It came after days of silence from the President’s office and barely 24 hours after the VP’s aide denied that any Osinbajo aide was sacked.
The Presidency stated that the aides were sacked as part of the ongoing overhauling in the seat of government to cut costs.
A State House statement by Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, which officially confirmed the sacking, denied that the exercise was targeted at Osinbajo or that there existed any rift between Buhari and Osinbajo.
The statement read, “The Presidency wishes to confirm that there is an ongoing unprecedented overhaul of the nation’s seat of government, arising from which a number of political appointments have either been revoked or not renewed in the second term.
“The exercise, which has been ordered by the President, is to streamline decision-making, cut down multiple authorities and reduce the cost of administration.
“It is also an appropriate response to the general perception that the Presidency has an oversized and bloated workforce which acts as a drag on efficiency.”
It added, “As may have been noticed by discerning members of the public, a number of political appointees among the few that served in the office of the President were not returned for the second term.
“The office of the Vice President, His Excellency, Yemi Osinbajo, has, in compliance with the directive of the President, equally been shed of a number of such appointees.
“In carrying out these exercises, the overriding objective is to save taxpayers’ money and deliver the needed service to the public. As far as the President is concerned, there is no scope for an excuse for administration after getting a huge mandate to run the country for four more years.”
Denying that rift existed between Buhari and Osinbajo, the Presidency insisted that their relationship remained cordial.
He said, “In the light of this, the Presidency wishes to strongly deny rumours of a rift between President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. The relationship between the two leaders remains excellent and trusting. Together, they will script a glorious future for the nation.
“The media reports of a sour relationship are originating from the minds and mouths of mischief-makers, who are desperate for entertaining stories from the Aso Rock Villa with which to titillate the public. This ulterior motive is the basis of the wrong interpretation given to the recent exercise in the Presidency.
“There has been a streamlining of staff going on for a while. The President has always had fewer members of staff than the Vice-President, and there were always plans to reduce the number of staff at the Villa.”
The VP’s spokesperson, Mr Laolu Akande, had, in his comment on Thursday, dismissed the sacking of 35 of his boss’s aides.
“A list circulating in the media on the so-called sacked presidential aides is not genuine and ought to be ignored,” he had said.
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