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 amid speculations of a political rift.
The GAC, regarded as the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, accompanied the governor for the visit.
The meeting came in the wake of growing reports of political tension, following a series of public incidents in which the President appeared to sideline Governor Sanwo-Olu during his recent Lagos visit.
One of the most prominent instances occurred on Saturday, May 31, at the official commissioning of the first completed section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
At the event, held to inaugurate a 30-kilometre stretch of the 750-kilometre six-lane highway project, President Tinubu greeted several state governors — including Duoye Diri of Bayelsa, Monday Okpebholo of Edo, and Usman Ododo of Kogi — but noticeably bypassed Sanwo-Olu in full public view.
The Lagos governor, a two-term officeholder and widely known protégé of President Tinubu was also 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.”
The tension reportedly deepened after Sanwo-Olu was excluded from following Tinubu to his Bourdillon residence, a symbolic gesture typically reserved for the sitting Lagos governor.
According to 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.