Adegboyega Fasasi, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to President Bola Tinubu, has reportedly refused to vacate his position at Aso Rock Villa.
Recall that he was issued a redeployment order from the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) Tosin Ajayi, on October 20.
According to sources within the Presidency who spoke with SaharaReporters, Fasasi’s continued presence is allegedly supported by several state governors and other influential figures.
Reports indicate that Fasasi has been receiving financial support from powerful individuals to secure their regular access to President Tinubu.
Multiple Villa officials have ‘accused’ Fasasi of taking bribes to regulate access to the President, determining who is granted or denied entry.
One of the sources who spoke with SaharaReporters disclosed, “There is a lot of pressure by governors and influential people from whom he has collected money to keep him, saying that he has to be there. We can confirm from Villa that the CSO refused to leave.
“He’s accused of shaking down people to visit Tinubu. The logic of those supporting his stay is weird. They claim that if he leaves, they will have to bribe the new person afresh to have access to Tinubu.”
Another source corroborated, “Some powerful people are backing Fasasi and are negotiating to let him leave in December.”
It was earlier reported that the Director General of the DSS or State Security Service (SSS), Ajayi, removed Fasasi from his position as the CSO to Tinubu.
Fasasi was replaced by Rasheed Atanda Lawal, a deputy director of the SSS, who is currently enrolled in a fellowship course at the National Institute for Security Studies.
According to reports, President Tinubu approved Fasasi’s removal at the request of the DSS DG, who cited the need to send him for a “strategic course” — a common pretext for replacing top security officials close to the president.
