Former Chief of Staff to late President Muhammadu Buhari, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, has opened up about how members of the ex-president’s influential inner circle—commonly referred to as the “cabal”—managed to bypass official procedures by directly submitting memos to Buhari behind his back.
Appearing on Channels Television’s Inside Sources on Friday, Gambari said that while Buhari had mandated that all official memos be routed through the Chief of Staff’s office, some powerful aides and insiders circumvented this directive.
“They knew his weak moment, they knew when to smuggle (memos) because they knew him as they interacted with him informally,” Gambari stated, shedding light on the informal but effective influence wielded by the group during Buhari’s presidency.
Gambari, a seasoned diplomat and former UN envoy, served as Buhari’s Chief of Staff from May 2020 to May 2023, following the death of his predecessor, Abba Kyari. According to him, even high-ranking officials like Vice President Yemi Osinbajo adhered to protocol by routing documents through the Chief of Staff’s office. However, others found ways around it.
“Even the Vice President, to his credit, always passed his memos through me and several ministers. But our people still got their memos to him from behind because they knew his weak point and who to use. He never stopped them,” he revealed. “But the advantage I had was that the memos came back to me.”
“Every Government Has a Cabal”
Reflecting on the late president’s leadership style, Gambari acknowledged that Buhari was surrounded by trusted confidants who shaped his opinions and decisions on key national matters. However, he was quick to note that “they knew their limits.”
He clarified that such inner circles are not unique to Buhari’s administration but are a common feature of most governments.
“They say there was a cabal—there was. Every government has a cabal. They may call them a kitchen cabinet; they may call them a think tank,” Gambari said. “It’s the nature of the office of the president that they must have some people, in and out of government, whom they can let their guard down to and talk to freely.”
Drawing parallels with other administrations, Gambari recalled that even former President Olusegun Obasanjo had a close circle of advisers like the Aboyades, who held significant sway in policy decisions.
Gambari also reflected on Buhari’s military era, revealing that his growing reliance on external advice may have played a role in his 1985 ouster by fellow military officers.
“I was a minister between 1984 and 1985, but I wasn’t privy to why he was removed. I was later told that one reason was the resentment among his military colleagues that he was second-guessing them by taking too much advice from civilians,” he explained.
Buhari’s Compassion and Reluctance to Fire Appointees
Gambari also described Buhari as a deeply compassionate leader, one who was reluctant to dismiss cabinet members despite mounting public pressure.
“He loved his appointees just as he loved Nigerians. That’s one of the reasons he resisted calls to reshuffle or sack ministers,” he said, portraying the late president as a man of loyalty and principle.
Born on December 17, 1942, Buhari led Nigeria first as a military head of state from 1984 to 1985, and later as a democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023. He passed away on July 13, 2025, at the age of 82, and was buried in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State.
Despite criticisms of opacity and influence by unelected advisers during his administration, Gambari defended Buhari’s leadership structure, insisting that the presence of a cabal did not diminish the president’s authority but rather reflected the realities of high office.
