The State House Correspondent of popular newspaper, The Punch, Olalekan Adetayo, has been expelled from the presidential villa.
Adetayo had his tag removed from him before he was subsequently driven out on Monday, shortly after he was questioned by President Muhammadu Buhari’s chief security officer, Bashir Bindawa.
It was gathered that the expulsion may not be unconnected to a story published by the newspaper on Sunday, regarding the President’s health status.
In the report titled “Fresh Anxiety In Aso Rock Over Buhari’s Health”, Adetayo noted that President Buhari’s public appearance throughout the last week was when he attended Jumaat prayers at the Villa Mosque on Friday.
He also quoted some unnamed sources as saying that the President’s “ill health coupled with his age is responsible for the scaling down of his activities.”
Reports also have it that Bindawa had held an interactive session with members of the State House Press Corps, on Thursday, April 20, during which he handed them guidelines on how to report the Villa.
The presidency is yet to officially comment on the development as at the time of this report.
Adetayo is not the first journalist to be axed from the State House. The correspondent of the German-based Radio Deuchewelle, Musa Ubale, also suffered the same fate in 2015 towards the exit of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Ubale was however reinstated immediately President Buhari took over, and is currently the incumbent chairman of the State House Press Corps.