Why Tinubu Trusted Only Osinbajo, Aregbesola, Edun, Alake And Yemi Cardoso – Former SA, Thomas

A former Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu during his tenure as Lagos State Governor, Dapo Thomas, has identified the five commissioners during his administration, Wale Edun, Dele Alake, Yemi Cardoso, Rauf Aregbesola and Yemi Osinbajo, as his trusted inner circle.

NEWSNGR understands that Thomas, now a professor of history at Lagos State University, made the revelation in excerpts from his autobiography, ‘Lagos Boy and Lagos Politics’, scheduled for launch on July 9, 2026.

Thomas said Tinubu privately classified members of his cabinet into different categories based on the level of trust reposed in them, with only five commissioners occupying the top tier.

According to him, Tinubu treated some commissioners differently because of their character, even when it appeared to outsiders to be preferential treatment.

He said, “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. 

“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.

“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.” 

The former aide also recalled how Tinubu suddenly ordered everyone out of his office after a coordinated attempt to pressure him into signing some files shortly before embarking on a trip.

Tinubu was quoted as saying, “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 of everybody.” 

Thomas also recounted another occasion when Tinubu was leaving for South Africa and initially agreed to travel with official files, but was persuaded by Yemi Cardoso not to.

According to him, Tinubu changed his mind moments later, instructing his driver in Yoruba to return the files to the vehicle.

He added, “Mustapha, wa ko files yi pada sinu moto. Ko s’eni to ma f’ogun s’enu ba mi soro lohun yen, meaning, “Mustapha, take these files back to the car. Nobody can put me under a spell when I am treating the files over there.”