Fifth Columnists Leaked Presidential Memos, Says Arewa Think Tank

Following the recent leakage of some secret memos at the Presidency, Arewa Think Tank said it has been proved right that President Bola Tinubu must ensure fifth columnists do not embarrass his administration. 

Penultimate Thursday, an internal memo was leaked, indicating that President Tinubu allegedly approved the disbursement of N500million from N1billion to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume. 

The allocated funds were intended for the inauguration of a 37-member Tripartite Committee responsible for discussing the New National Minimum Wage.  

The Presidency has since requested an investigation into the civil service framework in order to eliminate individuals it refers to as “moles” who are loyal to the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

However, the Chief Convener of Arewa Think Tank, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu in a statement yesterday recalled warning Tinubu last November when some critics descended heavily for his trio to  Saudi Arabia.

 “This fifth columnists are within Nigeria, they are not in Saudi Arabia because if you see the kind of warm reception Saudi Arabia gave President Tinubu you wouldn’t say the fifth columnists are in Saudi Arabia. In some quarters, they said President Tinubu did not have one-on-one discussion with the crown Prince, Salman. 

“But they told a different story. The picture showed that President Tinubu had a meeting with Prince Salman. So, Tinubu should probe deeper to ensure that the fifth columnists do not embarrass his government at any of his international visit again”.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, emphasised the need for the federal government to take action in identifying and removing individuals leaking classified documents and are believed to have allegiance to the opposition.

Onanuga said: “What is worrisome is, how come a memo written by SGF to the President and bearing the President’s signature leaked out? It means that there are some fifth columnists-within the government.

“It’s not the first time a memo will leak. There was a memo leak when the President went to UNGA, about a request for money to pay for his hotel bills and you wonder where it is leaking from.

“There are so many moles around who are probably doing the bid of the opposition. They are not respecting the civil service rule for handling official secrets. And it shows that the government should look inwards to probe how memos between officials are getting into the public space. Memos that are supposed to be secret are not supposed to be flying all over the place.”