Hamzat’s Growing Institutional Backing and His Date With History
From stepping aside for Sanwo-Olu in 2018 to receiving his principal’s backing seven years later, Obafemi Hamzat’s political journey has come full circle. RAHEEM AKINGBOLU reports There is a point in...
From stepping aside for Sanwo-Olu in 2018 to receiving his principal’s backing seven years later, Obafemi Hamzat’s political journey has come full circle. RAHEEM AKINGBOLU reports
There is a point in every political succession when ambition begins to give way to acceptance. In Lagos, that point has increasingly come into view around Obafemi Hamzat.
What began as a governorship aspiration has, over several months, developed into a succession story marked by endorsements from the Governor he serves, the APC’s senior leadership structures, President Bola Tinubu and a widening circle of political stakeholders.
The sequence matters. In April 2026, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu publicly endorsed his deputy for the 2027 governorship. A day later, the Governance Advisory Council, the influential leadership body within the Lagos APC, adopted Hamzat as its consensus aspirant. On April 29, Tinubu endorsed him, while former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode subsequently declared his support.
The process did not end with endorsements. Hamzat submitted his nomination forms, passed the party’s screening and emerged as the APC’s governorship candidate at its May 21 primary. According to the result announced by the party, he polled 657,917 votes out of 657,974 accredited voters, while his rival, Lanre Jim-Kamal, recorded one vote. Samuel Ajose had withdrawn from the contest before the primary.
Taken together, the developments show how rapidly the succession conversation moved from consultation to formal party nomination. They do not, however, amount to evidence that every Lagosian has accepted Hamzat’s candidacy. Rather, they provide a documented picture of growing institutional and political support within the governing party, alongside continuing efforts to engage wider constituencies.
That distinction matters because Hamzat’s political journey is now being viewed against a very specific historical backdrop.
Since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, no Lagos Deputy Governor has directly succeeded the Governor under whom he or she served.
The office has been occupied by Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, Olufemi Pedro, Abiodun Ogunleye, Sarah Sosan, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and Oluranti Adebule, but none moved directly from the deputy governorship to the governorship.
Hamzat has nevertheless already broken one important pattern. His re-election alongside Sanwo-Olu in 2023 made him the first Lagos Deputy Governor of the Fourth Republic to secure two full terms in office. If he completes the current tenure in 2027, he will have served eight consecutive years as deputy governor, a distinction no previous Lagos deputy has achieved since 1999.
That longevity gives the present succession debate an unusual dimension. Hamzat is not approaching the governorship from outside the administration or after a brief spell as deputy. He is attempting to move directly from the second-highest office in the state into the first, after serving across two administrations and spending years within the machinery of Lagos governance.
His political relationship with Sanwo-Olu adds another layer. In September 2018, when both men were seeking the APC governorship ticket, Hamzat stepped down and endorsed Sanwo-Olu. He said at the time that he could vouch for Sanwo-Olu’s integrity and intelligence. He subsequently accepted the role of running mate, and their joint ticket won the 2019 election.
Seven years later, the positions have effectively reversed. Sanwo-Olu is now the sitting Governor and Hamzat is the candidate seeking to succeed him. More significantly, the Governor has publicly campaigned for his deputy, describing him as fit and ready for the responsibility and pointing to his experience and knowledge of Lagos.
In an environment where succession contests can create tension between a sitting Governor and an ambitious deputy, the Sanwo-Olu-Hamzat partnership has presented a markedly different public picture. The two have maintained a visibly cooperative relationship and are now appearing together in support of Hamzat’s candidacy.
For Hamzat, that relationship also represents a reversal of political history at a personal level. He once surrendered his own governorship ambition to strengthen Sanwo-Olu’s candidacy. Today, Sanwo-Olu is using his political authority to support Hamzat’s attempt to take the next step.
Beyond the Governor, the GAC endorsement was another significant development. The council announced that its members had agreed to support Hamzat under a consensus arrangement, while its leadership disclosed that members had contributed towards the purchase of his nomination form.
