President Bola Tinubu on Saturday declared that he had forgiven Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and was no longer angry with him, saying, “It’s all over now. All is forgiven.”
The president’s remark followed a closed-door meeting with members of the Lagos State Governor’s Advisory Council, who had come to plead on behalf of the governor and others perceived to have fallen out of favour with Tinubu.
Chairman of the GAC, Alhaji Tajudeen Olusi, who received the president in Lagos, acknowledged that Tinubu had been unhappy with some individuals in the state, particularly the governor, and appealed for forgiveness.
Sources at the meeting confirmed that Tinubu reassured those present that he held no grudges, particularly against Sanwo-Olu.
In response, the governor and several GAC members prostrated before the president in a show of remorse and appeasement.
Reports indicate that the meeting did not delve into the specifics of the disagreement between the president and the governor. Rather, it focused on reconciliation, with the president accepting the plea for forgiveness.
Sanwo-Olu and members of the GAC had visited Tinubu at his residence in Ikoyi, Lagos, amid a rumoured feud between him and the president.
ThisDay quoted multiple sources that during the meeting, Tinubu said he was no longer angry with anyone, let alone Sanwo-Olu.
“It’s all over now. All is forgiven,” Tinubu reportedly said.
Afterwards, Sanwo-Olu and other members of the GAC prostrated themselves to the president to appease him.
According to the publication, sources said that during the meeting, the president or governor did not explain what happened between them.
The stakeholders just pleaded for outright mercy on behalf of the governor, and the president granted it.
The recent development has heightened speculation that Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu were not on good terms since the impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa as Lagos assembly speaker.
Last Saturday, Tinubu snubbed Sanwo-Olu during the inauguration of the completed phase 1, section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.
The event was attended by top members of the APC, including former Senate President Ahmed Lawan, Zulum, Douye Diri, governor of Bayelsa, and Bassey Otu, governor of Cross River.
Tinubu exchanged pleasantries by shaking hands with the dignitaries but ignored the Lagos governor and extended a handshake directly to greet Ahmed Ododo, the governor of Kogi, who was next in line.
On Thursday, the Lagos governor was absent when Tinubu flagged off the reconstruction of the deep seaport access road in the state.