Former presidential spokesman, Laolu Akande, has criticized President Bola Tinubu over the calibre of individuals surrounding him in government, arguing that the President is not receiving the quality of advice needed to effectively govern the country.
Akande, who served as spokesperson to former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, made the remarks during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.
According to him, one of the major challenges facing the Tinubu administration is the quality of people within the President’s inner circle.
“The kind of people a leader or the president surrounds himself with is very important. I have said this several times, that one of the problems with our president today is that he has managed to surround himself with second-class, third-class, low-level people,” Akande said.
He maintained that the President is being deprived of the level of counsel required to address the nation’s pressing challenges.
“And that is the problem because he is not getting the kind of counsel he needs. If people are talking rubbish about political opponents and enemies, who cares who is doing it? Whoever is doing it is a criminal and the state exists to go after a criminal and bring them to justice,” he added.
Akande also stressed the need for the President to take a firmer stance on security matters, noting that no individual should be beyond the reach of government authority.
“Our business is that there is a crime, there should be punishment and that is why the president is called the Commander-In-Chief,” he said.
“There is a reason why that title is fixed to the president. There shouldn’t be anybody that the president can’t tackle for the security of the country.”
The former presidential aide further urged Tinubu to rise to the demands of leadership, citing the President’s long-standing experience in governance.
“We have a president who has the pedigree in terms of governance. Mr President, sit up,” Akande stated.
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