By Jeffrey Agbo
Former presidential aide Laolu Akande has alleged that some individuals within President Bola Tinubu’s inner circle opposed the inclusion of former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola in the Federal Government because he would not tolerate certain practices within the administration.
Akande acknowledged that Fashola might have become tired of public service but maintained that resistance from people close to the President was a more important reason for his absence from the government.
“I think the reason why Fashola is not in this government, two reasons. I think Fashola himself has a bit of fatigue; more importantly, I think there are people around the president who don’t want to see Fashola because Fashola is not going to tolerate many of those things that you are seeing around,” Akande said in an interview on the Naija Unfiltered podcast, published by Symfoni TV on Friday.
According to the former presidential spokesman, Fashola has a reputation for standing firm on his principles and refusing to accommodate practices he considers unacceptable.
“Whatever you say about Fashola, he doesn’t take nonsense and the people who wanted to get some nonsense going, they didn’t want Fashola,” he said.
Akande, however, did not name those allegedly opposed to Fashola’s participation in the Tinubu administration. He also offered no specific examples of the practices he claimed some people wanted to continue.
Fashola governed Lagos State from 2007 to 2015 before joining the cabinet of former President Muhammadu Buhari. He initially served as Minister of Power, Works and Housing before the ministry was restructured, after which he became Minister of Works and Housing.
Since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, the former minister has not occupied a position in the President’s administration.
Despite his absence from the Federal Government, Akande maintained that Fashola remained on good terms with Tinubu, suggesting that there had been no significant public disagreement between the two politicians.
“Even somebody like Fashola, who is still very close to the president, no problems openly,” he said.
His remarks suggested that the absence of an open dispute between the President and the former Lagos governor did not necessarily rule out underlying issues.
Akande also questioned the extent to which Tinubu had benefited from the presence of capable individuals who could challenge his decisions when necessary.
He argued that the President needed people willing to express dissenting views rather than those who would simply accommodate his preferences.
Fashola, he suggested, represented the type of figure who would stand his ground, while alleging that some people around Tinubu were uncomfortable with having such individuals in government.
