Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reaffimed his believe in his Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat as the man to carry forward the development agenda in Nigeria’s commercial capital.
Presenting Hamzat and his running mate Princess Damilola Sonayon-James to President Tinubu in Abuja, Sanwo-Olu said the APC had chosen “proven hands” for the next phase of leadership in Lagos, describing Hamzat as a dependable partner in governance and Princess Sonayon-James as a grassroots-minded running mate with a record in community development and youth empowerment.
“The true test of sustainable governance is the ability to pass the baton to proven hands, guided by minds that see the future clearly,” Sanwo-Olu said, as he formally unveiled what he described as a ticket that reflects “the strength, diversity, and future” of Lagos State.
He said Hamzat had proven himself to be “a dedicated public servant, a dependable partner in governance and a steadfast advocate for progress,” while Sonayon-James brings the energy and social reach needed to connect with communities across the state.
For Hamzat, the moment marks the culmination of years spent near the centre of power in Lagos. He currently serves as deputy governor and has been part of the Sanwo-Olu administration since 2019.
Before emerging as the APC flag bearer, he had already built a reputation inside the Lagos political structure as a steady technocratic figure with deep experience in governance and policy execution.
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That experience is central to the APC’s argument for his candidacy. Reports around his emergence describe Hamzat as a key figure in infrastructure delivery who previously served as Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure before becoming deputy governor in 2019.
His allies within the ruling party have also pointed to his loyalty to the APC establishment, including his decision to step down his governorship ambition in 2018 to support Sanwo-Olu, a move widely viewed within party circles as an act of discipline that strengthened his standing for the future.
Hamzat’s path to the APC ticket was decisive. According to results announced at the party’s collation centre, he polled 657,917 votes to defeat Olanrewaju Jim-Kamal, who secured one vote, out of 657,974 accredited voters in the primary conducted across Lagos’ 245 wards.
The outcome followed earlier withdrawals by other aspirants and came after support from influential sections of the party, including President Tinubu and party leaders who backed Hamzat as the consensus choice.
The choice of Princess Sonayon-James as running mate adds another layer to the APC’s electoral calculation. She emerged after consultations and a selection process involving party stalwarts across Lagos.
The party described her as a development professional with more than 15 years of experience in public policy, institutional development, sustainability and community engagement. She currently serves as Lagos APC Deputy State Woman Leader and previously worked as Supervisor for Agriculture and Social Services in Badagry West LCDA. Her selection is being read as an attempt to broaden the ticket’s appeal geographically and demographically, particularly among women and young voters.
Politically, Hamzat’s candidacy is significant beyond the personality involved. The APC has governed Lagos continuously since 1999, making the state one of the party’s most important strongholds. But recent elections have shown stronger opposition performances, meaning the next governorship contest is unlikely to be treated as routine.
Against that backdrop, Sanwo-Olu’s presentation of Hamzat is both an endorsement of continuity and an early signal that the ruling party intends to defend Lagos with a candidate it believes combines insider experience, administrative competence and party-wide acceptability.
Sanwo-Olu framed the race in exactly those terms when he called on party faithful, stakeholders and Lagosians to support the Hamzat-Sonayon-James ticket in the “shared mission of building a Greater Lagos.”
For the APC, Hamzat is being sold not as a break from the current order, but as its most tested inheritor — a man the party believes understands the machinery of government, the demands of continuity and the political weight of succeeding in Lagos.
Crediblenewsng.com
