EXCLUSIVE: Chief of Staff To Lagos Governor, Tayo Ayinde’s Corporate Web and Millions in Personal Transfers Exposed

Corporate filings and banking records examined by Metropolix Online raise questions about the private business interests and financial transactions linked to one of the most powerful officials in the Lagos State Government.

— Hon. Tayo Ayinde with Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu

By St. Johnson Adegboyega

A network of private companies, corporate directorships and multimillion-naira financial transactions linked to Tayo Akinmade Ayinde, the Chief of Staff to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has come under scrutiny following an examination of corporate records and banking trails by Metropolix.

The records reviewed by this newspaper reveal a web of companies in which Ayinde and members of his family are listed as directors or key figures, alongside transactions involving corporate and personal bank accounts associated with him and his former wife.

The findings raise questions about compliance with provisions of Nigeria’s Code of Conduct for Public Officers, particularly those relating to participation in private businesses and potential conflicts between public responsibilities and private interests.

Ayinde, born on August 24, 1964, in Alausa, Ikeja, has served as Chief of Staff to Governor Sanwo-Olu since May 2019 and was retained when the governor commenced his second term.

A Corporate Network

Corporate Affairs Commission records examined by Metropolix show Ayinde as a director or significant figure in several private companies, with a number of them registered at No. 5, Ladoke Akintola Street, G.R.A., Ikeja, Lagos.

Among them is Infinity-Plus Nigeria Limited (RC 629947), incorporated on July 28, 2005. Corporate filings list Tayo Akinmade Ayinde and Ayinde Samuel Akinmade as directors.

Banking information reviewed in connection with the company identifies a First Bank account and a Polaris Bank account, with the latter bearing a telephone number and registered address corresponding with information associated with Ayinde.

Another company, Marvelous General Business Limited (RC 740823), was incorporated on April 10, 2008, at the same address. Its directors include Tayo Akinmade Ayinde, Ayinde Titilola Mercy, Ayinde Damilola, Ayinde Oyinkansola Oluwatimilehin and Ayinde Abiola Olanrewaju.

The corporate trail extends to the hospitality sector.

Watercress Hotel International Limited (RC 983308), incorporated on September 29, 2011, and Watercress Metro Hotel Limited (RC 983255) both list Ayinde and Samuel Akinmade among their directors.

Other companies in which Ayinde and/or Samuel Akinmade appear include Infinity Luxury Apartments Limited (RC 857165), incorporated in 2009, and Trip Payless Limited (RC 1532587), incorporated in 2018.

Clapton Independent School Limited (RC 1387714) also lists Ayinde Tayo Akinmade as a director, with his appointment recorded in February 2023 alongside Ebiai Christiana Irekhia.

The corporate network also extends beyond Nigeria. A United Kingdom-registered company, Overland Cars Ltd, is associated with the wider family business network identified in the records reviewed.

The Watercress Expansion

One of the most visible interests connected to the network is the Watercress hospitality business in Ikeja.

Watercress Hotel & Suites operates as an established hospitality facility and has hosted political and official gatherings. In 2026, the hotel hosted a courtesy visit by the APC Youth Network West Africa, during which Ayinde was reportedly honoured with the title of Life Patron.

The business has also embarked on an ambitious expansion programme.

In 2025, the company, through Executive Director Samuel Ayinde, announced a franchise agreement with IHG Hotels & Resorts for the development of a 119-room Crowne Plaza Lagos Ikeja.

The proposed hotel is scheduled to open in early 2028 and is expected to be managed in partnership with Valor Hospitality Partners.

The development represents a significant expansion of the hospitality interests associated with the Ayinde family network.

The Multimillion-Naira Transfers

The banking records examined by Metropolix provide another significant dimension to the investigation.

Three transactions involving the Polaris Bank account associated with Infinity-Plus Nigeria Limited stand out.

On June 17, 2015, the company transferred N80 million to a personal account belonging to Ayinde Titilayo, identified in the records reviewed as Ayinde’s former wife.

In 2016, the same corporate account received N20 million from a personal account bearing the name Tayo Akinmade Ayinde.

Then, on December 3, 2019, several months after Ayinde assumed office as Chief of Staff, Infinity-Plus Nigeria Limited transferred N13 million from the corporate account into an account associated with Ayinde personally.

The transactions therefore span periods both before and after Ayinde’s appointment as Chief of Staff in 2019.

The records reviewed by Metropolix do not, on their own, establish the purpose of each transaction or whether the transfers were connected to legitimate business dealings, personal obligations, loans, reimbursements or other arrangements.

However, their value and movement between corporate and personal accounts raise questions that warrant scrutiny, particularly given Ayinde’s position as a senior public officer.

What Does the Code of Conduct Say?

The Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, requires public officers to submit written declarations of their properties, assets and liabilities to the Code of Conduct Bureau upon taking office, at the end of every four years and at the end of their tenure.

The Code also provides restrictions on the involvement of public officers in private businesses.

Paragraph 2(b) of Part I states that a public officer shall not, except where permitted by the Constitution, “engage or participate in the management or running of any private business, profession or trade.”

The Code further requires public officers to avoid situations in which their personal interests conflict with their official duties and responsibilities.

It also contains provisions concerning properties or assets acquired after the required declaration where such assets cannot reasonably be attributed to lawful income, approved gifts or loans.

The Unanswered Questions

The central question arising from the records is not simply whether the companies exist or whether the transactions occurred.

It is whether the business interests, directorships, assets and financial movements associated with Ayinde have been appropriately declared and managed in accordance with the constitutional obligations imposed on public officers.

Metropolix found no publicly available record confirming whether the companies, hospitality interests or specific financial transactions examined in this investigation were included in Ayinde’s asset declarations filed with the Code of Conduct Bureau.

That absence of publicly accessible information does not, by itself, establish that the interests or transactions were undeclared or unlawful.

It does, however, leave important questions unanswered.

At the Centre of Lagos Power

As Chief of Staff, Ayinde occupies one of the most influential positions within the Lagos State executive structure.

He operates at the centre of government, playing a key role in coordinating policy implementation and serving as an important link between the governor and the wider machinery of government.

Against that backdrop, the existence of longstanding corporate directorships, a growing hospitality business network and multimillion-naira movements between corporate and personal accounts deserves public attention.

The companies identified in the corporate records remain active, while the hospitality interests associated with the network continue to expand, including the proposed Crowne Plaza Lagos Ikeja development.

For now, the records establish a clear corporate and financial trail.

What remains unresolved is whether that trail is entirely consistent with the obligations imposed on a senior public officer under Nigeria’s constitutional Code of Conduct.

Ayinde has not been found guilty of any offence in relation to the matters contained in this report. The financial transactions and corporate relationships reported here are presented as findings from records examined by Metropolix, and their legal or regulatory implications remain matters for the appropriate authorities to determine.

— WaterCress Hotel; One of his multi-million Naira investments in Lagos

EXCLUSIVE: Chief of Staff To Lagos Governor, Tayo Ayinde’s Corporate Web and Millions in Personal Transfers Exposed