Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has lent his support for the bid by his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, to succeed him.
The Governor, who received Hamzat and members of Governance Advisory Council (GAC) in consultation visit on Monday, openly threw his weight behind the Deputy Governor’s aspiration to run for governor.
The consultation meeting came immediately after the State’s Executive Council meeting attended the State House in Marina, where members of the cabinet and All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders in Lagos Central joined the Governor to receive Hamzat’s entourage.
The Governor and his Deputy shared an emotional moment, reflecting on their political journey over the past seven years and how their paths had crossed early during their public service experience under the tutelage of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Dr. Hamzat said: “By some stroke of coincidence, it was (Governor) Sanwo-Olu who took me round the Ministries when I was first appointed as Commissioner in 2005 by our father and leader, President Tinubu, who was then the Governor of Lagos State. I had never met Governor Sanwo-Olu before my appointment into the Government. I never knew our relationship would grow to this extent.”
Sanwo-Olu recalled that he and Dr. Hamzat used to sit next to each other in ex-Governor Babatunde Fashola’s cabinet, recollecting that no cabinet memo would scale through without their input and two others sitting in their row.
The Governor said: “Mr. Deputy Governor has created a personal relationship with me since way back before we’re joined together on a ticket. His family and my family have been close; our relationship was built on mutual respect, trust and dignity.”
Sanwo-Olu said when he picked his governorship eight years ago, he never severed his relationship with Dr. Hamzat, who picked his own governorship form two days earlier.
The Governor recalled how both of them forged a merger and ran on a joint ticket. After their 2019 electoral victory, Sanwo-Olu famously said Lagosians were getting price of two for one, referring to his Deputy as a potential Governor.
Sanwo-Olu said: “After the merger meeting, our father and leader, who today is ordained by God to be President of Nigeria, told both of us that he saw 16 years journey for Lagos.”
He continued: “A lot of Governors always look for weak Deputies, but that was not for me. From Day One in my governorship journey, I wanted the best partner to join the journey to build Greater Lagos. There was no meeting I could have attended that Mr. Deputy Governor is not fit and proper to attend. He possesses the skills, temperament and temerity to attend. Some of my Governor colleagues privately confided in me, saying ‘your Deputy is highly intelligent’ after noticing the intellectual skills Dr. Hamzat brought to discussions at NGF level.
“For this, we will continue to be indebted to our leader and father, Mr. President, the man who God continues to use to shape the political trajectory and destiny of Lagos. People said we have turned Lagos to irreversible construction site since Asiwaju’s era. If a competent man like Dr. Hamzat comes in, he will hit the ground running immediately. We are not going to hand over Lagos to charlatans who are coming to test their luck. Dr. Hamzat is tried and tested; he knows every nook and cranny of Lagos. Mr Deputy is the best man for the job.”
The experience and knowledge Hamzat garnered deputising Gov. Sanwo-Olu in the last seven years could not be quantified, thanking the Governor for allowing him to function in Deputy Governor position as a partner.
Dr. Hamzat said: “Most people refer to Deputy Governors as spare tyres. Deputising Governor Sanwo-Olu in the last seven years, I have never felt or been treated as a spare tyre. The Governor did well in carrying me along as a partner on this journey to build Greater Lagos. The Governor passionately loves Lagos and always fights for the State at every level, to the extent that other Governors are jealous of Lagos.
“Lagos is very important to the well-being of our country. God forbid, if anything happens to Lagos, this country will collapse. We must not allow Lagos to be drawn back from the progressive path it has been taken. Mr. Governor has worked assiduously to ensure that Lagos continues to progress. Therefore, the progress needs to be sustained.
“One of the things that has fundamentally stabilized the growth of Lagos is the rancour-free succession process adopted by our progressive party. As Lagosians, we must be ready to fight any battle and endure any hardship to protect this State from people who don’t mean well. This is my pledge to our leaders and party faithful.”
After the meeting, Sanwo-Olu and other attendees presented Dr. Hamzat to the State House correspondents in a unanimous pledge to support his aspiration.
