.As Alakija backs Tinubu’s re-election

Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, among other party bigwigs, yesterday assured members of the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that the candidature of the deputy governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, is a done deal for the 2027 governorship election.

The party leaders, at various stops of Hamzat’s ongoing consultation visits, also enjoined members and Lagosians to support the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027, stressing that the outcome of the 2023 presidential poll in Lagos “should not be allowed to repeat itself.”

Obasa, who received the deputy governor at his GRA residence in Ikeja, affirmed that Hamzat’s candidature “has been sealed.”

According to him, “I had discussions with those that matter, but the conclusion is that Hamzat will carry the banner of the party. We love you, we support you and we will do everything to ensure that we win the election.

“I just returned from Abuja and the conversation remains the same, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat is the next Governor of Lagos State,”

While extolling Hamzat’s virtues, Obanikoro said any objective assessment of the deputy governor’s pedigree would show that Lagos is set to be entrusted to a committed and competent technocrat.

The former Lagos Central senator added that the state must not decline but continue to grow, expressing confidence that Hamzat’s leadership would sustain its upward trajectory.

In a similar vein, Senator Ganiyu Solomon appealed to residents of Mushin to turn out en masse on election day to vote for Tinubu, Hamzat and other APC candidates, urging Nigerians to disregard critics of the APC-led government.

Also, the Lagos APC chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, while receiving Hamzat at the party’s secretariat in Ogba, reiterated the party’s backing for his aspiration.

“We support you, we trust you and we are confident of your competence and humility,” he said.

Responding, Hamzat outlined his vision for the state, noting that Lagos remains too strategic to Nigeria’s development to fail.

“We must ensure that what happened in 2023 does not repeat itself in 2027. We must secure a resounding victory for our leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and for the APC in Lagos,” he said.

He accused opposition elements of attempting to “de-market” the administration, insisting that such efforts stem from their inability to win elections.

Meanwhile, an aspirant for Oshodi-Isolo Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mayowa Israel Alakija, has urged Nigerians to support Tinubu’s re-election and sustain APC’s dominance at both federal and state levels in 2027.

Alakija, who has commenced consultations with party leaders and stakeholders across the constituency, said retaining the APC would guarantee continuity and enable Nigerians to reap the long-term benefits of ongoing reforms.