Why Sanwo-Olu Picked Hamzat as Successor

Eshioromeh Sebastian

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday endorsed his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Kadri Hamzat, to succeed him in the 2027 governorship election.

The endorsement came during a closed-door session at Lagos House, Marina, attended by members of the State Executive Council and the Governor’s Advisory Council.

No other individual has openly declared interest in the APC governorship ticket. This marks the first time since Nigeria returned to civil rule in 1999 that a sitting Lagos governor has endorsed his deputy as successor.

Central to Sanwo-Olu’s decision is what he described as President Bola Tinubu’s long-term vision for Lagos.

Sanwo-Olu revealed that Tinubu once told both of them that he saw a 16-year journey for Lagos.

With Sanwo-Olu completing eight years by 2027, Hamzat’s emergence would extend the political lineage from Tinubu through Fashola, Ambode, Sanwo-Olu, to Hamzat.

The Sanwo-Olu-Hamzat relationship predates their joint ticket by 14 years. In 2005, when Hamzat was first appointed commissioner by Tinubu, who was then governor of Lagos, it was Sanwo-Olu who took him round the ministries.

Hamzat said he had never met Sanwo-Olu before that appointment and never knew their relationship would grow to this extent.

Both men later served in former Governor Babatunde Fashola’s cabinet, where they sat next to each other. Sanwo-Olu recalled that no cabinet memo would pass without their input.

When Sanwo-Olu picked his governorship form eight years ago, Hamzat had picked his own form two days earlier. Instead of competing, they merged and ran on a joint ticket.

After their 2019 victory, Sanwo-Olu said Lagosians were getting the price of two for one, referring to Hamzat as a potential governor.

In Nigerian politics, deputy governors are often dismissed as spare tyres. Hamzat directly addressed this, saying that while most people refer to deputy governors as spare tyres, he has never felt or been treated as one under Sanwo-Olu.

Sanwo-Olu reinforced this, stating that many governors look for weak deputies, but that was not for him.

He said from day one of his governorship, he wanted the best partner. He added that there is no meeting he could attend that Hamzat is not fit and proper to attend, citing Hamzat’s skills, temperament and temerity.

Sanwo-Olu also disclosed that other governors at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum have privately praised Hamzat’s intelligence.Before the endorsement, Hamzat conducted a series of consultations.

He met with GAC chairman Alhaji Tajudeen Olusi and Alhaji Busura Alebiosu. Days earlier, he had met separately with Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila, former Finance Minister Olawale Edun, and Senator Tokunbo Abiru.

On April 15, GAC chairman Olusi publicly referred to Hamzat as the incoming Governor of Lagos during an event at the MUSON Centre, describing him as a son of the soil and a cousin from Egbe.

President Bola Tinubu remains the ultimate decider in Lagos succession politics. Every candidate he has supported for governor since 1999 has won.

However, the 2023 presidential election exposed vulnerabilities. Despite Tinubu winning the presidency nationally, Lagos State fell to the Labour Party in the presidential vote.

This loss continues to haunt APC stakeholders, who have vowed to prevent a repeat in 2027.

Some party insiders blame Sanwo-Olu for failing to deliver Lagos to Tinubu in 2023. Others point to the January 2025 speakership crisis, when Sanwo-Olu reportedly backed the removal of Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker of the Lagos Assembly, a move Tinubu viewed as an unmitigated affront. Obasa was eventually reinstated.

The Hamzat endorsement is widely seen as having Tinubu’s blessing. His formal endorsement is expected before the APC primary.No other aspirant has openly declared interest.

Former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode served only one term after falling out with Tinubu.

Mudashiru Obasa, the Speaker, has a strained relationship with Sanwo-Olu, who reportedly backed his removal as Speaker, making a joint ticket impossible. Seyi Tinubu, the president’s son, had been subject to speculation, but the GAC is divided on perceptions of dynasty-building in a politically sophisticated state like Lagos.

Hamzat holds a PhD in System Process Engineering from Cranfield University in England. He has served as a two-term deputy governor and a former commissioner.

He is also the son of the late respected politician Chief Hamzat. Sanwo-Olu said Lagos will not be handed over to charlatans testing their luck. He said Hamzat knows every part of Lagos and is the best man for the job.

Hamzat said Lagos is very important to the well-being of Nigeria. He said if anything happens to Lagos, the country will collapse. He said Lagos must not be drawn back from the progressive path it has been taken.

He pledged to fight any battle and endure any hardship to protect the state from people who do not mean well.President Tinubu is expected to give his official blessing before the APC primary election, where Hamzat’s candidacy is expected to be affirmed.

For Hamzat, the seven-year apprenticeship is ending. The man who was once taken on a tour of ministries by a commissioner named Babajide Sanwo-Olu now stands poised to inherit the most powerful governorship in Nigeria.