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.”
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