Race for Sanwo-Olu’s successor beyond APC gladiators {INVESTIGATION}

By KEMI KASUMU..,edited by Salmah Adetona Adefaka

As the political intrigue builds, what is clear – from our investigations – is that the game is beyond only the APC, against the projections by Tinubu political dynasty and those who currently project it to be the determinant of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s successor.

Although, elements to self-confident in the status quo and business-as-usual kind of politics have ignored emerging reality to think only from All Progressives Congress (APC) circle coming of the next Governor of Lagos State is possible, a nose-on-the ground investigation by The DEFENDER shows a different permutation.

Yes, a Bola Ahmed Tinubu political dynasty, though laced with deep disapprovals of real owners of the land, will need – and it is especially so – to fight hard to defend the Baba Sope (dictatorial godfatherism) hold and grip on the state politico-economy he had garnered and has continued to hold on to for 25 years, considering the ability to deploy funding in volumes that are scary to billion vans and the rest, what will determine successor politics in Lagos State come 2027 will be determined by an entirely unthought-of will of the people, regardless of any usual influence.

That makes irrelevant the current parade of names of known faces and/or names of new turks being propped up by them. It will be recalled that members of APC and even watchers of events surrounding who to succeed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu have restricted their hopes and expectations to remain within the APC family.

This is as some of them believe that, the Federal Might now within the immediate reach of the man they glorify as Garrison Commander of Lagos State Politics even since when he was not in power, neither was he heading any level of government. Taking back Lagos will be a walkover in the coming elections because, to them, and those that share their thoughts, Lagos is matter of life and death for the Tinubu political dynasty and will, therefore, be very difficult to let go of.

It was even said in certain quarters that winning a governorship election in Lagos State in 2027 will be of more importance and significant achievement to the dynasty than retaining the presidency for the second term.

In order to achieve this, even when they are not considering the use of Federal Might as it is now a known fact that all eyes will be more focused on Lagos, they are working sleeplessly to present a governorship candidate that will be acceptable to owners and indigenes of Lagos State across the IBILE: Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, and Epe zones, that make up the Lagos State, created by the law of the country in 1967 – like Ondo, Oyo, and Ogun and states in other regions of Nigeria – for the very reason of bringing governance closer to the people right on their own land.

This, our investigations revealed, has led to the current heated permutations going on within the All Progressives Congress (APC), but we learnt all of these are not more or less than Tinubu dynasty at work, testing the political terrains and sampling opinions to tap the feelings of Lagos natives, amidst the now very glaring resistant moves by De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, a socio-cultural organisation established late last year to achieve a better state for indigenes of Lagos State, insisting that the next Governor, Deputy Governor, Speaker of House of Assembly, and other top controllers of political powers of Lagos State in 2027 must be confirmed indigenes of Lagos State.

To do that, with 2027 still a few years away, they have commenced the work and are now presenting names of the likes of Obafemi Hamzat, Mudashiru Obasa, Tokunbo Abiru, and Femi Gbajabiamila, Seyi Tinubu, among others to the consciousness of the Lagos natives, who now enjoy the full backing of other Nigerian citizens who reside and are doing their legitimate businesses, to be affected when any of them eventually emerges as candidate of the APC for the 2027 governorship election.

From The DEFENDER investigations across the IBILE, the five Divisions of Lagos, it is now very clear factors to be considered and qualities that the next governor of Lagos that will be presented by any political party must possess. He must be a verified, certified and tested candidate that is indigenous to Lagos State with assurance that his allegiance and loyalty will be to the state and nothing but that, while also having the patriotic zeal and capacity to provide security and ease of doing business for both indigenes and other Nigerian citizens residents in the state.

Another of the factors that will determine the next governor of Lagos State is ability of electoral umpire to build public confidence, particularly in Lagos State. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nigeria, many have said, carries the bulk of blames in the officially sanctioned infractions that greeted the 2023 governorship election in Lagos State. Those infractions were attested to in the US State Department Report, which indicated the nation’s ruling APC for using force and thugs to impose its sitting governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, through all the electoral malpractices of March 18, 2023 governorship election in the state.

For this and other reasons, the Tinubu political dynasty is aware that members of the international community would be interested in seeing how – amidst excruciating hardship, hunger and poverty afflicting governance it has afflicted to Nigerians – it will win come 2027 a Lagos State election exercise it lost at presidential and uncleanly was said to have won at governorship election in 2023.

But how does APC wants to achieve victory in a free, fair, credible, transparent and accountable 2027 governorship election? Then, names are beginning to emerge. They have flown the kite of Obafemi Hamzat, the current Deputy Governor, who they are telling Lagosians is from a powerful family legacy rooted in Lagos politics. His late father, His Royal Highness Oba Mufutau Olatunji Hamzat, was a founding member of the influential Justice Forum, which they say, gives Hamzat a firm base within the political structure that has shaped modern Lagos.

Qualification: What they have not proved is the connection Hamzat has with the indigeneity of Lagos State, which constitutionally is top priority in how his approval or otherwise by Lagos natives will come. Obafemi Hazmat’s case is the most conspicuous non-indigeneship as his father lived and died as the Olu of Afowowa Sogaade Town, an Ewekoro Local Government community near the Lafarge Cement Factory, in Ogun State. Oba Hamzat was buried in his hometown in the Egba Land area on May 14, 2019.

