President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Ajuri Ngelale, a former aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, as his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.
The Director of Information in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, made this known in a statement on Monday, July 31, 2023.
The appointment took effect from July 31, 2023, and would terminate at the end of the current administration unless otherwise decided by the President.
According to the statement: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Chief Ajuri Ngelale as special adviser to the president on media and publicity.
“The appointment takes effect from 31st July 2023 and would terminate at the end of this administration unless otherwise decided by the president.
“The President urges him to bring his wealth of experience to bear on the new assignment.’’
Ngelale’s appointment is coming in the wake of the planned exit of Dele Alake, who with his role as the Special Adviser to the President on Communications, Strategy and Special Duties, was the spokesperson of the presidency.
Alake is one of the ministerial nominees and is among those expected to be screened by the Senate on Tuesday.
Ngelale, in a tweet post on his official Twitter account, said he is humbled and honoured by the appointment as he has become the official spokesperson to President Tinubu.
“I am most humbled and honoured by H.E. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recognition of the need for more hard work ahead as I have been appointed as his official spokesperson & special adviser to the president on media & publicity. I will give Nigeria my best as always. I love you all.”
Ngelale, who is an editor, columnist and investigative reporter, had his secondary education at Government Secondary School in Port Harcourt before heading to the University of Kansas, where he bagged a degree in Political Science.
Afterward, he acquired another degree in History from the same university.
Upon returning to Nigeria from the United States of America (USA), Ngelale worked as a reporter for African Independent Television (AIT) News. He became famous for his report “EAGLE EYE.”
Ngelale has also worked as a Lead Consultant, Public Affairs at the Federal Ministry of Power.
Subsequently, he also spent some years of his reporting career with Channels Television, where he started working as a TV presenter, producer and senior news correspondent.
