The once-active WhatsApp group of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s media team has been quietly dissolved following weeks of internal bickering, growing resentment toward President Bola Tinubu, and a widening rift among its members.
The group, known as the “PMB Media Team,” had been kept alive after Buhari left office by his former spokesperson, Garba Shehu. However, it gradually descended into chaos and was recently shut down after tensions spiraled out of control.
According to multiple sources who spoke to Standarddailypress, the group had become increasingly toxic—especially as some members who had hoped for political appointments under Tinubu grew frustrated and bitter.
One key figure at the center of the unrest was former presidential aide Lauretta Onochie. Once Buhari’s social media handler and later Chairperson of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Onochie reportedly became openly antagonistic in the group.
“This whole thing turned messy when certain people who were expecting appointments in the new administration didn’t get anything,” a source revealed.
“Lauretta especially became very vocal—sharing unverified stories, attacking key appointees, and even pushing fake narratives from people like Mahdi Shehu on X (formerly Twitter). It was just embarrassing.”
The discontent deepened when former Buhari media colleagues like Ayobami Oyalowo and Tope Ajayi aligned with the Tinubu administration or secured new appointments. Tope Ajayi, for instance—once sidelined in Buhari’s circle—is now the Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity.
“The expectation was that someone from the Buhari media team would get a high-profile spokesperson role in Tinubu’s government,” another insider shared.
“But when Tope got it, and others didn’t, some people just lost it. The bitterness was clear.”
Onochie, who originally backed Ahmad Lawan during the APC presidential primaries, only shifted her support to Tinubu after the intervention of former First Lady Aisha Buhari, sources said.
But things soon took another turn.
“That woman is something else,” a member remarked.
“She started circulating those fake Burkina Faso Traore coup videos, even after being shown they were debunked. She wouldn’t back down. Some believe her anger is really about Delta State politics—especially after the PDP structure in Delta crossed over to APC.”
It was also revealed that Hon. Sadiq, an Executive Director at one of Nigeria’s River Basin Development Authorities and a close ally of APC leader James Faleke, had initially tried to revive Onochie’s political career after her controversial exit from the NDDC—but later distanced himself due to what sources called her “antics.”
The final straw, insiders believe, came when the group’s infighting and inflammatory posts risked dragging Garba Shehu—and possibly Buhari himself—into political controversy. With the APC calling for unity and calm, the toxic atmosphere became too risky.
“Garba just ended it,” one of the members told Standarddailypress.
“He removed everyone. I think he didn’t want to be associated with anything that could damage PMB’s image or cause party-level tension. He still speaks for Buhari, after all.”
With the group now disbanded, former allies have gone their separate ways—some embedded in the Tinubu administration, others nursing old wounds and political grudges.
For now, what remains is the silence of a once-powerful media network, now fractured by ambition, disappointment, and political realignment.
