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Years back when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was serving as the Governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, he had a lot of young, resourceful lads ringed around him who he was grooming for leadership positions. Four of them were highly favoured and labelled the ‘Golden Sons’. This formidable unit of four blokes with far-reaching influence at the time and their positions were: Folorunsho “Folly” Coker (Personal Assistant but later Deputy Chief of Staff); Gbolahan Lawal (Aide-De-Camp), Saheed Ademola Elegushi (Special Assistant), and Hakeem Muri-Okunola (Personal Assistant). Two of those ‘Golden Sons’ are today notable Lagos monarchs —Oba Elegushi (Ikate kingdom) and Oba Lawal (Oniru). Coker is today changing the face of Nigeria’s tourism industry as the Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority, while the last of the pack was Muri-Okunola, the immediate past Lagos State Head of Service. The quartet remained extremely close, rising significantly into many dignified positions in life and beholden to President Tinubu who is seen as the architect of their elevated positions. The 51 year-old Muri-Okunola, fondly called HMO by friends and associates, was said to be so meticulous while serving as the Personal Assistant to the then Governor Tinubu. He was regarded as one of the architects of modern Lagos and an influential person in government affairs. HMO, a trained lawyer and administrator was later promoted to the position of the Head of Service by then Governor Akinwumi Ambode in 2018 after a stint at the Ministry of Lands.
Like the royal fathers —Elegushi and Oniru— HMO is another individual so close to the heart of President Tinubu. And the three of them remain very close today. And it gets better as one of them —HMO— is back with major influence in the Presidency as the Principal Private Secretary to the President, their godfather. HMO’s appointment is seen as a vantage positioning that comes with tremendous advantage. It is a development that re-opens direct access to the President. And indeed, as he settles in his new responsibility, sources said Muri-Okunola is fast becoming the new go-to person in the Presidency.
