Former Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate Abdulazeez Adediran, also known as Jandor, has claimed that speculations that President Bola Tinubu has backed Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat as the favoured All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for the 2027 Lagos governorship election are untrue.
Jandor, who contested under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) alongside veteran actress Funke Akindele, insisted that Hamzat had not made a formal declaration of interest or received a presidential support.
Jandor, who is currently running for the same seat with the APC, made the comments on Monday’s Politics on Channels Television. opposing the increasingly prevalent belief that Hamzat had already won the governoship race today. Jandor contended that if such a choice had been taken, candidates like himself would have been the first to receive official notification.
“He hasn’t even said to us himself that he is running. He is the deputy governor of Lagos, qualified, with over 20 years of experience in that space”, the former PDP man said.
“No, the President hasn’t endorsed anyone. I am an aspirant, and we are a few people also gunning for this. We will be the first set of people to know if there is anything like that because communication will come.
“As we speak, the party says it’s going to be direct primaries. If tomorrow it says this is what we are doing, we will fall in line. The party is supreme. Absolutely, because if you don’t believe in yourself, nobody will believe in you. When the President was running for the ticket, he came out to say he wanted to run,” he said.
Lagos 2027 governorship race
As Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu completes his last term, the contest for the 2027 Lagos governorship is intensifying.
Hamzat, former governor Akinwunmi Ambode, senator Tokunbo Abiru, presidential assistant Hakeem Muri-Okunola, chief of staff to the president Femi Gbajabiamila, and minister of education Tunji Alausa are among those rumored to be interested in the role.
However, there are speculations that the Lagos State Governors’ Advisory Council (GAC) has endorsed deputy governor Obafemi Hamzat after it reportedly sealed a consensus candidate following a closed door meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Acording to those privy to the political corridors of Lagos, 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 weeks.
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.
