Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has publicly thrown his weight behind his Deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, signalling his support for Hamzat’s bid to succeed him as Governor of Lagos State. The endorsement came during a consultative visit by the Deputy Governor and members of the Governance Advisory Council to the Governor’s office in Marina, held immediately after an Executive Council meeting attended by members of the State cabinet and All Progressives Congress leaders in Lagos Central.
The Governor and his Deputy shared a reflective and emotional exchange, tracing their political journey over the past seven years and recalling how their paths first crossed decades earlier under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his tenure as Governor of Lagos. Dr Hamzat recounted that Sanwo-Olu was the one who took him around the ministries when he was first appointed as a Commissioner in 2005, noting that their relationship has since grown into a strong working partnership and personal bond. Sanwo-Olu, in turn, recalled their days sitting together in former Governor Babatunde Fashola’s cabinet, and said no cabinet memo passed without the input of the two of them and two others who sat in the same row.
The Governor said he and the Deputy have maintained a close, family-level relationship built on trust, respect and dignity, and that he never distanced himself from Hamzat even after both were picked for separate governorship forms two days apart. He described how they later merged their tickets under the APC and ran successfully in 2019, noting that his later remark that Lagosians were “getting price of two for one” was a clear indication of the Deputy’s competence and potential to lead.
Sanwo-Olu said President Tinubu had earlier envisioned a 16‑year roadmap for Lagos, emphasising that the Governor deliberately chose a strong, capable partner rather than a “weak Deputy.” He praised Dr Hamzat’s intelligence, temperament and policy depth, disclosing that some of his fellow Governors at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum have privately remarked on the Deputy’s sharp contributions during meetings. The Governor stressed that a competent successor such as Dr Hamzat would “hit the ground running,” noting that Lagos cannot be handed over to untested or unqualified individuals.
Dr Hamzat, in his remarks, said his seven years of service as Deputy Governor have provided him with experience that cannot be measured in numbers. He rejected the notion that Deputy Governors are mere “spare tyres,” and said he has always functioned as a full partner in the administration’s journey to build Greater Lagos. He described Governor Sanwo-Olu as deeply committed to the State and said Lagos is central to the country’s survival, warning that any reversal of the State’s progress would have national consequences. He pledged to fight to protect Lagos from those who might seek to roll back the progress already achieved.
At the end of the meeting, Governor Sanwo-Olu, other cabinet members and APC leaders presented Dr Hamzat to State House correspondents, collectively affirming their support for his aspiration to succeed the Governor.