By Jude Opara
The race for the 2027 governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State appears to be narrowing, following the endorsement of Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, by the party’s highest advisory body, the Governance Advisory Council (GAC).
The development suggests a consolidation of internal party forces around a single candidate, barely 24 hours after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu openly backed Hamzat as his preferred successor.
Details of the endorsement were disclosed in a statement shared via X by the Senior Special Assistant on New Media to the governor, Jubril Gawat, indicating that the decision was reached unanimously during a GAC meeting held at Lagos House, Marina.
Leader of the council, Tajudeen Olusi, was said to have formally announced the adoption of Hamzat as the consensus candidate for the 2027 election, reinforcing the party’s internal alignment ahead of the contest.
“The Governance Advisory Council today unanimously endorsed and adopted the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, to be a consensus candidate for the 2027 elections in Lagos State,” the statement read.
In what observers interpret as a further indication of institutional backing, members of the council were also said to have collectively funded Hamzat’s governorship nomination form.
The twin endorsements from both the incumbent governor and the influential GAC are seen as a strong siPgnal of the APC leadership’s preferred direction, potentially shaping the dynamics of the party’s primaries and limiting the space for internal opposition.
