Paul Ibe, media aide to the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, has been sidelined by the President Bola Tinubu government.

The recent appointment of Maj.-Gen. Adeyinka Fadewa (rtd.), as Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Homeland Security, has been raising dust.

A cross-section of Nigerians argued that the office of Homeland Security may replace the NSA, triggering speculation that there may be a fallout between the two.

Reacting, Ibe in a post on his X on Wednesday, alleged a face-off between Tinubu and Ribadu, saying that the NSA’s office has been quietly sidelined.

He linked the alleged feud to Ribadu’s recent trip to the United States, where the NSA met with the US Vice President and other officials.

He wrote, “It is no longer news that NSA Nuhu Ribadu has been quietly sidelined, and that a son of the soil, Retired Major General Adeyinka Famadewa, has been appointed in his stead as Special Adviser on Homeland Security à la US.

“It is obvious, as revealed by Mohammed Bello Doka in his write-up, that a lot of water has passed under the bridge in taking this decision.

“But it is being gathered that the final straw may have been Ribadu’s recent visit to the United States, during which he met VP JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his attempt to make a meal of that by having the news pictures published in multiple newspapers, knowing full well that his principal cannot travel to the US”.