President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally endorsed Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat as the All Progressives Congress (APC) consensus candidate for the 2027 governorship election in the state.
Mr Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this on Wednesday in a post on X, stating that the endorsement was made during a meeting with members of the Lagos Governance Advisory Council (GAC), led by Tajudeen Olusi, alongside Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
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The development further consolidates Mr Hamzat’s position within the ruling party ahead of the 2027 elections, coming days after Governor Sanwo-Olu publicly backed his deputy for the top job in Lagos, according to an earlier report by PREMIUM TIMES.
In a separate post on X, Mr Hamzat confirmed the endorsement, describing it as a vote of confidence by the president and leader of the party.
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The deputy governor added that he remains committed to sustaining the developmental foundation laid by President Tinubu in Lagos, noting that the state is an ongoing project with more work ahead.
“I am indeed very grateful for the vote of confidence and endorsement. I am fully aware of the responsibility it carries. I am enthusiastic and looking forward to continuing on the good work and the foundation the President has laid in Lagos State.
“Lagos State is an ongoing project because we are the yardstick for development and progress. There is still a lot of work ahead, we have an election to win and a legacy to protect. I therefore remain focused on the journey ahead,” he wrote.
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Candidates in Lagos APC are selected either through consensus led by party leaders, especially the GAC, or through formal primaries as provided by party rules. While some contests, including the 2015 and 2018 governorship races, were competitive, endorsements by party leaders often shape outcomes before the vote, giving consensus candidates an advantage.
Mr Hamzat previously contested for the Lagos APC governorship ticket, including the 2015 primary against Akinwunmi Ambode, which he lost, and the 2018 contest where he stepped down for Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who went on to win the nomination and the election.
Meanwhile, despite the wide endorsements Mr Hamzat has received, a former governorship candidate in Lagos State, Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, has purchased APC’s Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms to contest for the party’s governorship ticket.
Mr Adediran, who was the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in 2023, defected to the APC last year. He has repeatedly called for a competitive primary election in the APC, campaigning against the adoption of “an annointed candidate”, in the lead-up to the 2027 general elections.
But Mr Adediran is the only one known yet to have defied the endorsements of Mr Hamzat by going ahead to obtain nomination forms to jostle for the party’s governorship ticket with him.
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