Then there is Mudashiru Ajaiyi Obasa, the longest-serving Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly. They are making Lagosians to see how Obasa commands immense grassroots support and is known for his resilience in overcoming political challenges. They say Obasa’s strong ties to local communities particularly make him a force to reckon with, not to mention how his alignment with the Mandate Group further strengthens his position.

Qualification: Although Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa was said to have been born in Agege, a town in Lagos State, on 11 November 1972, attending his primary education at St Thomas Acquinas Primary School, Surulere, Lagos, before proceeding to Archbishop Aggey Memorial Secondary school, Mushin, Ilasamaja, Lagos, where he obtained the West Africa School Certificate, and then receiving a bachelor’s degree in Law from Lagos State University, Lagos, in the year 2006, a circulated disclaimer by a former Federal Lawmaker from Ojo Local Government, which punctured his claim of belonging to that Obasa Family of Lagos State, remains a question only the Speaker himself can answer.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, currently the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, is another of the names being dangled over the space of Lagos and the fliers of that kite are hoping to win the Ikorodu Division and lure the sentiments of female governor advocates as a fresh perspective to the conversation. A Journalist and former Federal Lawmaker, who represented Ikorodu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, is a known member of the Tinubu political dynasty, whose appointment as Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari (2015-2019), was believed to be on Bola Tinubu’s slot. And upon Buhari’s second term commencement, Dabiri-Erewa not only continued with him but also was upgraded, as President Buhari created a new agency through executive bill approved by the National Assembly and, upon the approval, she was appointed as Chairman of the Commission.

Qualification: Abike Dabiri-Erewa is no doubt a Lagos blood in all ramifications. It will be left to those that will decide the direction of votes in the state’s 2027 election exercise to determine whether an indigene under continued control of Tinubu political dynasty is good for the New Lagos they want and are committed to having come that dispensation.

Hakeem Muri-Okunola, the Principal Secretary to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is another strong contender. With his vast administrative experience, including a tenure as the Lagos State Head of Service, Muri-Okunola has earned a reputation as a meticulous and results-driven leader. His proximity to the presidency adds an intriguing dimension to his potential candidacy, suggesting he could leverage federal support to further Lagos’ development.

Qualification: There is a saying in certain quarters that the late father of Hakeem, Justice Muri-Okunola, came from Oyo State. How that comes into the consideration remains for deciders to determine.

Akinwunmi Ambode, Lagos’ former governor, no doubt is a name that has been consistent with one of the Divisions (IBILE) of Lagos State, precisely Epe. He is a former Governor of the post-Lateef Jakande era, whom majority of Lagos natives and residents continue to believe was shortchanged from having a second term because the Tinubu political dynasty felt offended by some of his policies. However, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, himself, refused to accept involvement as he reportedly said Ambode’s not being able to get APC ticket for second term was the party’s decision.

Qualification: Akinwunmi Ambode has been verified and attested to, by Epe Division, one of the IBILE, as their son and indigene of the state from their own extractions. How a Tinubu dynasty will trust him to do it again is left to the politician but impeccable sources are saying that, because Tinubu can do anything to hold on to his control of Lagos natives’ patrimony. Giving Ambode another chance will be of no problem to him.

Tokunbo Abiru, current Senator representing Lagos East in the Senate, is another of the permutations. Abiru is most likely the better choice to Abike Dabiri-Erewa for the Ikorodu Division natives of Lagos and they will look at him as a candidate that is in the good book of the Tinubu political dynasty and therefore think that, because of what they want to have, they will rather support Tinubu. Very highly meticulous Ikorodu figures of profound knowledge and wielders of intellectual property, however, will not look same way as they will stand with where the generality of Lagos natives, who are poising for paradigm shift, stand.

Qualification: By indigeneship, Tokunbo Abiru is one of the very qualified into the permutations that the Tinubu political dynasty is flying currently.

Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Tinubu and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, also stands out as a heavyweight in the race.

Qualification: Most Lagos indigenes of note with knowledge of the IBILE systems have no problem with indigeneity of Femi Gbajabiamila but his appearance and political ideology is the garbs of the Tinubu political dynasty.

Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is emerging as a wildcard. Though his political experience is limited, his visibility within Lagos politics and the Tinubu legacy have thrust his name into the conversation. Many see him as a potential bridge between the old guard and the younger generation of Lagosians.

Qualification: At the aftermath of his controversial endorsement in an Owerri, Imo State capital, recently by Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders (CONYL), Coalition of Indigenous Youths of Lagos State did a rejoinder, which sounded it clearly that Seyi Tinubu has no place to contest as governorship candidate of Lagos State. The Lagos State indigenes youths said there is no chance for non-indigene to be governor of the state in 2027 and they vowed to fight dirty in their resistance while urging Seyi to go to Osun State, where his family rightly belongs, to contest, as there will soon be vacancy in the Government House Osogbo. By this, Seyi Tinubu may be pursuing a course unachievable as he does not fall within the very core qualification to govern Lagos as his indigeneship is rejected.

No Nigerian, by Constitution, is allowed to claim two indigeneship, and as son of the man that swore oath to uphold the Constitution, it is not hoped that even his father in the face of all the emerging realities will pull any resistance.

As the political intrigue builds, what is clear – from our investigations – is that the game is beyond only the APC, against the projections by Tinubu political dynasty and those who currently project it to be the determinant of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s successor.

Watch out for follow-up stories as the permutations continue, only in The DEFENDER.