The All Progressives Congress is moving toward a consensus arrangement to settle on Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, as its governorship candidate for the 2027 election in Lagos State, The PUNCH reports.
Similarly, the party stakeholders are said to also favour the senator representing Ogun West and Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee, Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, for Ogun State, and the senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District, Sharafadeen Alli, for Oyo State.
The purported decisions emerged from a meeting of APC stakeholders from the three states with President Bola Tinubu in Lagos on Sunday night.
Tinubu had hosted Vice President Kashim Shettima and 23 governors at his Lagos home for the Eid el-Fitr celebrations and sources with knowledge of the matter told The PUNCH that the President and party stakeholders from Lagos, Ogun and Oyo held another meeting to take critical decisions ahead of next year’s general elections.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has scheduled the Presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, and the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections for February 6, 2027.
In its released timetable, INEC stated that political parties were expected to conduct their primaries between April and May 2026, with candidates emerging by the end of May.
The Electoral Act 2026 (amended) provides that candidates of political parties may be selected either through a consensus arrangement or direct primaries.
For the APC, the party traditionally favours a consensus approach, highlighting the popularity of such candidates and their track record of winning elections.
President Tinubu returned to Lagos on Friday following a two-day state visit to the United Kingdom. He spent part of his Sallah break in the commercial city, attending to key political matters, including discussions on potential successors in the South-West states ahead of the 2027 elections.
In the South-West, only Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo states will hold governorship elections in 2027, and the President is prepared to lead the party to victory from his zone.
Multiple sources at the Lagos meeting of South-West APC stakeholders with Tinubu confirmed that the session was lengthy, involving detailed deliberations on party strategy and candidate selection.
One of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The choices of Hamzat, Yayi, and Alli were arrived at after a prolonged discussion with the President, taking into account the collective opinions of those present and the popularity of the candidates in their respective states.”
Among those at the meeting were Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele; Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti); and Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zaccheaus Adedeji, among other top stakeholders.
The source added that the report presented to the President had been prepared during an earlier meeting at the Senate Leader’s residence in Abuja about two weeks prior.
The meeting reportedly acknowledged dissenting voices against the recommendations but agreed to work towards a consensus to provide a “soft landing” for aspirants who might be affected by the arrangement.
The choice of Alli in appears to have the backing of the majority of APC stakeholders in the state, as well as the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, a former Oyo State Governor.
Alli, a former Secretary to the Oyo State Government and Chief of Staff under Ladoja, later served as Chairman of Odu’a Investment before becoming senator for Oyo South.
Other APC aspirants eyeing the Oyo governorship seat include the 2023 governorship candidate of the party, Teslim Folarin; senator representing Oyo North, Abdulfatai Buhari; Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu; former Oyo Deputy Governor, Rauf Olaniyan; lawyer, Akeem Agbaje; former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu; former Oyo Health Commissioner, Azeez Adeduntan; Saheed Oladele, Gbenga Adegbola, and Kunle Busari, the son of the late Ibadan strong politician in the First and Second Republic, Chief Busari Adelakun, popularly known as Eruobodo.
Multiple sources at the meeting told The PUNCH that issues surrounding the Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, were also raised.
It was learnt that the minister does not enjoy the popularity that could make him win the Oyo governorship election against the candidate of the incumbent Governor Seyi Makinde.
It was gathered that one of the conclusions of Adelabu’s non-popularity in the state was the House of Representatives by-election midwifed by the minister, but which was lost to the Peoples Democratic Party.
The sources said those at the meeting told the President that the Oyo State chapter of the party was divided over the choice of the minister, as he does not enjoy a good relationship with party leaders and members in the state.
It was also gathered that the only candidate that would be acceptable to all divides in the party was Alli.
“Adelabu does not have the popularity to win the governorship against Governor Seyi Makinde’s anointed candidate,” a source said, citing his candidate’s loss in the House of Representatives by-election that he midwifed.
“The state chapter of the party is divided over his candidacy, and Alli is seen as the only aspirant acceptable to all factions,” the source added.
The PUNCH reported that Adelabu ran on the Accord platform for the 2023 governorship election in the state against Teslim Folarin of the APC.
Earlier in 2019, his choice and endorsement by the late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi polarised the party, leading to defections of major chieftains of the party at the time. Adelabu eventually lost the election to Makinde.
In the March 18, 2023, election, Adelabu came a distant third, polling 38,357 votes, again trailing far behind Makinde, who won with over 563,000 votes.
The minister had dumped the party after he lost the ticket to Folarin at a primary held at the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan.
While Adelabu has since returned to the party and was rewarded with a ministerial position, those in the Folarin camp had yet to really benefit from the Federal Government appointments.
The source also stated that the minister had been advised against resigning from the cabinet as his chances are not bright.
When asked why Adelabu has not resigned to pursue his governorship ambition, one of the sources present at the meeting told The PUNCH that none of the ministers and other appointees eyeing positions had been able to secure a buy-in from the President.
He said, “He cannot just resign like that without an assurance that he will be the consensus candidate of the party. He knows his position is not certain. Once he resigns, the President will appoint a replacement, and he may not have the chance to return to the cabinet.
“It is better for him to clear his chances first before jumping the gun. He won’t have a second chance at a ministerial appointment, at least for now.
“The power crisis in the country is not in his favour, and once he leaves and a replacement can solve some of the problems, Adelabu may not return.”
