Former Special Assistant to former Lagos State governor and current President Bola Tinubu, Dapo Thomas, has revealed that Tinubu relied on a close-knit circle of five trusted commissioners during his administration in Lagos.
Thomas, now a professor of history at Lagos State University, made the disclosure in excerpts from his autobiography, Lagos Boy and Lagos Politics, scheduled for launch on July 9, 2026.
According to Thomas, Tinubu privately grouped members of his cabinet into different categories based on the level of trust he placed in them, with only five commissioners occupying the highest tier.
“The governor told me the names of the commissioners in the different categories, but in strict adherence to discretion, I will mention only the commissioners that were in category one,” Thomas wrote.
He identified the five commissioners as Wale Edun, Dele Alake, Yemi Cardoso, Rauf Aregbesola and Yemi Osinbajo.
Thomas explained that he noticed Tinubu treated some commissioners differently, particularly in the way official files reached the governor’s desk.
“He often yelled at some of them for bringing their files directly to him instead of passing them through the Office of the Chief of Staff. However, some of them, especially the ones in the first category, did not pass their files through the chief of staff, yet the governor would not as much as bat an eyelid,” he wrote.
He added that what many perceived as preferential treatment was, in Tinubu’s view, rooted in trust.
“I was not sure he saw it that way, though. To him, it was all about trust issues. When a man has character deficit, he attracts just an ounce of deference,” Thomas stated.
The former aide also recounted an incident in which several commissioners gathered around Tinubu with files shortly before he was due to travel, hoping to obtain his signature.
Sensing what Thomas described as a coordinated attempt to pressure him, Tinubu reportedly ordered everyone out of his office.
“Everybody get out of my office now. If I continue this way, a time would come that I would have signed my resignation letter without knowing it. What kind of nonsense is this? Out everybody,” Tinubu was quoted as saying.
Thomas further recalled another occasion when Tinubu was preparing to travel to South Africa. Although he initially agreed to take official files along, Yemi Cardoso reportedly advised against it.
Tinubu briefly accepted the advice before changing his mind and instructing his driver in Yoruba to return the files to the vehicle.
“Mustapha, wa ko files yi pada sinu moto. Ko s’eni to ma f’ogun s’enu ba mi soro lohun yen,” Tinubu reportedly said, meaning, “Mustapha, take these files back to the car. Nobody can put me under a spell when I am treating the files over there.”
According to Thomas, the incidents highlighted Tinubu’s cautious leadership style and his reliance on a small circle of trusted aides and commissioners.
