Lagos Chief of Staff Tayo Ayinde moves against predecessor Olukunle Ojo

A war of attrition is raging between Mr Tayo Ayinde, the Chief of Staff to Govenor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his immediate predecessor Olukunle Ojo, who served former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode as Chief of Staff.

The basis of their misunderstanding is the discovery that Mr Ojo planted moles in Lagos State Government House, ministries, agencies and departments, who avail him daily briefings of confidential happenings, red tape information of the Sanwo-Olu led administration.

Ayinde a former spy boss, property mogul and the Director General of the defunct Babajide Olushola Sanwo-Olu Campaign Organization, (BOSCO), outwitted Ojo to emerge Chief of Staff in 2019.

Insiders alleged that Ojo had been assured of continuity in office as Chief of Staff, by the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but Sanwo-Olu made public the appointment of Ayinde as Chief of Staff, before he was sworn in, this effectively truncated the emergence of Ojo as his Chief of Staff.

Ayinde drew the second blood from Ojo when EFCC froze State House accounts few months after he left as Chief of Staff, these accounts with N9.9bn balances then, though managed by the then Permanent Secretary Office of the Chief of Staff Adewale Adesanya, were under Ojo’s call and he would have been made to explain withdrawal authorisations in the very least. Ojo and Adesanya are in bed together, the latter had since gone out of circulation.

Among the officers availing Ojo confidential information is Taofik Odubitan in the account department, Ministry of Information, Ayinde dismissed from service. Other discovered moles planted by Ojo have been posted to desks, where they will have no access to confidential information.

A vindictive Ayinde has gone further to use his contact in the spy network to unearth humongous wealth accumulated by Ojo, who was a civil servant all his working life. These includes two mega filling stations in Berger area of Lagos State, apartments in Canada, London, Dubai and a mansion in Igbajo Ojo’s hometown in Osun State.

These moves by Ayinde were to foreclose the reemergence of Ojo in the current political set up in Lagos State.

Ojo who has the ears of and unhindered access to Tinubu is also fighting back and has vowed to castrate Ayinde for moving against him and his boys, after the labours he expended to see Sanwo-Olu made it into Lagos House. Aside the fact that he has set up another layer of machinery to monitor and ultimately liquidate Ayinde influence in Lagos power circuit.

He has put words into action, he was the one who pre informed Tinubu about the move to restructure and resuscitate Mandate Group in Lagos political field, a move whose outcome embarrassed and marred Ayinde greatly. Ayinde had to run to the Bourdillon home of Tinubu to beg for forgiveness and reaccomodation.

He it was, who informed Tinubu about the Disney World and Lagos State government failed partnership deal, he revealed the fact that Ayinde had brokered 30 percent equity for his team.

This medium learnt that Tinubu based on this information sent his agents to renegotiate the deal, painfully the new terms were unacceptable to Disney World owners and they abandon the deal mid way, though the Sanwo-Olu team had done extensive work, aside allocating prime water front property for the project.

Ojo is said to be in possession of confidential information about hundreds of social media influencers on Ayinde’s payroll, State House routine expenses, #EndSARS advocates and supporters Lagos State government paid, thugs recruited and on retainership of the Sanwo-Olu administration, aside the real facts of the unfortunate Lekki shooting episode.

The most indicting are Lagos State properties Ayinde allocated to himself via his cronies. Ojo warehoused these details and has availed Tinubu, who in turn sternly warned Ayinde to focus on his Chief of Staff details, rein in his land grabbing tendencies or get booted out.

Ojo is alleged to be the eyes and ears of Tinubu in Lagos State Government House since the era of Babatunde Raji Fashola administration, he was then Permanent Secretary Office of the Chief of Staff, he rose to Chief of Staff during the Ambode administration and had hoped to continue in this detail in the Sanwo-Olu led administration.