LAGOS, Nigeria — The All Progressives Congress in Lagos State has declared Deputy Governor Dr. Obafemi Hamzat as its governorship candidate for the 2027 election after he won the party’s primary held on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
The primary election took place at the APC Secretariat in Acme, Ogba, where party officials described the exercise as peaceful, transparent and in line with the party’s constitution. Hamzat’s emergence confirms earlier signals that influential party leaders had settled on him as the preferred candidate to succeed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, whose second and final term ends in 2027.
Chairman of the APC National Governorship Election Committee, retired Gen. Jonathan Temlong, announced the result in the presence of Governor Sanwo-Olu, senior party leaders, lawmakers, members of the Lagos State Executive Council, council chairmen and other stakeholders. According to the official result, Hamzat secured 657,917 votes out of 657,974 accredited votes cast, while his challenger, Lanre Jim-Kamal, received one vote. Another aspirant, Samuel Ajose, withdrew from the race before the exercise.
Declaring Hamzat winner, Temlong said the deputy governor had satisfied the requirements of the party’s guidelines and constitution and was therefore returned as the APC candidate for the 2027 Lagos governorship election.
In his acceptance speech, Hamzat thanked party leaders, delegates and supporters for the confidence reposed in him. He paid special tribute to Governor Sanwo-Olu, praising his service to Lagos State and the APC. He also acknowledged members of the National Assembly, the Governance Advisory Council, the electoral committee and President Bola Tinubu for what he described as steady leadership.
“With humility, I accept the candidacy of the APC in the upcoming 2027 elections,” Hamzat said.
Hamzat’s victory came weeks after the APC Governance Advisory Council, the party’s most influential decision-making body in Lagos, adopted him as its consensus governorship aspirant. Reports also said President Tinubu endorsed the move during consultations with Lagos APC leaders.
The deputy governor is not new to Lagos governorship politics. He contested for the APC ticket in 2015 and was also a major figure in the 2018 primary before eventually becoming Sanwo-Olu’s running mate.
His nomination gives the APC an early start in the race to retain control of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital and the party’s strongest political base since the return to democracy in 1999.
