Trump sacks Gatwick Airport owner Bayo Ogunlesi dissolving his business advisory council

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has sacked Nigerian-born businessman and the owner of Gatwick Airport Adebayo Ogunlesi who he recently appointed as a member of one of his business advisory council.

Earlier this year, President Trump named Mr Ogunlesi as a member of one of two councils set up to advice him on how to make America great again. Yesterday, President Trump dissolved both business advisory councils, in one fell swoop, sacking all of its members, most of whom are high-flying businessmen.

Mr Ogunlesi was a member of Strategic and Policy Forum, one of the two groups, which President Trump established alongside the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative Council. Praised as the only African on either council, Mr Ogunlesi, heads Global Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm and one of Fortune 500 companies.

Over the last week, President Trump has earned a rebuke and isolation from business leaders for supporting racial bigotry, white supremacists and the Klu Klux Klan, following his remarks that failed to blame the tragic violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. In his response to the incident, President Trump blamed all the sides, saying anti-racist groups were equally guilty of violence.

Kenneth Frazier of Merck, Kevin Plank of Under Armour and Brian Krzanich of Intel were the first to resign from the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative Council. They resigned on Monday because President Trump was slow to condemn the white supremacists during the weekend and blamed sides for the violence.

When  President Trump moderated his tone on Monday by saying racism is evil and condemning neo-Nazis, he did not assuage some of the business leaders working with him. Scott Paul, the president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, an organisation backed by the steel industry and the United Steelworkers resigned, followed on Tuesday by Richard Trumka and Thea Lee, the president and deputy chief of staff for the union group AFL-CIO.