A Lagos State governorship aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC), Lanre Jim-Kamal, has said President Bola Tinubu did not endorse the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, as the party’s consensus governorship candidate ahead of the forthcoming APC primary election.
Jim-Kamal, a former governorship candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), made the clarification during an interview with NEWSNGR.
On April 29, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, announced in a social media post that Tinubu had endorsed Hamzat during a meeting with members of the Lagos Governance Advisory Council (GAC).
“President Tinubu formally endorses the Lagos APC consensus governorship candidate Obafemi Hamzat at a meeting with members of the Lagos Governance Advisory Council, led by the Prince Tajudeen Oluyole Olusi and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu,” Onanuga wrote.
However, Jim-Kamal insisted that Tinubu, as President and leader of the party, would naturally acknowledge anyone brought before him, but such a gesture should not be interpreted as an endorsement.
“He (President Tinubu) did not endorse anybody,” Jim-Kamal said.
He further argued that while party leaders and political blocs are free to support aspirants of their choice, such support does not automatically translate into the allocation of the party’s governorship ticket.
The governorship aspirant maintained that the APC candidate for the 2027 election would ultimately emerge through the party’s primary process in line with the Electoral Act as amended.
“Anything anybody is doing, we must go for primary. Everybody. So on the primary day, if all the aspirants say, “Oh, we are satisfied one person should go and represent the party.” Period,” he stated.
Jim-Kamal also dismissed claims that Hamzat currently enjoys unanimous support among influential stakeholders in the Lagos APC, insisting that opinions within the party remain divided.
Hamzat had earlier been endorsed as the APC’s consensus governorship candidate for the 2027 election by the GAC during a meeting held on April 28.
The GAC, regarded as the apex advisory body of the Lagos APC, announced the decision through its Chairman, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, who described the endorsement as unanimous.
“We have adopted, we have all agreed, that Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, the current deputy governor of our state, is the consensus candidate of our party. And we have all pledged to stand by him,” Olusi said.
However, NEWSNGR gathered that the endorsement may not have enjoyed full backing within the council, as only about five members of the 30-member body were openly supportive of the decision, while several others are said to still be engaging with different aspirants.
Speaking further on his ambition, Jim-Kamal unveiled a five-point agenda centred on free education at all levels, accessible healthcare services, and the decongestion of Lagos through the development of the state’s outskirts, particularly Badagry, Ikorodu, and Epe.
He also disclosed plans to unveil his running mate, Abiola Okoya-Johnson, in Onikan, Lagos, later in the week.
Jim-Kamal described himself as a long-standing political actor who has participated in elective politics since 1988 across different political parties, including the NNPP.
According to him, his political structure, known as the Dynamic Group, has remained loyal to him through multiple political transitions into the APC.
“When I was moving to APC in 2023, I moved with all my Dynamic People into APC, just as I moved them from PDP to NNPP, and now APC. They are there. So, let’s go for the election.
“The result will justify who is popular and who is not,” he said.
The APC aspirant stressed that his ambition is not driven by hostility toward any party leader or stakeholder.
“I’m not against any leader. I’m not fighting anybody. I am just going for the primary. We are people of one family in Lagos (APC),” he added.
As the APC governorship primary approaches, political observers expect a keen contest among the three aspirants seeking the party’s ticket.
Apart from Jim-Kamal and Hamzat, businessman Samuel Ajose is also considered a strong contender in the race.
A source within the APC, who spoke to NEWSNGR on condition of anonymity, said the Mandate Group, a major political subgroup within the party founded by Tinubu, has not formally endorsed Hamzat.
The source argued that if Tinubu had indeed publicly endorsed the deputy governor, the Mandate Group would likely have openly aligned with him.
According to the source, both Jim-Kamal and Ajose currently enjoy significant grassroots support, although support for Hamzat is also said to be growing steadily.
Meanwhile, ethnic and regional considerations have continued to shape conversations around the 2027 Lagos governorship contest.
A socio-political group, Lagos State Prominent Indigenes, recently called on the APC to reserve the governorship position for indigenous Lagosian in the interest of equity, identity preservation, and broader stakeholder inclusion.
Similarly, stakeholders, traditional rulers, and residents from the Badagry Division have continued to argue that theirs remains the only one of Lagos State’s five traditional divisions yet to produce a governor since the creation of the state in 1967.
The APC source warned that internal discontent could arise if the party’s primary does not align with the expectations of a significant section of members and stakeholders.
“It’s a kind of conundrum,” the source said.
