James Faleke, a member of the House of Representatives from Ikeja Federal Constituency, has backed Obafemi Hamzat, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, as the next governor of the state. The election will be held in 2027.
On Friday, Faleke said this in a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
The federal lawmaker told members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his supporters in Ikeja Federal Constituency and all over Lagos State to get behind Hamzat as the party gets ready for its governorship primaries next month.
“Good evening, everyone. As we get ready for the Party primaries next month, I ask all of our supporters in Ikeja Federal Constituency and Lagos State to support Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat as the next Governor of Lagos State from 2027 to 2035 IJN. “Amen!” Faleke said.
Reports say that the APC leadership is thinking about a consensus plan that could make Hamzat the party’s candidate for governor in Lagos State in 2027.
Sources say that this move is part of a larger discussion among party members in the South-West about the next election cycle.
Insiders from the party also said that people in the region are looking at other candidates for important jobs.
One of them is Olamilekan Adeola, also known as Yayi, who is the senator for Ogun West and the head of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He is said to be the favorite to win the Ogun State governorship race.
People in the party are also backing Senator Sharafadeen Alli, who represents Oyo South Senatorial District, in the race for governor of Oyo State.
A meeting between President Bola Tinubu and APC members from Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo states on March 23 in Lagos is said to have led to the reported consensus choices.
The PUNCH learned from people who were there that the meeting was mostly about party strategy and picking candidates for the next general elections.
One of the sources, who didn’t want to be named, said that the talks went on for a long time and were mostly about finding candidates who were very popular in their states.
The source said, “The choices of Hamzat, Yayi, and Alli were made after a long talk with the President, taking into account what everyone there thought and how popular the candidates were in their states.”
Some of the people who are said to have been at the meeting are Femi Gbajabiamila, the President’s Chief of Staff; Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate Leader; Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Governor of Lagos State; Dapo Abiodun, the Governor of Ogun State; and Biodun Oyebanji, the Governor of Ekiti State.
Zaccheaus Adedeji, the Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, and a number of other important party members were also there.
