Lagos APC Governorship Aspirant Insists On Fair Contest, Rejects Consensus

A Lagos governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Samuel Mawuyon Ajose, has pushed back against moves to adopt a consensus candidate, insisting that the race must remain open, transparent, and competitive.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Wednesday, Ajose emphasised that the contest should not be reduced to a pre-arranged outcome.

“We are not in a battle, we are in a contest. And the contest needs to be free and fair,” he said.

His remarks come in the wake of the reported endorsement of Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat as a consensus candidate by party leaders and the influential Governor’s Advisory Council.

Ajose questioned the rationale behind the move, particularly as aspirants had already paid for nomination forms.

“If our leadership in Lagos had decided that they wanted to go by consensus, then they shouldn’t have been sending the forms to us,” he argued.

“A whole lot of people have invested money in these forms. And you just come and give us a shortcut.”

He added that no official communication had been made to him regarding any consensus arrangement.

“No leadership has reached out to us to discuss any consensus. Everybody is still telling me, go and mobilize your base, both statewide and nationally,” he said.

While acknowledging that consensus candidacy is recognised within party rules, Ajose stressed that it must follow due process and broad consultation.

“Even if you are talking about consensus, how do you talk about consensus when you don’t even know how many people are contesting in the race?” he queried.

Positioning his ambition as a voice for underserved communities, Ajose said his candidacy represents areas like Badagry, which he claims have long been neglected.

“I’m not just in this race just because of myself. I’m in this race because I’m representing the people that have been neglected for 57 years,” he said.

“What the Badagry people are saying is that, are we not part of Nigeria? Are we not part of Lagos?”

Highlighting his credentials, Ajose pointed to his private sector background as evidence of his capacity to manage the state’s economy.

“I am the CEO of Levitical Groups. We are into real estate, construction, and manufacturing. We have over 300 Nigerian workers,” he said.

“If you have somebody that has a pool of workers that are over 300 and you are not struggling to pay them at the end of every month, I think that person has the capacity to be able to run an economy.”

Drawing a contrast with Hamzat, Ajose noted differences between public and private sector experience.

“The difference between me and His Excellency, Dr. Hamzat, is that Hamzat has been in government and everything that he has been doing has been funded by the government,” he said.

“But I’m someone who has built and sustained my own workforce—we are paying them directly.”

On transparency, he expressed willingness to make his tax records public, citing personal tax payments over recent years.

Despite his opposition to the consensus arrangement, Ajose signalled readiness to support party unity—provided the process remains credible.

“You need to understand that we are in a contest, we are not in a battle. And whoever gets to the front first, we will celebrate that person,” he added.