Bayo Onanuga Biography: Age, Contact, Wife, Family, Current Position & Clash with VeryDarkMan

Profile Summary of Bayo Onanuga

Full Biography Of Bayo Onanuga

Bayo Onanuga is a Nigerian journalist and media executive as well as a political communication adviser. Today he’s known as the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He is equally renowned for his years of journalistic services in Nigeria, particularly as he helped shape TheNEWS magazine and PM News.

Bayo Onanuga was born in a place popularly known as Ijebu-Ode that is located at Login State.

Bayo Onanuga’s Age

His birth date is 20 June 1957. Right now, he is 68 years old but will be turning 69 when it is 20th June this year. The place he comes from in Login State is very well known to be a place where politics and trade flourish. So it is safe to say that his environment influenced most of his choices in life

He started his education in the popular Ijebu Muslim College in 1970 till 1974. He then moved to Federal Government College, which is located at Odogbolu and schooled there from 1975 to 1977.

He started his undergraduate degree in the university of Lagos in the year 1977. He was able to graduate with a degree in Mass communication in 1980

That training at the university had an impact for the rest of his life. It was the beginning of a reporting, editing and media ownership and public communications career.

Bayo Onanuga’s Early Career in Journalism

Onanuga didn’t come from a privileged background. He served as a client service executive for Practions Partners first after school. He then went on to the broadcasting profession at the Ogun State Television Authority, between 1982 and 1983.

He became a Sub-editor with The Guardian in July, 1983. That step took him a step further down the route of journalism for print publications. He joined National Concord as a senior features writer in January 1985. He later joined African Concord and was the editor of its magazine in 1989.

This was his turning point at African Concord. He resigned from the company in 1992 due to a disagreement with the company over a newspaper report on the military government of Ibrahim Babangida. He resigned in protest of the pressure because he previously declined to apologize about the story, according to PM News.

That was what got him and some of his colleagues to reinvent themselves as media entrepreneurs. They started TheNEWS magazine in 1993. It was one of the most courageous voices of the pro-democracy media in Nigeria at the time of military rule.

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What is the Current Position of Bayo Onanuga?

Currently, Mr Bayo Onanuga serves as the Special Adviser to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Information and Strategy. His appointment was approved by President Tinubu on 13 October 2023. The State House said it has informed the public about the appointment as a strategy to ensure coordination with the federal ministries.

Onanuga is active in the Presidency as a spokesman on key national issues. He also signs official statements at the State House. His work puts him in the middle of the Tinubu administration’s messaging.

The Presidency later clarified the situation noting that there is no one specified spokesperson for Tinubu. Onanuga said that the communication team will consist of various advisers with different roles in November 2024. He continued to be Special Adviser and Information Strategy and there were also communication roles for Sunday Dare and Daniel Bwala.

That makes it a safe assumption that Onanuga will continue to be one of the influential voices of the Presidency. His messages have been the ones to trend lately, since they are mostly issued from the seat of the power.

Bayo Onanuga’s Wife

Bayo Onanuga is married to Toyin Machado-Onanuga. She was reportedly a former Lagos State government employee, according to public reports. They wed in 1989 and they have a daughter called Tobiloba Zainab Onanuga.

In December 2024, their daughter, Tobiloba married Ayodele Olugbenga Oshobajo. The traditional wedding was conducted at the Podium Event Centre in Lekki on 12th December 2024, according to PM News.

According to Punch, the marriage ceremony was also conducted on 14 December 2024 at RCCG Trinity Towers, Victoria Island in the church.

Bayo Onanuga’s Family

Onanuga is not a public man in revealing details of his personal family relations. Public information about his family, verified, is mostly about his wife and daughter.

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Bayo Onanuga’s Contact

The easiest way to reach Bayo Onanuga in the public eye is through the address of his X account, aonanuga1956. This appears to be the handle that’s associated with his public comments and official responses. Any official communication should go through the State House or through his verified social media outlet.

Honours and Recognition

Onanuga has been honored in the field of journalism and national service. He was included in the list of the recipients of the Order of the Niger (OON) among the national honour that was announced near the end of President Buhari’s tenure in 2023.

One year later in 2025, it was reported that he was amongst the media personalities that were honored during the June 12 Democracy Day celebrations. In the report, he was cited as one of the Journalists to be honoured with the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) for contribution to Nigeria’s Democratic struggle.

These accolades demonstrate how his first foot steps are remembered nationally.

Bayo Onanuga’s Clash with VeryDarkMan

As of 27 May 2026, Bayo Onanuga is in a public clash with Nigerian social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan or VDM.

The problem emerged when an alleged AI-generated audio of President Tinubu began to circulate on social media. The voice reportedly sounded just like Tinubu, in the supposed audio. It is alleged that it claimed to have made political and security-related claims. Onanuga on “X” felt very strongly, and said VDM should be confronted by the law for being a conveyor and a disseminator of a falsified recording of the President’s speech.

This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu. This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform. https://t.co/IGEzUvOZJG

— Bayo Onanuga, OON, CON (@aonanuga1956) May 27, 2026

Onanuga said it’s a misuse of social media according to the Daily Post. Also, a quick search by the newspaper found no such audio in VDM’s videos, according to the same report.

In other news breaks made by SaharaReporters yesterday, VDM’s lawyers insisted he did not make or share the doctored audio. According to Deji Adeyanju and Partners, his professional lawyers, a check of his verified social media would have revealed that he did not post the audio.

Later VDM responded in a video. According to Daily Post, he insulted Onanuga and castigated the Presidency over its focus on him as against the virulent insecurity concerns. He also stated that he will not defend the controversial AI cut.

The battle is still ongoing. At the time of writing, it is not yet clear if formal legal action has started. What is clear is that Onanuga believes the alleged fake audio is a serious misuse of social media.

Through his lawyers, VDM argues that the Presidency wrongly accused him without proper evidence.

Conclusion

Bayo Onanuga is one of the most prominent government communicators in Nigeria today. There have been a lot of things happening in his life. He is a reporter, editor, media owner, pro democratic media man, public media administrator, campaign spokesman, and currently an adviser to the President.

He’s not a quick-and-easy story. He is remembered for his contribution to the fight against military dictatorship by many people. Today, others fault his incisive political approach. However, he is still one of the foremost names in Nigeria’s media and politics. His name is now back in the frame thanks to the VeryDarkMan controversy as of May 2026, which is indicative of the pace at which politics, AI-generated content, social media and government communication now collide in Nigeria.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Bayo Onanuga

1. Who Is Bayo Onanuga To President Tinubu?

Bayo Onanuga is the current special advisor to Tinubu on Information and strategy. That basically makes him a spokesperson of the the presidential administration of Tinubu

2. Who is the wife of Bayo Onanuga?

Bayo Onanuga is currently a husband to the well renowned Toyin Machado-Onanuga

3. How old is Bayo Onanuga?

Bayo Onanuga is currently 68 years old.