APC Primaries: Hamzat, Adeola Emerge Flag Bearers In Lagos, Ogun

The governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held across 377 wards in Lagos and 236 wards in Ogun State yesterday witnessed a massive turnout of party faithful.They thronged their respective wards for the exercise, widely described as free and fair.

In Lagos, Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, who is the APC governorship candidates for the 2027 poll.

He commended the voters for turning out en masse to participate in the primary polls in Lagos.

Also in Ogun State, the exercise was devoid of rancour, as the governorship primary election, which featured two aspirants, produced Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, as the party’s flagbearer for the 2027 governorship election.

The exercise took place across the 377 wards in Lagos State, where party faithful gathered peacefully and enthusiastically to affirm Hamzat as the APC’s consensus candidate ahead of the 2027 poll.

Sanwo-Olu particularly commended voters for their support for Hamzat, the APC’s consensus candidate in the state governorship election.

Sanwo-Olu, who arrived at the Ward E3, St. Stephen’s (WAEC) School, Lagos Island polling unit with his wife, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, at 11.44 am on Thursday, participated in the primary election and described the exercise as peaceful, orderly and reflective of internal party democracy.

He noted that the direct primary process enabled party members at the ward level to participate freely in selecting the party’s gubernatorial candidate.

Speaking after casting his vote, Sanwo-Olu noted that electoral officials and party representatives were on the ground to ensure a credible exercise, and he commended the impressive turnout of APC faithful at the ward level.

The governor commended the conducive atmosphere at the venue, where about 1,810 people participated, describing it as “calm and family-like”, despite the large crowd that gathered before noon to participate in the exercise.

Sanwo-Olu, who openly declared support for the Deputy Governor, expressed confidence that Hamzat would emerge as the party’s flagbearer and eventually win the governorship election.

He commended party officials from Abuja and the APC leadership for conducting the exercise peacefully and transparently.

Hamzat arrived at his Ward A4, Oke Balogun, Alawaye, Ansar-Udeen Primary School, Epe premises at about 1 07 pm, where he cast his vote amid wild jubilation from supporters and party faithful.

Hamzat, along with his wife, Oluremi, was also accompanied by the APC Governorship Electoral Committee, Gen.Jon Telling,

former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforuji, APC state Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, member of the House of Representatives, Ikeja Constituency, James Faleke, Mutiu Are, Secretary Governance Advisory Council, GAC, Olayinka Adekunle, Special Adviser on Works and Secretary Local Organising Committee of the primary, Dr Akeem Shittu, Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education  Board, LASUBEB, among other prominent personalities.

The electoral officer, Kayode Kazeem Eleshin, popularly called KK, at the end of the exercise, announced that the three aspirants were: Hamzat, polling a total of 2,210 votes out of 2,430 accredited voters, and Samuel Ajose, fondly called SMA, who had earlier withdrawn from the race and Lanrean Jim-kamal, scoring 1 vote.

Addressing the media, Hamzat thanked voters for coming out in large numbers to vote massively for him and promised not to disappoint them if elected governor in the 2027 Governorship poll.

According to him, “Thank you very much, first of all, we must thank members of our party and the accreditation team that came from Abuja to witness the whole process.”

In Ogun State, Adeola’s emergence as the APC flagbearer for the Ogun State chapter of the APC followed the withdrawal of another aspirant, Hon. Abayomi Hundeyi, who announced his withdrawal on Thursday morning via a correspondence allegedly forwarded to the party’s leadership in the state.

Adeola had earlier emerged as the party’s consensus candidate during the stakeholders’ meeting held in the state before Thursday’s exercise.

Except for Hundeyi, who was the former General Manager of the state’s Waste Management Authority  (OGWAMA), all other known over 10 aspirants for the highly exalted governorship position of the Gateway State have stepped down their ambitions to enable Adeola to emerge as the sole candidate of the party in Ogun.

But what many party faithful said was, “the outcome had been known before today” because of the wide acceptability of the Senator currently representing Ogun West district at the National Assembly (NASS), Adeola, who finally emerged as the party’s flag bearer.

Speaking after participating in the governorship primary election at Ward 3, Iperu 1, in Ikenne Local Government Area, Governor Dapo Abiodun disclosed that more than 700 aspirants had initially indicated interest in contesting for various elective positions under the platform of the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Abiodun explained that the party adopted extensive consultations and consensus-building mechanisms to ensure the emergence of credible candidates while sustaining unity within its ranks.

“So, we undertook a rigorous exercise to screen over 700 aspirants and engage with their leaders. The idea was to identify the best candidates for each election. Having done that, we reached out to those who were not eventually selected and ensured they were accommodated politically.”

The governor stressed that the process was deliberately designed to promote inclusiveness and strengthen party cohesion, noting that no aspirant was compelled to step down.