Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed confidence that his administration will hand over power without rancour in May 2027, saying the transition will not be marred by the conflicts that have characterised political succession.

The governor made the remarks on Friday at the manifesto and campaign theme launch of his deputy and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, tagged The Lagos Promise, where he reflected on their seven-year working relationship and the importance of an orderly transition.

His remarks are particularly significant against the backdrop of the political disagreement between former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and the Lagos APC leadership in 2018, when Ambode, then seeking a second term, opposed the party’s decision to back Sanwo-Olu as its governorship candidate.

The contest generated considerable tension within the party before Ambode eventually lost the primary to Sanwo-Olu and conceded defeat.

Drawing a contrast between the experience and the relationship he has maintained with Hamzat, Sanwo-Olu said the two had worked together without the friction often associated with governors and their deputies.

“The transition is not made of conflict. It is that Lagos is going to change governors without a quarrel.

“Think about how rare that is. Across this country, we see successions that have ended in court cases. We see broken parties. We see deputies at war with the men who have worked with them.

“In Lagos, the governor and the deputy, they work in this house together. They will work out together,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu, who said he had seven months left in office, described a peaceful handover to his successor as one of the greatest legacies an outgoing governor could leave behind.

He said, “And in May, with your support and with your prayers and with your hard work, one of them will hand over the state to the next one. There’s no greater gift a governor can leave his people than to hand over to someone that will not break the house.”

The governor urged Hamzat to sustain the development agenda of his administration, stressing that continuity should not mean retaining existing policies without improvement but completing ongoing projects, addressing shortcomings and introducing new initiatives.

“Continuity does not mean repeating ourselves. It means finishing what has started, fixing what is not working, and starting what comes next. It’s that order with a plan,” he said.

Using a relay race as an analogy, Sanwo-Olu said the incoming administration should build on the foundation laid by successive governments in the state since 1999.

“The runner who receives the baton does not run the same leg again. He runs the next one. He runs it faster, quicker, and better,” he said.

He also urged Hamzat to sustain the administration’s commitment to placing residents at the centre of government decisions, supporting small businesses and ensuring fairness to all Lagosians, irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds, gender or places of origin.

Sanwo-Olu further stressed the need to protect the heritage of indigenous Lagosians while ensuring that nobody who calls the state home is left behind.

He charged Hamzat to complete ongoing projects and ensure that programmes initiated by the present administration were not abandoned.

“The people who elected us did not elect us to carry them. Finish the work. Every line, every bridge, every home. Let no Lagosian ever say that what we started together was abandoned,” he said.

The governor also urged his deputy to create opportunities for young people and women to occupy prominent positions in government, expressing confidence in the partnership they had built over seven years.

Addressing APC members and supporters, Sanwo-Olu recalled that Hamzat secured more than 657,000 votes in the party’s governorship primary on May 21, 2026, describing the outcome as the party’s position.

He urged party faithful to take the campaign to communities across the state, from Ikeja to Epe and Lagos Island, and mobilise support for the candidate.

Sanwo-Olu also challenged Lagosians to scrutinise Hamzat’s manifesto, assess its proposals against their everyday needs and expectations, and make their decisions accordingly.

He said he had played his part in supporting Hamzat’s emergence, having worked closely with him for seven years, and expressed confidence in his understanding of the state’s development priorities.