Reports that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has been “ordered to resign on health grounds” have been debunked.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr Gboyega Akosile, in a statement on Monday night, described the reports, which first emanated from Sahara Reporters, as false.
It was alleged that Mr Sanwo-Olu was asked to leave his position to allow his deputy, Mr Obafemi Hamzat, to take over.
This came shortly after the Governor endorsed Mr Hamzat as his successor after consultations with stakeholders in the state.
The political calculation is that if the deputy governor is allowed to finish his boss’ term, he will most likely be eligible to run only for a single term from 2027 to 2031.
In the statement yesterday, Mr Akosile said nobody has asked the Lagos Governor to resign, describing it as “another fake news, which has become a pattern of Sahara Reporters.”
According to him, Governor Sanwo-Olu remains in good health, of sound mind, and is actively discharging his duties as Governor of Lagos State.
He explained that the clarification was issued “to prevent the public from being misled by deliberate falsehoods. We would ordinarily ignore such baseless reports, but the need to reassure Lagosians makes this response necessary.”
The governor’s aide advised the public to disregard the story and treat it as fake news because the platform “has a track record of publishing disinformation.”