Ambode breaks silence:  Reveals why he was removed as Lagos Governor

Former Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has opened up on the reasons behind his controversial removal from office after a single term, alleging political sabotage and resistance to his reforms from powerful interests within the ruling party.

In a detailed account, Ambode listed several bold policy decisions and refusals that, he claimed, led to his political downfall.

The former governor, who served from 2015 to 2019, said his administration’s insistence on transparency, accountability, and a shift away from entrenched interests made him a target of the political establishment.

Ambode said he constructed 22 roads in Alimosho, Lagos’ most populous local government area, without awarding any contracts to the political allies of former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola. This, he claimed, angered key figures in the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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He insisted that contracts awarded under former governor Babatunde Fashola must be completed before any new deals could be granted to the same contractors, many of whom were allegedly linked to party leaders. This stance reportedly sparked friction with influential stakeholders.

Ambode said he had plans to modernize Lagos’ chaotic transport system by phasing out danfo buses and reducing the dominance of agberos (street touts). This policy, he claimed, directly threatened a major source of income and political control for entrenched interests.

The former governor revealed that he refused to add a 10% padding to the state budget as allegedly demanded by members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, led at the time by Bayo Osinowo and current Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.

Ambode pointed out that his massive infrastructural development in Epe, his hometown, was frowned upon because Epe was “never part of their master plan.”

He suggested this further alienated him from the power brokers.

He said he refused to support the senatorial ambitions of Rauf Aregbesola and Bayo Osinowo, arguing that they were not Lagos indigenes and should not represent the state at the national level.

Finally, Ambode alleged he was pressured to use Lagos State funds to finance electoral campaigns in Osun State — a move he refused, further straining relationships with political heavyweights within the APC.

While Ambode did not provide official documents to support his claims, his revelations have reignited public discourse on the inner workings of Lagos politics and the role of godfatherism in the state’s governance.

Ambode, who has remained largely silent since leaving office in 2019, did not indicate whether he plans a political comeback — but his latest revelations may mark a turning point in Lagos’ political narrative.