2027: Hamzat appoints Obanikoro as campaign DG

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

The All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in the 2027, and incumbent Lagos Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat, KOH, has appointed Senator Musiliu Obanikoro as Director-General of his campaign team.

The appointment is viewed as consolidating Hamzat’s push for the APC ticket with strong support of President Bola Tinubu, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and key elders of the Governance Advisory Council, GAC led by Pa.Tajudeen Olusi’s, endorsement.

Hamzat’s campaign structure crystallized after he submitted his expression of interest and nomination forms at the APC national secretariat in Abuja on Thursday, May 29, 2026.

Obanikoro, ex-Minister of State for Defence and Lagos Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governorship candidate in 2007, was present alongside Senator Ganiyu Solomon, popularly called GOS, Chief of Staff to Mr President, Femi Gbajabiamila, House of Representatives member, James Faleke, Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, and other APC leaders during the submission.

Obanikoro has been one of the frontline faces and coordinators of Hamzat’s pre-primary consultations team, appearing in almost every strategic meeting since April 13.

He brings cross-party reach and grassroots machinery. A former PDP chieftain, ambassador, and two-time senator, he defected to APC in 2017.

His presence signals Hamzat’s attempt to unify old PDP structures, Justice Forum, and Mandate Group blocs.

He told party leaders Hamzat’s pedigree ensures “Lagos will continue to soar.”

“The truth of the matter is that if Lagos fails, Nigeria will have problems and we must not fail.

“We must ensure that what happened in 2023 should not happen again in 2027. We must ensure a resounding victory for our leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the next election and ensure a similar victory for APC in Lagos.”

Obanikoro had accompanied Hamzat to visit GAC leader, Olusi, Gbajabiamila, Obasa, and Ikorodu division elders, including ex-Deputy Governor Prince Abiodun Ogunleye and ex-Minister Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe.

He was also there when Hamzat got the royal blessing of Oba of Lagos, Rilwanu Akiolu, who described the govern’ship candidate as the “best man for the job” in Lagos, among other prominent personalities.

At Gbajabiamila’s residence, Obanikoro formally introduced the campaign’s scope. “I can confidently tell the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu that the level of endorsement has been overwhelming”, he said, while soliciting Gbajabiamila’s support for Hamzat as a “seasoned politician well grounded in Lagos politics”.

Gbajabiamila told Hamzat: “Dr. Hamzat, you’re a man of honour… I am saying it publicly that you can take me for granted because I have confidence in your ability and capacity. So, take my support for granted. My constituency, Surulere, is for you and Lagos is for you.”

Ditto at Obasa’s residence, Obanikoro declared: “Any sincere mind that can interrogate the pedigree of Hamzat will know that Lagos is in good hands. Lagos must not decline, but must grow higher and higher, and with Dr. Hamzat to be at the helm of affairs, Lagos will continue to soar higher and higher.”

Obasa said, “Hamzat is APC candidate, next Lagos governor,” he said Thursday during Hamzat’s visit. “I had discussions with those that matter, but the conclusion is that Hamzat will carry the banner of the party. Hamzat’s candidature has been sealed.”

APC Lagos Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi said: “We support you, we trust you, and we are very confident of your competency and humility.”

Earlier, during May Day rally, the Lagos Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and Trade Union Congress, TUC, also endorsed Hamzat.

Hamzat’s team has also stepped- up consultations by engaging media executives across board, selling his programmes and agenda for the people of the State home and abroad.

Other campaign team include; GAC Secretary Mutiu Are, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, Bode Oyedele, Dr. Adekunle Olayinka, and Hakeem Shittu.

KOH emergence

Hamzat, after his declaration as APC Governorship flagbearer, in his acceptance speech, expressed appreciation to his principal, Governor Sanwo-Olu for his contributions to the development of the State and the party.

In his lengthy acceptance speech, KOH said in part, “I extend my greetings to Senators and members of the House of Representatives., all members of Governance Advisory Council, GAC. I thank Chairman of the electoral committee and everyone.

“I want to thank God for the grace, the APC, and President Bola Tinubu.

“With humility I accept the candidacy of APC in the upcoming elections in 2027.

