A former Special Assistant to former Lagos State Governor and current President, Bola Tinubu, Professor Dapo Thomas, has claimed that Tinubu initially withdrew his support for Babatunde Fashola’s second-term bid over what he described as attempts by the governor to build an independent political structure separate from his mentor.
Thomas, now a Professor of History at Lagos State University, made the revelation in excerpts from his autobiography, Lagos Boy and Lagos Politics, scheduled for launch on July 9, 2026, and made available to Vanguard.
According to the former aide, the relationship between Tinubu and Fashola deteriorated shortly after Fashola assumed office in 2007, with disagreements over loyalty, succession politics and the control of Lagos’ political structure.
Thomas alleged that after securing his first term, Fashola gradually distanced himself from Tinubu and began consolidating his own political camp.
“By 2010, when it was time to prepare for
