A former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, recently made critical remarks about President Bola Tinubu’s contributions to Lagos State.
In an interview on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on Monday, Lamido argued that Tinubu did not build the modern Lagos State as many believe.
To provide context, Bola Tinubu served as the governor of Lagos State, Nigeria’s economic capital, from 1999 to 2007. He is often credited with laying the foundation for the city’s modernization and is regarded as a visionary political leader. However, Lamido, a member of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, challenged this narrative.
Lamido highlighted Lagos’s historical significance as Nigeria’s former capital before the move to Abuja, which ensured substantial Federal Government investment in the city. He stated, “I know him when he was under SDP; when he was the secretary of the party. I also knew him as governor of Lagos State. I know him very well and I know his capacity, I know what he can do; I know what he cannot do. Luckily today, he is there on top of the country. He never built Lagos. Lagos was built with Nigerian money—I mean the port, the airport, the bridges. So, when you say Tinubu built Lagos; he never built Lagos.”
Lamido also criticized the current government’s performance, rating it poorly. “The government is doing almost everything wrong,” he said. He particularly faulted the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project in light of ongoing demands for a new minimum wage by organized labor. According to Lamido, with prudent management of resources, Nigeria could easily afford to pay a new minimum wage.
“There is money in Nigeria. If they do it [Lagos-Calabar coastal road], they can pay any minimum wage,” he asserted.
