed to secure party tickets have unfairly blamed Gbajabiamila for their electoral disappointments.
The organisation noted that although the Chief of Staff chaired the APC Supervisory Committee for the National Assembly elections, the committee’s role was essentially supervisory, while the authority to nominate and approve candidates rested with the party’s constitutionally recognised organs.
It therefore urged aggrieved party members to pursue their complaints through established party mechanisms rather than, as it alleged, resort to character assassination.
Warning against what it described as the growing politicisation of unverified allegations, DIN said Nigeria’s democracy can only flourish when public debate is anchored on facts, due process and respect for the rule of law, rather than speculation and misinformation.
“It is both premature and irresponsible to construct a political narrative around allegations that remain under investigation,” Osuagwu said.
The group praised Gbajabiamila’s record in public office, describing his tenure as Speaker of the House of Representatives as one of the most productive in Nigeria’s democratic history and commending his contributions to legislative reforms, governance and youth empowerment.
It called on security agencies to conclude their investigations without interference and ensure that anyone found culpable of criminal defamation or acts capable of breaching public peace is prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Reaffirming its support for the Chief of Staff, DIN urged political actors to abandon what it described as orchestrated campaigns of misinformation and instead engage Nigerians on policies and ideas capable of advancing democratic governance and national development.