EXPOSED: Ambode Allegedly Insults Tinubu After Phone Conversation

Akinwunmi Ambode’s frosty relationship with his godfather, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, plunged to lower depths after a phone conversation went awry, top-ranking officials in the Lagos APC set-up told Pulse.

These officials preferred not to be quoted for this story because they had not been given permission to comment on the subject.

In 2015, Tinubu pulled out all the stops for Ambode to emerge, Governor of Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city and commercial capital. But the relationship between both men has all but broken down in recent times.

Tinubu is backing 53-year-old former Commissioner, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu, ahead of the governorship primary election in Lagos, leaving Ambode’s second term bid in peril.
Insults after a phone call that didn’t end

One Tinubu loyalist recalls the moment The Jagaban made up his mind not to back Ambode for a second term.

“Ambode usually ends phone calls in a rude fashion. Only recently, he did it again, except that he actually forgot to end the call. He was on the phone with Tinubu and stopped talking abruptly, but forgot to end the call. He was now telling his aides that; ‘what does he (Tinubu) want again?

“Always disturbing me with calls. If he wants money, just give him. Nonsense money monger. If he wants two billion, give him four billion. The agbaya…I will retire him’…and on and on he went.

“He didn’t know that Tinubu was still listening on the other end of the line. Tinubu immediately put the phone on speaker mode and called us (his aides) to come to listen to what the governor was saying. That was the day we all knew Ambode wouldn’t be getting Jagaban’s support for a second term”, the source said.

Another Tinubu loyalist corroborated this story. “The governor was apparently in a nite club on the day and probably got carried away”, Pulse was told.

Local government chairmen can’t reach Ambode

A handful of local government chairmen in Lagos who craved anonymity for this story told Pulse that they could not see themselves backing a man who refused to share his phone numbers with them.

“None of us (57 local government chairmen) have our governor’s phone number. You can ask him or do your own findings. He refused to share his phone number with us. How can we back a man who doesn’t regard us? We want a governor we can talk to and that’s why we are going with Sanwoolu”, one local government chairman shared.

A police snub felt round the APC

An APC chieftain in Lagos narrated how Ambode snubbed a former Inspector General of Police, Musiliu Smith:

“One of those who could have assisted Ambode is Musiliu Smith, the new Chairman of the Police Service Commission. But Ambode treated him so badly”, said the chieftain.

“The man has been attempting to see the governor for over six months. He has called him more than 200 times, the phone rang but no response. One day, Smith called Ambode’s ADC and asked him to give the phone to his Oga.

“The ADC pleaded with the retired Inspector General of Police not to allow his career end just like that. He said the governor would sack him instantly if he tried that but he advised Smith to keep on calling the governor, maybe one day the governor may decide to pick his call.

“Smith was shocked. He reported Ambode to President Buhari, then to Femi Okunu. Recently, Smith asked Buhari to steer clear of Lagos politics and allow Lagos APC solve their problem.

“Smith was calling Ambode to warn him of this perceived danger he had seen long before now, so that he can make amends but the governor must have thought that anyone who calls him is a beggar!!!”

Mr. Smith was not immediately available for comments on this story.

We were unable to independently verify these stories, as the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Habib Aruna and Commissioner for Information in Lagos, Kehinde Bamigbetan, weren’t immediately available for comments. Calls placed to their mobiles returned unanswered.

Pulse also reached out to Tinubu’s spokesperson, Tunde Rahman, but he didn’t immediately reply to requests for a comment. His phone went unanswered when Pulse called and a text message sent to him hadn’t been replied before this story was published.

However, another aide of Tinubu’s, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, dismissed the Tinubu/Ambode phone call tale as a fabrication.

“No truth at all”, Gbadegesin said of the story in a terse text message.

Tinubu’s political structure in Lagos, Mandate Movement, has endorsed Ambode’s challenger, Sanwoolu ahead of the governorship primary election.

The 57 local councils in Lagos have also thrown their weight behind Sanwoolu