This is the biography of Obafemi Hamzat Kadri, the deputy governor of Lagos State who has now been tipped as the 2027 governorship candidate of Lagos under the All Progressive Congress, and might succeed current governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, ENigeria Newspaper reports.
Obafemi Hamzat’s Background
Obafemi Hamzat was born on September 19, 1964, in Lagos, Nigeria, into the family of the late Alhaja Kehinde Hamzat, a resident of Iga Egbe, Lagos state, and the late Oba Mufutau Olatunji Hamzat.
Hamzat’ father was also a promiment personality who, before rising to the position of vice-chairman SW of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), was a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly and the state’s Commissioner for Transportation from 1979 to 1983. Through his maternal royal ancestry, Olatunji Hamzat became a crowned king and the leader of the Action Congress for the Lagos West Senatorial District.
Obafemi Hamzat was a pupil of Odu-Abore Memorial Elementary School in Mushin, Lagos State, Nigeria before he moved to Olivet Baptist High School in Oyo State for his secondary school education. In 1986, he earned a degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Ibadan. He got more education in 1988 when he earned a master’s degree in the same course of study.
He then completed his doctorate in system process engineering at Cranefield University in England in 1992.
Obafemi Hamzat State of Origin
Hamzat hails from Lagos Island Local Government of Lagos State, though he spent his formative and political years at Mushin Local Goverment.
Obafemi Hamzat Career and Work Experience
His career spanned across several multi-national companies and industries including RTP Consulting Services, Columbia University, Merrill Lynch Inc, Morgan Stanley and Oando Plc. That is, he worked in England and United States of America before he berthed at Oando Plc, as Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Group Head, IT Strategy of Oando Plc, Lagos.
However, his political portfolio is even bigger. He began his foray into politics when he was named Commissioner for Science and Technology in August 2005 by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was then the governor of Lagos State. When Governor Babatunde Fashola took office in 2007, he kept his job.
In 2015, after the tenure of former Governor Babatunde Fashola elapsed but was appointed Minister for Works, Power and Housing by President Muhammad Buhari, Obafemi Hamzat was named Special Advisor on Works to him (Minister Babatunde Fashola). He, however, left that position in September 2018 to run in the primaries for the post of governor of Lagos State and later voluntarily stepped down .
Following his victory at the polls, Sanwo-Olu was handed over a Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) along with Dr. Obafemi Hamzat as Deputy Governor of Lagos State on March 10, 2019.
In 2023, he also returned as the deputy to Sanwo-Olu who secured a return to office, making him the first deputy to spend two consecutive years in office in Lagos state.
Age
Having being born on the 19th September, 1964, Hamzat is currently aged 61 years.
Marriage
Hamzat is married to Oluremi Hazmat whom he said he met while he was an undergraduate at the University of Ibadan, first at a symposium and secondly at an inaugural lecture by a professor in U.I.
As of 2019, the duo has two kids together.
Controversies
Sometimes ago in 2023, Olubusayo Fasidi, a U.S. immigration attorney, claimed that Obafemi Hamzat, the deputy governor of Lagos, swore an oath of loyalty in the United States to renounce his Nigerian citizenship.
Olumide Ayeni (SAN), the petitioner’s attorney, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party, led her in testimony.
Also in 2023, Obafemi Hamzat denied internet rumors that his office received more than N2 billion for the purchase of refrigerators, rechargeable fans, and lights. The deputy governor’s office revealed in an internal communication to the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency that it received N2 million instead of the N2 billion that was stated.
Countdown to 2027 elections
With the countdown to the 2027 elections gradually garnering momentum, the Lagos APC Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) has reportedly sealed a consensus candidate following a closed door meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a few days back.
Acording to those privy to the political corridors of Lagos the the GAC favoured Obafemi Hamzat as the next Governor of Lagos, this is as support for the Lagos politicians continues to soar in the last couple of day
ENigeria Newspaper understands that one prominent politicians who has publicly thrown weight behind Hamzat’s candidacy is James Faleke, a member of the House of Representatives who represents the Ikeja Federal Constituency. The lawmaker has endorsed Obafemi Hamzat, the current deputy governor of Lagos State, as the state’s next governor in a message on his official X (previously Twitter) account on Friday.
As preparations for the May party primaries get underway, Faleke called on his fans and members of the All Progressive Congress in the Ikeja Federal Constituency and throughout Lagos State.
