Tinubu's first reaction when he was rumored to be the owner of Oriental Hotel

Babatunde Raji Fashola, Minister of Works and Housing has once again reiterated that the Oriental Hotel in Lagos is not owned by President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The former Lagos governor made this known in an interview on Channels TV where he spoke on a wide range of issues including the just-ended election that saw his principal emerge as the winner.

Recall that there have been rife rumors that Tinubu, who was governor of Lagos State is the owner of the popular hotel located at the Lekki - Epe Expressway in Victoria Island.

"Tinubu doesn't own the Oriental Hotel in Lagos. You know when that story broke, Dele Alake was his image maker and he said then, boss, this story is making the rounds, I should go and deny it and he said no," Fashola said.

Tinubu on the other hand has had cause to deny the ownership of the hotel. Not only did he deny owning Oriental Hotel, he denied the ownership of other assets linked to him.

Speaking in a documentary posted to Twitter by Jibril Gawat, @Mr_JAGs, an aide to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Tinubu said, contrary to the allegation that he owned the hotel and other assets, he created an economic pathway for Lagos.

Tinubu said, “Oriental Hotel was a refuse dump, miles of refuse along that corridor. It took several months of excavation and great investment for those investors to take the risk.

“Majority of those assets they claim are mine are not mine. I create(ed) economic path, a recovery path for Lagos.”

NBA