A member of the House of Representatives representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, James Faleke, has endorsed Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, as the next governor of the state ahead of the 2027 elections.
The federal lawmaker made the declaration in a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday.
Faleke called on his supporters and All Progressive Congress members in Ikeja Federal Constituency and across Lagos State as preparations begin for party primaries in May.
“Good evening all. As we prepare for Party primaries next month, I urge all our supporters in Ikeja Federal Constituency and Lagos State to support Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat as the next Governor of Lagos State from 2027–2035 IJN. Amen!” he wrote.
The PUNCH had reported that the APC is moving toward a consensus arrangement to settle on Hamzat as its governorship candidate for the 2027 election in Lagos State.
Similarly, the party stakeholders are said to also favour the senator representing Ogun West and Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee, Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, for Ogun State, and the senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District, Sharafadeen Alli, for Oyo State.
The purported decisions emerged from a meeting of APC stakeholders from the three states with President Bola Tinubu in Lagos on March 23.
Sources with knowledge of the matter told The PUNCH that the President and party stakeholders from Lagos, Ogun and Oyo held another meeting to take critical decisions ahead of next year’s general elections.
Multiple sources at the Lagos meeting of South-West APC stakeholders with Tinubu confirmed that the session was lengthy, involving detailed deliberations on party strategy and candidate selection.
One of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The choices of Hamzat, Yayi, and Alli were arrived at after a prolonged discussion with the President, taking into account the collective opinions of those present and the popularity of the candidates in their respective states.”
Among those at the meeting were Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele; Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti); and Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zaccheaus Adedeji, among other top stakeholders.