“You will not regret the confidence repose in me and my capacity,”

The prospects of someone like KOH emerging the next Lagos governor cannot be more fortuitous. With the formidable President BolaTinubu machine, nowhere does securing the APC ticket offer a more guaranteed path to electoral victory in the general elections than Lagos.

With an estimated 25 million people literally crammed onto a space that is less than 4,000 square kilometres (a quarter of which is water anyway), Lagos arguably ranks as one of the densest in population per square meter on earth.

Of course, managing a human colony of such heft and complexities sustainably in the times ahead is certainly not for a rookie or a charlatan. It surely requires an experience, dogged character.

The strategic leverage of Lagos needs no further elaboration in the context of the Nigerian federation. Whereas Abuja may be the symbolic crown, Lagos is the ultimate jewel. Reason the question of who leads it is a matter of critical national importance.

Prior to his eventual election, KOH enjoyed a defining endorsement by the stakeholders. Within the powerful inner circle of the Governance Advisory Council, GAC, the custodians of continuity and arbiters of succession, the consensus decision was firmly sealed on Hamzat.

The standard-bearer of the APC in Lagos State has emerged in Hamzat, a man whose journey has been characterized not by noise but by discipline, a dint of systemic quiet work.

At 61, heading to hit 62, KOH represents a political technocrat with intellectual weight and administrative precision, a patient strategist in a space where ambition often roars.

Hamzat, twice, at various crossroads, suspended his own gubernatorial aspirations, allowing others, including the incumbent, to ascend in what analysts best described as a deliberate stoop to conquer, an understanding that in Lagos, timing is everything, and loyalty is never forgotten.

KOH’s ambition is also considered as payback time based on the crucial role of his father in the early political trajectory of President Tinubu. Hamzat late father, Oba Mufutau Olatunji Hamzat, was not merely a participant in Lagos politics; he was a force within it.

A legislator, Commissioner for Transportation, party leader, and ultimately a monarch in Ogun State from maternal lineage, Oba Hamzat’s influence cut across governance and tradition.

He was crucial among the early pillars that supported the emergence of Tinubu’s senatorial ambition, a feat that still reverberates within the APC’s current power architecture.

Originally headhunted from Morgan Stanley (a notable address in U.S. financial community) by then Governor Tinubu in 2004, KOH’s first meeting with “Jagaban” was quite dramatic. Locked in a boardroom filled with ‘white faces’, the single black stood out. Upon introducing himself, a curious Tinubu asked: “Which Hamzat are you.”

On the spot, Tinubu persuaded him to return home and lend his talent to help rebuild Lagos. He approached the father with conviction for his son to return home and partake in the development of Lagos State which is about to come to fruition as number one in the saddle of authority.

Upon arrival at Alausa, KOH immediately imprinted his signature of excellence on Lagos’ financial architecture. He oversaw the development and application of Oracle system that completely revolutionised the government’s financial records.

In Lagos, it is believed that legacy does not guarantee power, but it opens doors that others may never even find.

He is not a stranger to governance; he is a product of it. From his days as commissioner under the Tinubu administration, through his strategic proximity to Babatunde Fashola, both in Lagos and at the Federal level, to his current role alongside Sanwo-Olu, his journey reflects over two decades of consistent, high-level public service with more than 21 years in governance, across ministries, advisory roles, and executive leadership within Lagos, and beyond it.

Few contenders can match that depth. Fewer still can rival its continuity. Add to this his formidable academic pedigree, culminating in a doctorate earned from top universities abroad and at home.

Politics, as widely believed, is not only about competence, but also about alignment and popular validation which KOH is believed to possess.

On zoning alone, KOH stands on firm ground. As a son of Lagos West, the most populous senatorial district, his candidacy satisfies longstanding expectations of rotational balance.

On religion also, he aligns with growing calls within the Muslim community for equitable representation at the highest level of state leadership.

The major challenge which is seem as a stain on the current administration is the worrying issues of waste management which has continued to defy solutions. The issue necessitated the return of monthly environmental sanitation exercise to complement current efforts in tackling the menace.

Overall, while the challenges of governance in Lagos may appear daunting, analysts believed that KOH has undoubtedly demonstrated he possesses the requisite skill-set to make the right choices if given the golden opportunity by electorate to succeed Sanwo-Olu in 2027.

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