Tinubu Continues His State Capture With Impunity As The ‘Lagos Boys’ Take Over Government

Some political watchers and observers have expressed concern that President Bola Tinubu has continued to appoint his cronies and former commissioners from his tenure as Lagos State governor to various key positions without regard for merit or capacity.
They are more concerned that, despite these ethnic appointments, the economy has not functioned properly.
For example, seven of Tinubu’s powerful ‘Big Boys’ from his time as Lagos state governor have recently been elevated to Aso Rock.
Here are a few of the reported appointments:
*Ariyo, Edun holding fort at BPE, Finance Ministry
Political appointments in Nigeria are sometimes accompanied by controversies, especially when certain patterns are identified.
Appointees’ compensation and competence are frequently called into question.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari was accused of being religiously and ethnically biased in his appointment.
The common accusation levelled at his successor, President Bola Tinubu, is that he favours people of Yoruba descent, according to TheCable.
The former governor of Lagos appears to have a knack for appointing people who have previously served the state, particularly those who have worked with him since the return to democracy in 1999.
Here are some recent presidential appointees who have previously served in the Lagos government.
*Olatunji Bello — Former Environment Commissioner, Now at FCCPC
On June 24, Olatunji Bello was named the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) chief executive officer.
Bello is a lawyer, administrator, and journalist. He studied law, received a master’s degree in international law and diplomacy from the University of Lagos, and was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 2002.
He previously served as secretary to the Lagos state government.
In 2010, he began his public service career under Tinubu as managing director of the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency.
He was appointed as commissioner for environment under Babatunde Fashola’s administration in 2011, and he served until May 2015, when Akinwunmi Ambode appointed him as secretary to the Lagos State Government.
*Dayo Mobereola — Former Transportation Commissioner, Now in NIMASA
In March, Tinubu appointed Dayo Mobereola as director-general of Nigeria’s Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
From 2015 to 2016, Mobereola served as Lagos’ transport commissioner. Before his appointment, he served as managing director of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) from 2002 to 2015.
He earned a PhD and an M.Sc in transport economics from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom.
Mibereola previously worked as the deputy managing director and project development director for AFM Consulting Plc in London.
He was also a senior economist at British Petroleum Shipping Limited and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport in both England and Nigeria.
*Ayodeji Ariyo — Former Finance Commissioner Now at BPE
Tinubu appointed Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi as director-general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) in June.
In January 2022, ex-president Muhammadu Buhari appointed Gbeleyi as the board chairman of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).
From 2013 to 2015, Gbeleyi served as Lagos’ commissioner of finance under Fashola, overseeing the office of Public-Private Partnerships.
He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.
Gbeleyi has also attended executive programmes at London Business School, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Lagos Business School.
*Jide Idris, former Health Commissioner, is now with the NCDC.
Jide Idris served three terms as Lagos’ health commissioner.
He held the position of health commissioner under Tinubu, Fashola, and Ambode governments.
Idris also worked as a permanent secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Health.
Tinubu appointed him as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s (NCDC) director-general in February.
Idris succeeded Ifedayo Adetifa, who led the NCDC since September 2021.
He graduated from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL) before earning a master’s degree in public health (MPH) from Yale University in the United States.
Idris is a member of both the Nigerian Medical Association and the American Public Health Association.
*Dele Alake — Former Information Commissioner, Now In Solid Minerals
Dele Alake was Tinubu’s commissioner for information and strategy from 1999 to 2007, after previously serving as his special adviser in the same position.
Tinubu appointed Alake as his special adviser on special duties, communications, and strategy in June 2023, and he later became minister of solid minerals development in August.
Alake was born in October 1956 and graduated from the University of Lagos with a bachelor of science in political science and a master’s in mass communications.
*Wale Edun, former finance commissioner and now finance minister.
Adebayo Olawale Edun was the Lagos state finance commissioner for two terms from 1999 to 2007, during Tinubu’s tenure.
He was appointed minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy in August 2023, following his time as Tinubu’s special adviser on monetary policies.
Edun earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of London and his master’s degree in economics from the University of Sussex in England.
He is a former chair of ChapelHillDenham Group and an executive director of Investment Banking & Trust Company Limited, a Lagos merchant bank that is now Stanbic IBTC.
He is also the founder and chairperson of the Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame.
*Hakeem Muri-Okunola — Former Lagos Head of Service; now Tinubu’s Private Secretary
Muri-Okunola is another figure who worked for the Lagos state government, but not as a commissioner.
After five years as the Lagos state head of service, he resigned in September 2023 to become Tinubu’s principal private secretary.
Muri-Okunola was Tinubu’s assistant from 2003 to 2005. After serving as Tinubu’s assistant, he was appointed executive secretary of the land use and allocation committee.
In 2011, about ten years after joining the civil service, he was appointed permanent secretary and assigned to the Lands Bureau in the Governor’s Office.