Yes, it is true there was a cabal in the Buhari Presidency. In tomorrow's edition of #INSIDESOURCES Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari makes some important disclosures in a very insightful conversation only on @channelstv, showing Friday at 1130am & Sunday at 8 am. See an advance clip… pic.twitter.com/szBGB1Lxw5
— Laolu Akande (@akandeoj) July 17, 2025
Former Chief of Staff Prof. Ibrahim Gambari says Buhari’s aides exploited informal access to send memos behind his back, despite official directives.
Former Chief of Staff to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, has disclosed that presidential aides often bypassed him to send memos directly to the president, despite a standing directive that all correspondence be routed through him.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Inside Sources on Friday, Gambari said, “They knew his weak moment, they knew when to smuggle (memos) because they knew him as they interacted with him informally.”
Gambari served as Chief of Staff from May 2020 to May 2023. He noted that even Vice President Yemi Osinbajo respected the memo protocol, but others went behind his back.
He also confirmed the existence of a “cabal” under Buhari: “Every government has a cabal… whether you call it a kitchen cabinet or think tank.”
Reflecting on Buhari’s leadership style, Gambari described the former president as deeply loyal, often reluctant to sack appointees—even under pressure. He also recalled similar tendencies during Buhari’s 1980s military rule.