Former Chief of Staff to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, has opened up on how key members of the president’s inner circle often circumvented his office to deliver memos directly to the president, despite a standing directive against such actions.
Speaking on Inside Sources on Channels Television, Gambari said Buhari had mandated that all official correspondence must pass through his office. However, some appointees exploited the president’s personal vulnerabilities to bypass the rule.
“When I was appointed chief of staff, President Buhari publicly stated that all memos must come through me,” Gambari explained.
“Even Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and many ministers respected this, but others still found ways to smuggle memos directly to him. They knew his weak points and who to use. He never stopped them.”
Despite this, Gambari noted that many of those unofficial memos eventually found their way back to his desk, which allowed him to remain informed.
Gambari, who served from May 2020 to May 2023 following the death of Abba Kyari, also confirmed the existence of a so-called “cabal” within the Buhari administration.
“They say there was a cabal — there was,” he stated. “Every government has one. Call it a kitchen cabinet or a think tank, it’s a small circle of trusted individuals in and outside of government that a president relies on for counsel. Obasanjo had one, every president does.”
Reflecting on Buhari’s leadership style, Gambari described the former president as deeply loyal, often unwilling to dismiss aides even amid widespread criticism.
Gambari also served as foreign affairs minister during Buhari’s military regime in the 1980s.
