Akande Challenges Lawal Over Alleged Osinbajo Appointment List

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Former presidential media aide Laolu Akande has challenged former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, to produce evidence for his claim that former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo appointed Christians from his church to key government positions.

Akande dismissed the allegation as a fabrication during an interview on Symfoni TV, disputing Lawal’s account of an alleged list containing 28 names of appointees. He also rejected the suggestion that Osinbajo had been subjected to a three-month waiting period before appointments could be made.

The disagreement centres on Lawal’s reported claim about the religious affiliations of people appointed during Osinbajo’s time in office and Akande’s insistence that the alleged list did not exist.

Key Takeaways

Laolu Akande has rejected Babachir Lawal’s allegation concerning appointments made by Yemi Osinbajo.
Lawal reportedly claimed that most of the key appointees were Christians from Osinbajo’s church.
Akande disputed the existence of an alleged list of 28 names.
He also challenged the account of a three-month waiting period for appointments.
Akande described the allegation as a fabrication and called on Lawal to produce the alleged memo.

What Babachir Lawal Allegedly Claimed About Osinbajo’s Appointments

According to the supplied report, Lawal alleged that most of the key appointments made by Osinbajo while serving as vice president involved Christians from the same church.

The allegation reportedly referred to a list of 28 names, with all but two of the individuals said to be Christians.

Akande disputed that account, insisting that there was no such list. He also questioned the suggestion that Osinbajo had waited three months to make appointments.

The allegation and Akande’s response remain distinct accounts in the reported dispute; the material provided does not independently establish the accuracy of either side’s claims.

Akande Calls the Allegation a Fabrication

During his interview with Symfoni TV, Akande expressed concern about Lawal’s account and strongly rejected the claim that Osinbajo had compiled a list of 28 names.

He said:

I’m worried about the conduct of Lawal in this matter because this is an entire, complete, total fabrication. First of all, there was no such list of 28 names or more. It’s a lie.

Akande’s response directly challenged the central element of Lawal’s reported allegation: the existence of the list said to contain the names of Osinbajo’s appointees.

Akande Disputes the Alleged Three-Month Waiting Period

Akande also challenged the claim that there had been a three-month waiting period before appointments could proceed. To explain his position, he referred to when he resumed work at the Presidential Villa and described Osinbajo’s access to then-President Muhammadu Buhari.

Akande said:

There was no three-month waiting time. I resumed in the Villa in June 2015. The Vice President had direct access to President Buhari. He made it clear that if anybody stopped the Vice President from meeting him, the person was in trouble.

He went on to describe how Osinbajo allegedly handled official memos and how Buhari approved them.

According to Akande:

He said it openly, and anytime the Vice President had a memo, he took it there by hand, and the President would approve it. He would take the memo and give it to his own Chief of Staff, who would then send it to other people.

Akande used this account to question how Osinbajo could have prepared and submitted the alleged list under the circumstances he described.

Akande Challenges Lawal to Produce the Alleged Memo

In his closing remarks, Akande returned to the disputed list and said he was shocked that Lawal would make the allegation. He challenged the former SGF to provide the document he said was at the centre of the claim.

Akande stated:

There was no time for him to do a 28-name list. It’s a lie, and I’m shocked Babachir Lawal will tell such a lie. I challenge him to bring out that memo.

The challenge places the alleged memo at the centre of the disagreement. However, the material provided does not include a response from Lawal to Akande’s rebuttal or independently verify whether such a document exists.

What the Dispute Is About

The disagreement concerns claims about the religious affiliations of Osinbajo’s appointees and the process through which appointments were handled during the Buhari administration.

Lawal’s reported account refers to an alleged list of 28 names, while Akande denies that the list existed and disputes the suggested delay in appointments. Akande has called on Lawal to produce the memo to support his account.

Further clarification would be needed to independently establish the details of the alleged list and resolve the competing claims.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Who is Laolu Akande?

Laolu Akande is a former Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity in the Office of the Vice President. He served in that role during Yemi Osinbajo’s tenure as vice president.

2. What did Babachir Lawal allegedly claim about Yemi Osinbajo?

According to the supplied report, Lawal alleged that most of the key appointments made by Osinbajo were Christians from the same church, referring to an alleged list of 28 names.