I gave Tinubu conditions to serve in his government: Fela Durotoye

Fela Durotoye, a former Alliance for New Nigeria presidential candidate, has revealed the terms and conditions he gave to serve in President Bola Tinubu’s APC government.

The popular motivational speaker, appointed as Mr Tinubu’s senior special assistant on national values and social justice in October 2023, said he served until March 2024 without receiving salaries and allowances.

“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,” said Mr Durotoye.

Mr Durotoye’s clarification followed the publication of a 13-man list that went viral on social media on Friday, including his name as one of Mr Tinubu’s media aides.

“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,” said Mr Durotoye. “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.”

He added, “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.”