Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has firmly dismissed speculation of a rift with President Bola Tinubu, describing their relationship as a “father-and-son affair” amid swirling rumours of political tension.
Sanwo-Olu made the remark on Sunday following a closed-door meeting with the President at his Bourdillon residence in Ikoyi, Lagos. He was accompanied by members of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State.
The meeting comes amid growing speculation of a fallout between the Lagos governor and the president, particularly after the controversial removal and swift reinstatement of Speaker Mudashiru Obasa from the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The tension was further fueled by Sanwo-Olu’s absence at the flag-off of the Epe-Ijebu-Ode Seaport Access Road reconstruction earlier in June, an event presided over by Tinubu.
Adding to the intrigue, a moment during the inauguration of Phase 1, Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway sparked online speculation when the president appeared to snub Sanwo-Olu in public—an incident that gained traction on social media.
Addressing reporters after Sunday’s meeting, Sanwo-Olu dismissed the narrative as unfounded.
“There is none,” the governor said. “There are more Catholic people than the Pope—they cry more than the bereaved. Father-and-son affairs are things we always ensure to clear. There is nothing at all.”
He emphasized the enduring nature of his relationship with the president, who he referred to as both “father” and “leader.”
“We are grateful that he gave us the audience to say hello to him today,” Sanwo-Olu added.
Also present at the meeting were Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, Speaker Obasa, Deputy Speaker Mojisola Meranda, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and other prominent figures in Lagos politics.
The meeting is seen as a strategic move to reaffirm unity within the Lagos APC hierarchy and silence rumours of internal discord within the political dynasty long dominated by President Tinubu.
