Author and public affairs analyst, Charles Omole, has claimed that there are at least five cabals operating within President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government, alleging that the President himself heads one of the power blocs.
Omole made the claim on Thursday while speaking on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television.
According to Omole, the presence of multiple power blocs within the Presidency raises concerns about state capture and the need for strong institutional safeguards.
“The president will always have people around him. But you need to put systems in place to avoid state capture or presidential capture because, for example, the current government has, from what I can see, at least five cabals within the presidency,” he said.
“And the interesting thing about one of the cabals actually is headed by the president himself, based on my own analysis.”
Omole identified what he described as a Chief of Staff–led group as one of the major blocs within the Tinubu administration.
“So, in this current administration, at least there are five groups. There is the Chief of Staff group headed by Femi Gbajabiamila. And by that I mean not just him but there are people in that circle like the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and the National Security Adviser, NSA Nuhu Ribadu,” he said.
The author further claimed that other power blocs include a group associated with the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, as well as one linked to the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
“Secondly, you have the Seyi Tinubu’s group consisting of those he helped get some government appointments and all that. And of course, you have the First Lady’s group, Remi Tinubu,” Omole added.
Omole spoke a few days after the unveiling of his book titled ‘From Soldier to Statesman – The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari’ in Abuja.
Reflecting on the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, Omole alleged that cabals within Buhari’s government influenced his access to information.
According to the author, Buhari’s health regime and information flow were allegedly manipulated by powerful individuals around him.
“Buhari loved reading newspapers,” Omole said, adding that there were reports that a cabal created special versions of newspapers containing stories they wanted the former president to read.
Muhammadu Buhari served as Nigeria’s democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023.
The former military ruler-turned-democrat, who hailed from Katsina State, died in London on July 13 at the age of 82.