Thursday April 30, 2026
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The political atmosphere within the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has intensified following the endorsement of Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, as the party’s consensus governorship candidate for the 2027 elections by the Governance Advisory Council (GAC).

The GAC, described as the apex advisory body of the Lagos APC, announced the decision on Tuesday through its Chairman, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, who said the endorsement was unanimous and reflected collective confidence in Hamzat’s leadership capacity.

“We have adopted, we have all agreed, that Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, the current deputy governor of our state, is the consensus candidate of our party. And we have all pledged to stand by him,” Olusi said.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu also backed the position, while further indicating that members of the GAC would support Hamzat’s nomination financially. The development came just a day after Sanwo-Olu publicly declared support for his deputy, and days after similar endorsements from other influential party figures, including Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the lawmaker representing Ikeja Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, James Falake.

However, the move has triggered pushback from other aspirants within the party, particularly the camp of Abdul’Aziz Adediran (Jandor), who insists that the APC’s official position remains that of direct primaries.

Speaking through his media aide, Gbenga Ogunleye, on Wednesday, Jandor maintained that while party leaders are entitled to their opinions, no decision contrary to the party’s directive on primaries has been formally adopted.

“This is still within the rights of these respected leaders as party leaders. You know we are in a democratic setting,” Ogunleye told THE WHISTLER.

“But one thing still remains: the party, All Progressive Congress in Nigeria and in Lagos state, have officially stated that all the elective positions will be decided through direct primary.”

He stressed that consensus can only be valid if agreed upon by all aspirants and formally ratified by the party structure.

“When the decision to go for primary was made, it was the chairman of the party that announced it. So if that decision will change, then it is also the chairman of the party (that must announced it),” he added.

Ogunleye further argued that aspirants, including Jandor, are already mobilising for the primaries and preparing to purchase nomination forms in line with the party’s guidelines.

“Candidates are getting the forms,” he said .

“It is the party that should now issue a statement to say that we are no longer doing primaries. We are doing consensus.

“By then, any aspirant who now says no to the party, that is when you can now tag it defying the party or going confrontational. But as long as the party has given instruction that we are having primaries, then anybody who is actually interested in contesting, and not just a pretender, must go ahead in line with the directive of the party. This is what Jandor is doing.”

Meanwhile, another aspirant, Samuel Ajose, has also faulted the consensus arrangement, describing it as premature and lacking broad agreement among contenders.

Speaking on Channels Television programme on Tuesday, Ajose insisted that no aspirant should be excluded from a competitive primary process.

“We understand what consensus means. Consensus says that every aspirant who has picked the party and nomination form must consent to it. We don’t know why Hamzat is scared of going into the primaries,” he said, urging the party to allow members test their popularity at the polls.

Ajose also dismissed recent endorsements, alleging that they do not reflect a fully inclusive party process and warning against what he described as a “kangaroo endorsement.”

Efforts to reach the Lagos APC Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, for comment were unsuccessful as his phone line was unreachable.

However, in earlier statements, Ojelabi had maintained that the party has no anointed candidate and would rely primarily on direct primaries, while not ruling out consensus where freely agreed upon by all stakeholders.

“Our main focus is the process of electing the candidates who will fly our party’s flag in the next election.

“I wish to state categorically that all the available positions are open for contest, as the party has no anointed candidate for any seat,” he had said in a statement.

With endorsements piling up for Hamzat on one hand and resistance from other aspirants on the other, the Lagos APC will be bracing for a contentious build-up to the 2027 governorship race.

*The WHISTLER