Another media aide to Senate president resigns
Tunde Opalana, Abuja
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan may be under intense pressure over the appointments he has made so far as another of his appointees, Olu Onemola, the special assistant on new media has resigned his appointment.
Onemola’s resignation was made known on Sunday in a statement by the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Mohammed Isa.
The resignation, according to the statement is contained in a letter addressed to the Senate President. Onemola in the letter thanked Sen. Lawan for the offer to continue to serve and promote the work of the 9th Senate.
He said the appointment “is borne out your patriotic desire to serve the Nigerian people. However, at this time, given my antecedents and the controversy this has generated, I would respectfully like to be excused from taking up this national assignment.
“It is my hope that whoever does fill this role will build upon what we have started in terms of opening up the activities of the Nigerian Senate to the public.”
His resignation was personal, but it could not be unrelated to the intense pressure on the Senate president for appointing people considered not to be friends of the Buhari administration.
Recall that Onemola alongside two other media aides who served the immediate past Senate President, Bukola Saraki were last Wednesday retained by the incumbent, but their appointments has not gone down well with people close to the Presidency.
The hardliners in the Presidency argued that having Saraki’s former aides in his office might be a risk to the workings of the 9th Senate while others were of the opinion that people loyal to the APC should be compensated with such appointments.
Lawan was knocked first for appointing as his Special Adviser Media and Publicity, Dr. Festus Adedayo, a journalist not known to the APC media circle. Adedayo’s appointment was rescinded 24 hours after.
The Daily Times gathered that aside from Onemola, other former aides of Saraki appointed by Lawan may exit their positions soon, as they may not be comfortable working with the Senate President.
It was further learnt that the situation may have put Lawan in a precarious situation of having his future appointments subjected to scrutiny by the Presidency.
