Former presidential aide, Laolu Akande, has claimed that some individuals close to President Bola Tinubu 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 around the President was a more significant reason for his absence from the government.
He made the remarks 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 described Fashola as a politician who stands firmly by his principles and would not accommodate practices he considered 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 added.
Akande, however, did not name the individuals allegedly opposed to Fashola’s participation in the administration or identify specific practices they purportedly wanted to protect. His allegations could not be independently verified.
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 becoming Minister of Works and Housing.
Since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, Fashola has not occupied any position in the Federal Government.
Despite his absence from the administration, Akande maintained that the former governor remained close to the President, noting that there had been no significant public disagreement between them.
“Even somebody like Fashola, who is still very close to the president, no problems openly,” he said, while suggesting that the absence of a public dispute did not necessarily mean there were no underlying issues.
Akande also expressed concern over what he described as the limited influence of capable individuals within Tinubu’s administration. He argued that the President could benefit from having people who were willing to challenge his decisions when necessary.
He cited Fashola as an example of a politician who, in his view, would stand his ground rather than compromise his principles, alleging that some individuals around Tinubu preferred not to have such personalities in government.
However, Akande did not provide evidence establishing that opposition from people close to the President was responsible for Fashola’s absence from the administration.
Neither the Presidency nor Fashola had publicly responded to the allegations at the time of reporting.
