“Yes, There Was a Cabal” — Buhari’s Former Chief of Staff Gambari Spills Secrets on How Orders Were Ignored

NewsVista reports that Professor Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has confirmed that a powerful “cabal” operated during Buhari’s presidency — and they often bypassed official channels to influence decisions.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Friday, July 18, Gambari revealed that even though Buhari instructed that all memos must go through the Chief of Staff, some insiders in Aso Rock had direct access to the president and used his “weak points” to deliver messages behind closed doors.

“Even the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, obeyed the rule and passed memos through me. But some others knew how to go around that,” Gambari said.

Gambari, who served from May 2020 to May 2023, noted that Buhari never stopped these informal memos from reaching him—highlighting the influence of unofficial power brokers within the presidency.

On the much-rumored cabal, Gambari didn’t deny its existence. He boldly stated:

“Every government has a cabal — call them kitchen cabinet, think tank, or inner circle. Buhari had his own.”

The former UN envoy added that Buhari’s reliance on such informal advisers may have mirrored issues from his 1985 military rule, when fellow officers reportedly removed him over frustrations with outside influences.

In related news, Gambari officially handed over to his successor, Femi Gbajabiamila, in a ceremony witnessed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.