Another Reuben Abati? Buhari Appoints Femi Adesina as Special Adviser on Media

Nigeria’s president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari may just be deploying some warfare principle to the end of keeping one’s enemy close.

This Day is reporting that managing director of The Sun newspaper, Femi Adesina has been listed by the president-elect for the position of special adviser on media and publicity.

While the appointment is waiting to be confirmed, it presents an interesting puzzle.

Adesina, as the managing director of The Sun, approved the infamous advert placed by Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose which was generally condemned as a death wish on General Buhari who was then the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

At a recent occasion when he became the chairman of Nigeria’s Guild of Editors, Adesina offered a defence for approving the infamous advert, citing the need to protect the business of his principal, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Adesina had also said he toned down the first version of the advert before publishing the one that still got a lot of condemnation.

Adesina is described by This Day as “a prolific writer and tested journalist, Adesina started his career at the Vanguard Newspapers as a features writer before later moving to the defunct National Concord Newspapers. He is a pioneer staff of The Sun newspaper where he became the editor, and later the managing director and editor-in-chief, a position he will be quitting for the new assignment.”

Story: This Day