13th October, 2023
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
President Bola Tinubu has appointed the Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief of PM NEWS and TheNEWS magazine, Bayo Onanuga as his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy.
A statement issued by presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale on Friday said Onanuga’s appointment was part of efforts to prioritize effective and efficient working synergy between the Presidency and Federal Ministries.
He said “President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointments of professionals who have prior working experience within the architecture of the Federal Ministries they will be coordinating with, in addition to duties that will be carried out at the President’s discretion: Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy — Mr. Bayo Onanuga.”
Also appointed as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is Ms. Delu Bulus Yakubu.
“The President wishes the new presidential aides well in the discharge of their duties,” he said.
Onanuga, 66, was a former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria. He was also the Director, Media and Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Council.
Onanuga graduated from the University of Lagos in 1980 where he studied Mass Communication. He graduated with a second class upper.
He worked for Practions Partners in early 1982 and joined Ogun State Television as a pioneer staff in June 1982.
In July 1983, he moved to The Guardian in Lagos as a sub-editor and left just 17 months after to start Weekly Titbits.
When the effort failed, Onanuga joined the National Concord in January 1985 as senior features writer. His service was later transferred to the African Concord magazine. Onanuga in 1989 was the international editor of the magazine, based in London. Later that year, he was appointed the editor.
But in April 1992, Onanuga resigned from Concord after he declined to apologise to the military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida, over a cover story: ;Has Babangida Given Up?’ The story triggered the closure of the Concord Group by the junta.
Onanuga, together with Seye Kehinde, owner of City People Magazine, Dapo Olorunyomi publisher of Premium Times, Sani Kabir, who later became Sarki of Hausawa in Ebute Meta, Idowu Obasa, who served as chairman in Onigbongbo local government in Ikeja, Babafemi Ojudu senator in Ekiti and Kunle Ajibade teamed up to set up TheNews Magazine in February 1993.
After TheNEWS was shut down by the military government, the group floated TEMPO magazine and later P.M.NEWS in 1994.
During the military era of Sani Abacha he was held captive by State Security Service in Lagos for some time but later escaped and left the country and returned in 1998 after the death of Abacha.