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Former Lagos State Governor and ex-Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said he prefers to advise President Bola Tinubu privately rather than publicly criticise his administration.
Speaking during an interview on TVC News on Wednesday, Fashola said he had direct access to the President and believed maintaining that line of communication was more productive than offering advice through the media.
According to him, Tinubu had personally sought his views on areas requiring improvement ahead of the 2027 general election.
Fashola said the President recently asked him to identify one area where his administration should improve as it counts down to 2027, but he chose to share his views directly with him instead of discussing them publicly.
He said he had already advised the President on several issues and would continue to do so privately, stressing that preserving that channel of communication was more important than making public comments.
“He calls me today, and he says, ‘Today, identify one area where my administration must improve as we count down to 2027. What would you advise me?’ So, I will speak to the President on TV? I’ve told myself I would not do that,” Fashola said.
“I have his ears, and when I need to see him, I’ve advised on a few things. I think that we must keep that channel open. It’s not my intention to advise him on television,” Fashola said.
The former minister also dismissed suggestions that the administration had blind spots after three years in office, saying there was no need to criticise a leader publicly when he had direct access to him.
“There are no blind spots in this administration. You can’t be shouting at somebody whose ear you have,” he said.
Responding to questions about whether leaving public office had made him more willing to comment on the government, Fashola maintained that his position remained unchanged.
He also ruled out any ambition to contest the presidency, saying he had no interest in seeking the country’s highest office.
Asked whether he planned to run, Fashola replied in the negative, joking that he was already “president at home.”
Reflecting on more than two decades in public service, he described his journey as a privilege he never imagined, expressing hope that it would inspire younger Nigerians to serve the country.
Fashola also declined to comment on speculation over whether he had backed either Obafemi Hamzat or Olasupo Sasore as his preferred successor before the 2015 Lagos governorship election.
While confirming that he remains a member of the Lagos State Governance Advisory Council, he stressed the need to distinguish between offering advice and interfering in government, noting that there is “a thin line between intervention and interference.”