Tinubu’s endorsement followed almost immediately. The President’s backing placed Hamzat’s candidacy within the broader political architecture of the Lagos APC, while the subsequent support expressed by Ambode further widened the circle of prominent figures publicly associated with his bid.
There were also signs of support beyond the formal endorsement structure. Hamzat embarked on consultations with senior party figures and stakeholders ahead of the party’s governorship selection, reflecting an effort to consolidate beyond the initial endorsements.
The withdrawal of Samuel Ajose provided another indication of how the internal contest was evolving. Ajose, one of the APC aspirants, withdrew before the primary and backed Hamzat, contributing to the consolidation that preceded the formal nomination.
Hamzat’s credentials have also been central to the narrative. He obtained a BSc in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Ibadan in 1986, an MSc in Crop Processing Engineering in 1988 and a PhD in System Process Engineering from Cranfield University in the United Kingdom in 1992. Before becoming deputy governor, he built experience in both the private sector and public service.
His public-service record has stretched across different phases of Lagos politics. He served as Commissioner for Science and Technology from 2005 and was retained under the administration of Babatunde Fashola. In 2011, he became Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, a position he held until 2015. He later served as Special Adviser on technical matters to Fashola when the latter became Federal Minister of Power, Works and Housing.
That institutional experience has become an important part of the argument advanced by his supporters. Hamzat has spent years within the policy and administrative structures of Lagos, moving from commissioner to deputy governor and eventually becoming the governing party’s candidate for the state’s highest elective office.
That profile should not be confused with universal public acceptance. Lagos remains politically complex, with different interests, communities and opposition parties capable of presenting competing interpretations of the state’s record and its future. Opposition politicians have also raised questions about aspects of Hamzat’s candidacy. Such claims remain part of the political contest and should be distinguished from established facts about his eligibility.
What can be established is that the governing party’s internal process has produced a clear outcome. Hamzat is no longer merely an aspirant seeking recognition. He is the APC’s nominated candidate for the 2027 Lagos governorship election, following a process that moved from consultation and endorsement to screening and a formal primary.
The symbolism of that progression is difficult to separate from the events of 2018. Seven years ago, Hamzat stood aside for Sanwo-Olu after withdrawing from the governorship contest. In 2026, Sanwo-Olu stood beside Hamzat as his principal, publicly endorsed his ambition and supported his emergence as the APC candidate.
It is this unusual political symmetry that gives the present succession debate much of its historical weight. Hamzat has already achieved something no previous Lagos Deputy Governor of the Fourth Republic has done by securing two full terms. He is now seeking to cross a second barrier that has remained intact since 1999.
The broader significance lies in what his candidacy represents for the Lagos succession system. For more than two decades, the deputy governorship has been an important position, but it has not served as a direct route to the governorship. Hamzat’s emergence has reopened the question of whether that pattern is permanent or whether it can be altered.
His growing acceptance, therefore, is best understood not simply as a collection of endorsements but as a convergence of relationships built over many years. His service under different administrations, his partnership with Sanwo-Olu, his standing within the APC leadership structure and his engagement with stakeholders have all become part of the narrative surrounding his candidacy.
Yet the historical significance should not obscure the democratic process ahead. Endorsements, consensus arrangements and party primaries determine the candidate who carries a party’s banner. The governorship itself is ultimately decided at the election by voters.
For now, however, the facts mark an unusual moment in Lagos political history. A Deputy Governor who once stepped aside to support the man who became his principal is now the governing party’s candidate seeking to succeed him. He is also the first Lagos Deputy Governor of the Fourth Republic to secure two full terms and the first serving deputy since 1999 to emerge as the governing party’s candidate seeking direct succession to his principal.
The old barrier remains. What has changed is that, for the first time since 1999, a Lagos Deputy Governor approaches it with documented backing from his principal, the governing party’s senior structures and a widening network of stakeholders. Whether that political opening becomes a historical transition is a question the electorate will answer.
