After Open Snub, Tinubu Finally Meets Lagos Governor Sanwo-Olu, Others, Says "It’s Over Now"

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday hosted Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and members of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) at his Ikoyi residence in Lagos, as part of a Sallah homage—marking their first public engagement after an open snub and speculations of a political rift between the two Nigerian political leaders.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News gathered that the GAC, regarded as the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, accompanied the governor for the visit.

OTN News recalls that the meeting came in the wake of growing reports of political tension, following a series of public incidents in which the President appeared to publicly snub and sideline Governor Sanwo-Olu at the inauguration of the first phase of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

President Tinubu, at the event, had greeted several state governors — including Duoye Diri of Bayelsa, Monday Okpebholo of Edo, and Usman Ododo of Kogi — but noticeably bypassed Sanwo-Olu in the presence. 

Although the Lagos governor is widely known protégé of President Tinubu, he has reportedly been absent from a number of events during the President’s visit — including the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs — despite Lagos hosting the venue.

Eyewitnesses at the Murtala Muhammed Airport reported an earlier incident in which Tinubu allegedly ignored Sanwo-Olu during his arrival, opting instead to greet Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat.

“It took intense last-minute lobbying and persuasion to get the governor included,” a party insider revealed. “Otherwise, only the deputy governor was supposed to be at the airport.”

Meanwhile, sources within the APC, the strain may have stemmed from Governor Sanwo-Olu’s alleged involvement in a failed attempt to remove Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa — an effort reportedly undertaken without Tinubu’s blessing. The move, which was reversed, is believed to have triggered a loss of trust.

However, President Tinubu was reported quoted to have forgiven the Lagos Governor whatever offence he had committed to warrant the recent open snub and sidelining with the intervention of the GAC who pleaded on behalf of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, hence Tinubu’s position that "It’s over now".