Former presidential aide Laolu Akande has alleged that some people around President Bola Tinubu are opposed to the inclusion of former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola in the Federal Government because of his unwillingness to tolerate practices he considers unacceptable.
Akande made the allegation during an interview on the Naija Unfiltered podcast, published by Symfoni TV on Friday, while discussing Fashola’s absence from Tinubu’s administration and the influence of individuals around the President.
According to him, Fashola’s absence could partly be linked to fatigue, but he believes resistance from some people close to Tinubu is a more significant factor.
“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 compromise to accommodate practices he considers inappropriate.
“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 he accused of opposing Fashola’s inclusion in the administration or provide specific evidence to support his claims. Neither the Presidency nor Fashola had publicly responded to the allegations as of the time of reporting.
Fashola, who governed Lagos State from 2007 to 2015, later served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. He was Minister of Power, Works and Housing before the portfolio was restructured, after which he served as Minister of Works and Housing.
His experience in government and longstanding political relationship with Tinubu have made his absence from the current administration a subject of interest.
Tinubu, who succeeded Buhari in May 2023, has not appointed Fashola to a ministerial position or another prominent role in his government.
Akande nevertheless maintained that Fashola remained close to the President, insisting that there had been no major public disagreement between them.
“Even somebody like Fashola, who is still very close to the president, no problems openly,” he said, suggesting that the absence of a public fallout did not necessarily rule out underlying differences.
The former presidential aide also questioned whether Tinubu was making sufficient use of people capable of challenging his decisions when necessary. He argued that the President could benefit from having experienced figures willing to speak frankly and hold their ground within the administration.
However, Akande’s account of why Fashola has not joined the government remains an allegation, as no evidence was presented in the interview to establish that opposition from people around Tinubu was responsible for the former governor’s absence.