Sacked presidential aide Fegho Umunubo has claimed that he never collected salary, bonus, or travel budget during his time as special assistant on digital and creative economy.
Umunubo, who shared slides on Instagram on Friday, also thanked President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and the deputy chief of staff Senator Ibrahim Hadejia for the opportunity to serve.
“Fegho John Umunubo has expressed his heartfelt gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the Deputy Chief of Staff, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, for granting him the honour of serving Nigeria as Special Assistant on Digital & Creative Economy (Office of the Vice President),” one of the slides read.
“Mr. Umunubo noted that he was grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s creative industry, while working to strengthen collaboration between government and the private sector in order to unlock more funding and market access for creatives,” it added.
The lawyer and media entrepreneur said he served without pay.
“Upon his appointment in 2023, Mr. Umunubo voluntarily chose not to receive a salary, Bonus, or Travel Budget from the Federal Government. Instead, he relied on the support of private-sector partners and organizations to fund the initiatives he executed,” he wrote.
He listed some of his contributions to include:
“Creative Stakeholders Engagement at the State House (November 2023): Convened over 500 creatives across Nigeria at the Banquet Hall, State House, for a historic dialogue with His Excellency, the Vice President.
“N5 Billion Creative Fund (Providus Bank Partnership): Partnered with Providus Bank Plc to establish a N5 billion Creative Fund, creating access to financing for the industry. The first phase enabled producers and actors to secure loans facilities to produce movies for streaming platforms and cinemas.
“Over N500 Million in Grants and Sponsorships: Facilitated support for the sector through sponsorship of movie premieres, free cinema ticket giveaways, comedy and music concerts, accelerator training programs, grassroots business initiatives, and more across different states in Nigeria. The details of everyone we supported financially is on my Instagram page for verification.Portable speakers
“Support for the Brazilian Delegation Visit to Lagos State: Mr. Umunubo sourced for resources from partners to fund the trip of the Brazilian Delegation to Lagos during the visit of the Brazilian Vice President to Nigeria. This provided free Brazilian business leaders an opportunity to experience the rich culture of Lagos and engage directly with stakeholders in Nigeria’s creative industry.”
He captioned the post, “Fegho John Umunubo Thanks Mr. President, Vice President, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Partners for the Opportunity to Serve… Please slide to read the full statement. Thank you .”
QEDng had earlier reported that Umunubo was suspended in June over allegations of abuse of office. He was accused of signing agreements on behalf of the federal government without authorisation and meddling in the affairs of agencies under the Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy. Minister Hannatu Musawa was said to have petitioned the presidency over his activities.
On September 8, the presidency announced his sack. Abiodun Oladunjoye, director of information and public relations at the State House, said in a statement, “Stakeholders and constituents of the digital and creative economy, at home and abroad, as well as the general public are hereby notified that Fegho John Umunubo, who hitherto had served as the Special Assistant to the President on Digital and Creative Economy (Office of the Vice President), has been disengaged with immediate effect.”
It further cautioned, “Kindly note that he no longer represents this administration in any capacity. Henceforth, anyone who interfaces with him in the name of President Tinubu’s administration does so at his or her own risk.”
Shortly after the announcement, Umunubo reacted on Instagram. “It has been my honor to serve this country and the Creative Industry. Now I am free to fly,” he wrote.
Before his suspension, Umunubo also had a public fallout with filmmaker Arese Ugwu who accused him of failing to redeem a N10 million sponsorship commitment and using his office to bolster his influence in the creative industry
