Kadri Obafemi Hamzat has emerged as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State ahead of the 2027 general elections after securing a landslide victory in the party’s primary election.
Announcing the results at the APC Secretariat in Ikeja, the Returning Officer, retired General Jonathan Temlong, declared that Hamzat polled 657,917 votes to defeat his only challenger, Olanrewaju Jim-Kamal, who secured one vote.
Temlong disclosed that a total of 657,974 party members were accredited for the exercise, which he described as peaceful, transparent and conducted in line with the party’s guidelines across the state’s 245 wards in the 20 local government areas.
According to the results announced, Hamzat recorded overwhelming victories across all councils, including 74,501 votes in Alimosho, 55,148 in Ikorodu, 51,600 in Kosofe and 49,079 in Lagos Mainland.
He also secured 38,627 votes in Ifako-Ijaiye, 38,971 in Mushin, 37,680 in Epe, 36,372 in Ojo and 33,861 votes in Ibeju-Lekki, among other local government areas.
Declaring Hamzat winner of the primary, Temlong commended party members for what he called their orderly conduct throughout the exercise and praised officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission for monitoring the process.
Earlier, the Lagos State APC Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, lauded the electoral and organising committees for conducting what he described as a credible primary election.
Ojelabi said the successful conduct of the exercise reflected the unity and organisational strength of the APC in Lagos State ahead of the 2027 elections.
In his acceptance speech, Hamzat expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu, party leaders and APC members for the confidence reposed in him to lead the party into the governorship election.
He pledged to sustain the developmental programmes of the APC administration in Lagos State and promised inclusive governance if elected governor in 2027.
The primary election followed weeks of political consultations within the party after several aspirants initially indicated interest in the governorship race.
Among those who withdrew from the contest were Abdul-Azeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, and Samuel Ajose.
Adediran reportedly stepped down after President Tinubu and the Governance Advisory Council endorsed Hamzat, while Ajose withdrew days before the primary election.
Political analysts said Hamzat’s emergence further consolidates the influence of the APC leadership structure in Lagos as preparations intensify for the 2027 governorship contest.
