Fela Durotoye: I was Tinubu’s aide for only six months…and I worked for free

Fela Durotoye, a Nigerian public speaker, says he worked in the administration of President Bola Tinubu for just six months without receiving a salary.

In October 2023, Tinubu appointed Durotoye as senior special assistant on national values and social justice.

Following Tinubu’s appointment of Daniel Bwala as special adviser on public communications and media, on Friday, some Nigerians on social media criticised the president for appointing a plethora of media aides without considering the cost of governance.

In a 13-man list that went viral on social media, Durotoye was named as one of the media aides to the president.

In an opinion piece published on Monday, Durotoye said his appointment as aide to the president ended in March 2024.

He added that throughout the six months of his appointment as the president’s aide, he didn’t receive any salary, allowance, or upkeep as a government official.

“Like many other issues in the public discourse, social commentary often has the tendency to overgeneralise; and broad assumptions may sometimes lead to errors of misconceptions, misstatements and misinformation,” Durotoye said.

“One of such errors is in a recent case study that went viral on social media regarding the current media team of the president, where my name was listed as one of the president’s media aides. Unfortunately, this statement needs to be updated to accurately reflect the current media team of the president.

“For clarity, I served briefly in the role of Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Values and Social Justice (SSA-NVSJ) for a tenure of six months, from October 2023 to March 2024.

“When I was invited to serve in this administration, I expressed, as a condition for accepting the call, my desire to NOT receive a salary from the government, as I considered this to be my service to my nation.

“When I finally accepted the role in October 2023, it was on the condition that I would not receive any salary or allowances. During my six-month tenure, I did not accept any government funds for my service, expenses, or upkeep.

“I rented my apartment and took my personal car to Abuja. My utility cost, fuel cost and upkeep were all borne by me and I never requested a reimbursement from the government for any expenses I incurred. Everything I contributed—time, effort, and resources—was paid for by me and my family.”