Former presidential aide, Laolu Akande, has alleged that some people around President Bola Tinubu do not want former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, in the Federal Government because he would not tolerate certain practices within the administration.
Akande said Fashola’s absence from the government could partly be due to fatigue, but argued that opposition from people around the President was a more significant factor.
He spoke during an interview on the Naija Unfiltered podcast published by Symfoni TV on Friday.
“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.
He added that Fashola was known for standing his ground and would not compromise his principles to accommodate questionable practices.
“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 did not identify the people he accused of opposing Fashola’s inclusion in the administration or provide specific examples of the practices he alleged they wanted to protect.
His claims could not be independently verified.
Fashola, who served as Lagos governor between 2007 and 2015, later joined the cabinet of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, serving first as Minister of Power, Works and Housing before becoming Minister of Works and Housing.
He has not held a position in Tinubu’s administration since the President assumed office in May 2023.
Akande, however, said Fashola remained close to Tinubu, claiming that there had been no major public fallout between the two politicians.
“Even somebody like Fashola, who is still very close to the president, no problems openly,” he said, while suggesting that there could be underlying issues despite the absence of an open disagreement.
Akande also criticised what he described as the limited influence of some capable people in Tinubu’s administration, arguing that the President had not fully benefited from having individuals who could challenge him when necessary.
He cited Fashola as an example of someone he believed would stand his ground, while alleging that some people around the President preferred not to have such figures in government.
Akande did not provide evidence to establish that Fashola’s absence from the administration resulted from opposition by people close to Tinubu.
Neither the Presidency nor Fashola was has responded to the claims in the reported interview.