Former Chief of Staff to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, has revealed that several high-ranking officials bypassed him to send memos directly to Buhari, despite the president’s directive that all correspondence be routed through his office.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Inside Sources on Friday, Gambari said Buhari’s inner circle often exploited what he described as the president’s “weak moment” to gain informal access.
“They knew when and how to smuggle memos to him,” Gambari explained, noting that although Buhari had publicly ordered that all memos go through the Chief of Staff, some officials leveraged their personal rapport with him to circumvent this rule.
Gambari, who took over the role in May 2020 following the death of Abba Kyari, noted that while many adhered to protocol—including then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo—others did not.
“To his credit, the Vice President always passed his memos through me, as did several ministers. But some still found ways to reach the president directly,” he said. “The advantage I had was that those memos still ended up back at my desk.”
Addressing longstanding claims about the presence of a powerful “cabal” within Buhari’s presidency, Gambari acknowledged its existence, saying the concept is not unique to Buhari’s government.
“Every government has a cabal. They may be called a kitchen cabinet or a think tank. President Obasanjo had one, and so did others. It’s part of the presidency—leaders need people, in and out of government, they can trust and speak with freely,” he said.
Reflecting on Buhari’s earlier tenure as military head of state, Gambari, who served as foreign affairs minister during that period, said he wasn’t involved in the circumstances that led to Buhari’s 1985 ouster. However, he was told the military grew uncomfortable with the increasing influence of civilian advisers on presidential decisions.
On Buhari’s leadership style, Gambari described him as loyal to a fault—often unwilling to dismiss appointees, even when public pressure mounted for changes.
“He was deeply loyal and very reluctant to fire people,” Gambari added, pointing to the president’s enduring trust in his core team.
