LAGOS, Nigeria — President Bola Tinubu on Sunday, June 8, 2025 received Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and key members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Lagos at his private residence in Ikoyi, following growing speculation of a rift between the president and the state’s leadership.
In attendance were members of the influential Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), alongside prominent Lagos APC stakeholders including Mudashiru Obasa, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly; Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President; Senator Tokunbo Abiru representing Lagos East; Lagos Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat; and former Deputy Governor Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.
The meeting comes in the wake of two public incidents that observers say may signal tensions between the president and the Lagos governor.
On Saturday, May 31, 2025, during the inauguration of Phase 1, Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Tinubu appeared to snub Sanwo-Olu.
In footage widely shared on social media, the president shook hands with several dignitaries, including former Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State, but bypassed Sanwo-Olu to greet Kogi State Governor Ahmed Ododo.
Days later, on Thursday, June 5, 2025, Sanwo-Olu was absent from the presidential flag-off of the reconstruction of the Lagos seaport access road.
Although a seat bearing his name was clearly marked at the event, the governor did not attend.
Deputy Governor Hamzat was present but seated behind the empty chair.
The developments have fuelled speculation about a possible strain in the relationship between Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu, particularly following political upheaval in the Lagos State House of Assembly earlier this year.
Speaker Mudashiru Obasa was briefly impeached before being reinstated—an episode some analysts link to internal power struggles within the state’s ruling party structure.
See photos after the closed-door meeting:
