A former Special Assistant to former Lagos State Governor and current President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has revealed the strategic calculations behind the brief political rift between Tinubu and his successor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (BRF), ahead of the 2011 elections.
Professor Dapo Thomas, a former Special Assistant to Bola Tinubu, has claimed that the current President initially withdrew his support for Babatunde Fashola’s second-term gubernatorial bid in Lagos. Thomas alleged that the political rift occurred because Fashola was attempting to build an independent political structure separate from his mentor.
Thomas, who now serves as a Professor of History at Lagos State University, shared these details in excerpts from his autobiography, Lagos Boy and Lagos Politics. The book is scheduled for its official launch on July 9, 2026, with the advance excerpts made available to Vanguard.
The former aide revealed that the relationship between Tinubu and Fashola deteriorated shortly after Fashola took office in 2007, fueled by disagreements over loyalty, succession planning, and control of the Lagos political machinery. Thomas alleged that after securing his first term, Fashola began gradually distancing himself from Tinubu to consolidate his own political camp.
Thomas wrote that by 2010, ahead of the second-term preparations, Tinubu demonstrated his political dominance using the Yoruba word “Agbara” (Power) associated with the vowel “A” in his initials (BAT) by pulling his support for Fashola. According to the former aide, this move ultimately forced Fashola to rely on traditional rulers and influential political figures to broker a reconciliation.
Thomas wrote that Fashola resorted to lobbying various traditional rulers (Obas) and mobilizing influential friends including Pius Akinyelure, Prince Eludoyin, and Egbon Salami to plead with Tinubu for clemency. The lecturer alleged that Tinubu had grown deeply uncomfortable with Fashola’s efforts to groom an independent successor, viewing it as a threat to his own political base and long-term national ambitions.
Thomas noted that there was an internal understanding within the political family that Fashola’s successor should emerge from Lagos East and be a Christian. This strategic move was intended to balance both regional and religious interests after 16 consecutive years of Muslim governance in the state.
Thomas further claimed that while Tinubu and his loyalists were working toward that regional and religious arrangement, Fashola was actively promoting a different succession plan centered around his own preferred candidate.
Thomas noted that this disagreement widened the rift between both camps and fueled tension within the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
However, Thomas decided to intervene by writing a newspaper article titled “Tinubu-Fashola: Crossroads, Not Dead-End,” in which he appealed directly to Tinubu to forgive Fashola and grant him a second term.
In the piece, Thomas argued that replacing the governor would derail the development of Lagos, maintaining that Fashola had justified Tinubu’s original confidence in him and urging the political godfather to view the friction as a common challenge in political leadership.
Thomas disclosed that before publishing the article, he sought Tinubu’s approval to ensure he did not create the impression that he was publicly opposing his political leader.
According to Thomas, Tinubu carefully reviewed the article, discussed its contents with him, and ultimately directed that it be published.
“The moment he told me to go ahead with it and even told me to publish it in The News, I knew immediately that Fashola would get a second term,” Thomas wrote.
Thomas added that Tinubu subsequently endorsed Fashola’s re-election, a decision he welcomed despite his own earlier disagreements with the governor.
“I was happy because I saw victory in playing a positive role in the elevation of an adversary who was plotting my own downfall,” Thomas stated.
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Thomas also claimed that once Fashola secured his second term, the succession disagreements resurfaced when the governor allegedly tried to influence the choice of his successor. Ultimately, Tinubu bypassed Fashola’s preferences and settled on Lagos State’s former Accountant-General, Akinwunmi Ambode, as the preferred candidate for the 2015 governorship election.
