How Tinubu’s Inner Circle Is Misleading Him

 By Dan Onwukwe

Presidents throughout history have relied on an inner circle of deeply trusted aides who, sometimes, work behind the scenes to shape their presidencies. These individuals often wield significant influence on policy and strategy due to their close relationship and access to the presidents. Some became more powerful than official Cabinet members.

*Tinubu

In the United States, such notable aides include Harry Hopkins, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s shrewd adviser who became his most trusted confidant. He was fondly called “one-man State Department” during World War II. He lived in the White House and managed crucial programmes. Marguerite “Missing” LeHand was  FDR’s Personal Secretary, and arguably the most trusted figure in his inner circle.

And then, the “big Daddy” of international diplomacy, Henry Kissinger who played pivotal role during Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford’s presidencies. Kissinger’s intellectual heft and skill at diplomacy allowed him to become an extraordinary figure in U.S. foreign policy, engaging in secret diplomacy with China. He negotiated the end of the Vietnam War. His power grew even more during the Watergate scandal to the point that he was seen by some as “co-president” to the embattled Nixon. Bill Clinton relied on deeply trusted aides, many of who had long-standing ties to him and his wife, Hilary from their years in Arkansas.                   

Key figures among them are Bruce Lindsay, Thomas “Mack” McLarty, Leon Panetta, John Podesta, George Stephanopoulos, Harold Ickes, James Carville, Evelyn Lieberman, among others. Ralm Emmanuel,  Valerie Jarrett, are two of the notable inner circle members in Barack Obama presidency, while Mike Donilon was a standout member among Joe Biden’s trusted aides, often offering strategic advice and working behind the scenes on messaging and policy. President Donald Trump’s closest advisors include a mix of long-term loyalists, family members, and experienced political figures within his current administration.      

They include his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Stephen Miller – Deputy Chief of Staff, whose signature issues include Trump’s controversial immigration policy. Other inner circle aides include Dan Scavino(assistant on social media) and Paula White-Cain, Trump’s long-term spiritual advisor. She heads the White House Faith Office. Some of these individuals acted as “Brain Trust” of their principals. However, many presidents have faced situations where their trusted aides(call them cabals if you like), have misled them, sometimes to advance personal agenda, protect the presidency, or conceal misdeeds. History is replete with such “trusted” aides who have deceived  Presidents.           

Now, fast forward to Tinubu presidency.  In June this year, Senator Ali Ndume(Borno South) alleged that President Tinubu was being deceived by trusted aides, and have created a barrier between him and the Nigerian public. “A shadowy group of influential figures in Lagos has hijacked the administration, shielding Tinubu from the harsh economic realities facing Nigerians”. The president, Ndume added, “is not in the picture of what’s happening outside the Villa. The president’s inner circle is misleading him. I see people lying and telling the President what he wants to hear. They have effectively ‘kidnapped’ the president for their personal gains, rather than public interest”. He also claimed that the President cannot come out of the street like everyone else, and even “outside the Villa, they drive him in tinted glass convoy so that he will not see the sufferings of Nigerians”.      

Attack him as the president’s inner circle aides often do, Ndume’s lamentation is a window into the deceptions and manipulations behind the scenes that many presidents like Tinubu, go through in the hands of trusted aides who engage in subterfuge and deceit to thwart the  president’s agenda. In the end, such deceitful aides brought down  President Nixon.

Remember, Nixon’s aides involved in the Watergate scandal lied repeatedly to cover up crimes to protect his personal goals, leading to a major constitutional crisis that culminated in Nixon’s shameful resignation as American President. Also, recall the “Teapot Dome” scandal, a significant corruption case that involved members of President Warren Harding’s inner circle who abused their positions for personal gain, effectively misleading the president and the public.    

Have you wondered why President Tinubu seems not to care anymore about his campaign promises, that have made his “Renewed Hope Agenda” hard to achieve? It’s about the cabal surrounding him. Just last week, Charles Omole, a lawyer, security consultant and author of, From Soldier to Statesman: The legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, revealed that there are at least five groups of cabal in President Tinubu’s government. In an interview with Channels TV programme, ‘Politics Today’, Omole said, “the current government from what I can see, at least there are five cabal within the presidency. And the interesting thing about it is that one of the cabals actually is headed by the President himself based on my analysis”.              

He listed FCT Minister, Nyesome Wike, Femi Gbajabiamila(Chief of Staff to the President), National Security Adviser(NSA), Nuhu Ribadu as leaders of other cabals. The remaining groups, he claimed, are led by the First Lady, Remi Tinubu, and Seyi, the President’s son. Omole said Seyi’s group essentially consists of those he helped get political appointments. As Omole cautioned, “the President will (always)have people around him, but you need to put systems in place to avoid state capture or presidential capture”. You can now begin to see how too many cooks spoil the broth.

This is because each group of cabal is always working on a different agenda, to either please the president or their own personal interests. Authors of  “Original Sin”, by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson is a 2025 political book detailing alleged cover-up of President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline during his presidency. The book portrays a narrative of willful ignorance and deception within the corridor of power, and how  a close circle of aides and family members of  presidents have  manipulated  information to lie to the public. We have seen that happen during Yar’adua and Buhari presidencies, and now Tinubu. 

It’s possible that this inner circle pressured the President to sign Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with France DGFIP  to “modernise” Nigerian tax system, “data-driven enforcement information exchange and capacity building. It’s this same secret political group that possibly advised Tinubu to lie  that his administration had met its revenue target for 2025 in August, only for the Finance Minister, Wale Edun to contradict that, saying the federal government had a N30trn revenue deficit in 2025. A leader should leave footprints, not memories. The alteration of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, is a classic example of how a president’s inner circle can put a country in a quagmire through unconscionable lies and outright deception. 

What  is in public domain  as Tax Law, expected to come to force in January, and  officially gazetted, is a different version of what was passed by the House of Representatives. This is fraud writ large, never seen in our democracy. The numerous alterations in the Tax Law are weighty enough to warrant an impeachment and criminal prosecution of the culprits. But it won’t happen under Tinubu presidency. For example, section 64 of the Bill passed by the House of Representatives  was altered.

The new insertion in the official gazette reads …”the relevant authority shall have the power to arrest any person suspected of committing such violation through  relevant law enforcement agency”. Other areas of concern that were fraudulently inserted by the government include provisions relating to petroleum income tax and Value Added Tax(VAT), as well as the provision that mandates the use of U.S. dollar as the currency for tax computation. 

This is a sharp departure from the version passed by the National Assembly, which permits calculation in any currency relevant to the transaction. There’s also a newly introduced requirement that taxpayers must pay 20 percent of a disputed tax assessment before filing an appeal. Again, this provision in the law was not passed by the legislature. There’s also a clause granting tax authorities garnishing powers without court orders.

The bill passed by the House did not say so. All of these alterations, according to Auwalu Yadudu, a Professor of law, threaten the very foundation of constitution governance. Well-meaning Nigerians have called for immediate suspension of the implementation of the Tax Law scheduled to start January 1, 2026. But, the presidency  insists it must go ahead with the enforcement as scheduled. A president suffers from credibility gap, and the country teethers towards tyranny when an administration ignores its own willful errors. The question is: who can save President Tinubu from himself? He needs our prayers.

*Onwukwe is a commentator on public issues