Political Family: 5 members of Tinubu’s inner circle who have held government office

President Bola Tinubu isn’t the only member of his family with a government résumé. Between blood relatives and in-laws, the extended Tinubu family has held office across Lagos State, the federal government, and Nigeria’s diplomatic corps. Here are five of them:

1. Bola Tinubu — Senator (1992–1993), Governor of Lagos State (1999–2007), President (2023–present)

Tinubu’s own political career began in the Third Republic, when he was elected to the Senate representing Lagos West under the Social Democratic Party in 1992, a tenure cut short by military intervention in 1993. He returned to elected office in 1999, winning the Lagos State governorship and serving two terms until 2007, before going on to become national leader of the APC and, in 2023, President of Nigeria. Like Osun’s Governor Adeleke, Tinubu has also briefly held a second office concurrently with the presidency: he was named Minister of Petroleum Resources in August 2023, a portfolio he holds alongside the presidency to this day.

2. Oluremi Tinubu — Senator for Lagos Central (2011–2023), First Lady of Nigeria (2023–present)

The president’s wife had her own independent political career well before he became president. She served as First Lady of Lagos State throughout her husband’s governorship, then won election to the Senate herself, representing Lagos Central from 2011 to 2023 — a 12-year run that ended only when she stepped down following her husband’s election as president.

3. Adegboyega Oyetola — Governor of Osun State (2018–2022), Minister of Marine and Blue Economy (2023–present)

Tinubu’s cousin, Oyetola previously served as Chief of Staff to Tinubu during his Lagos governorship, before winning the Osun State governorship himself in 2018. He lost his 2022 re-election bid to Ademola Adeleke, but returned to public office the following year when President Tinubu appointed him to the federal cabinet, first briefly as Minister of Transportation, before that portfolio was split and he was moved to head the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

4. Oyetunde Oladimeji Ojo — Managing Director/CEO, Federal Housing Authority (2024–present)

The president’s son-in-law — husband to Tinubu’s eldest daughter, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, Iyaloja General of Nigeria — is a former federal lawmaker in his own right. In 2024, he was appointed Managing Director and CEO of the Federal Housing Authority, putting him in charge of one of the government’s key national housing agencies.

5. Lola Akande — Lagos State Commissioner (2015–2023), Ambassador-Designate to Sweden (2026–present)

The First Lady’s own sister, Akande built her political career in Lagos well before her sister married Tinubu , serving two terms in the Lagos State House of Assembly before her appointment as a commissioner, most recently for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. In March 2026, President Tinubu approved her posting as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to Sweden, extending the family’s reach into the country’s diplomatic corps.