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By Myke Agunwa
A member of Governance Advisory Council (GAC) a think tank that articulates the political future of Lagos State has announced that the purported misunderstanding between President Bola Tinubu and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been resolved.
It is believed that the feud between the two stems from a power struggle and control over Lagos political architecture, particularly the State House of Assembly.
It became visible when the Speaker Mudashiru Obasa was impeached by the Assembly amid allegations of corruption. Tinubu intervened, flying lawmakers to Abuja and orchestrating Obasa’s reinstatement, asserting that the governor had overstepped his boundary by attempting to control legislative leadership
Tinubu was reported to have told legislators that Obasa’s ouster reflected “indelible fingerprints of the Lagos executive.”
Others have also linked the feud to the recent arrest of Aisha Achimugu, an alley of Sanwo-Olu who was accused to funding the Presidential campaign of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023 against Tinubu.
Former governor of Ogun State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Olusegun Osoba, had on Sunday, said that leaders of the party were working to resolve the differences between the President and Sanwo-Olu.
Osoba who said that he will not divulge the strategy the leaders will adopt to reunite the President and the governor, affirmed that leaders are intervening in the matter just as he assured that everything will be settled amicably.
“You don’t expect that an elder like me will divulge what we are doing and you should know that we will not keep quiet and allow the whole thing fester beyond control.
“After all, I am involved in Lagos and Rivers issues, so the elders are not keeping quiet and we are assuring the nation that all will be well” he said.
A GAC member Chief Muraina Taiwo, who also spoke after a meeting between GAC and the President where the governor was present, told journalists that the rift had been resolved and that the father (Tinubu) had drawn his son (Sanwo-Olu) closer.
“Everything they are saying, God has resolved it. The father (Tinubu) has drawn his son (Sanwo-Olu) closer, and the son has also hugged his father; we are now one in Lagos State.
“It only looked like that, but currently, we are in the meeting, and God has done it.”
Recall that during the inauguration of the 30km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Lagos, on May 31, videos went viral on social media showing where the President snubbed Sanwo-Olu during the exchange of pleasantries ahead of the commissioning.
It was further observed that Sanwo-Olu was absent when Tinubu unveiled the 27km Lekki Deep Seaport road on Thursday, sparking concerns about a strained relationship between the duo.
Similarly, our correspondent observed that Sanwo-Olu’s deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, who was present at the event, did not make any speech on behalf of the state or the governor.
The governor was reported to be away in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, to welcome Governor Umo Eno’s defection to the APC, and was not around for the Sallah celebration visit to the President.
On Saturday, the picture of the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, paying homage to Tinubu without the governor also went viral on social media, putting further concerns on the strained relationship of the President with Sanwo-Olu.
But on Sunday, the picture of the President with Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat, Obasa, and GAC members was shared by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, on his X handle, calming frayed nerves.