Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has revealed how his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, abandoned his ambition to become governor in 2018 after party leaders asked him to step aside in his favour.
Sanwo-Olu said Hamzat had the political backing, experience and public service record to contest and possibly win the governorship election but willingly relinquished his ambition to pave the way for him.
The governor made the revelation in a lengthy message posted on his X account on Friday, ahead of the 2027 Lagos governorship election, describing Hamzat’s decision as an act of selflessness he had never forgotten.
According to him, Hamzat had spent 13 years in public service under former Lagos governors, Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola, before party leaders intervened in the 2018 governorship race.
“Back in September 2018, Femi Hamzat wanted to be Governor of Lagos State. He had thirteen years of public service under Asiwaju and BRF, with the record and backing to win. Then party leaders asked him to step aside for me.
“It takes a rare man to put down what he wants without nursing a grudge. Femi shook my hand and five weeks later, agreed to run beside me. I have never forgotten that,” Sanwo-Olu wrote.
Hamzat subsequently withdrew from the All Progressives Congress governorship contest in September 2018 and urged his supporters to back Sanwo-Olu during the party’s primary.
Sanwo-Olu’s latest revelation is particularly striking given his own political history with Hamzat.
In May 2019, shortly after becoming governor, he reportedly disclosed that he had lobbied to become Hamzat’s Chief of Staff in 2015 when his deputy was seeking the governorship.
The revelation, shared by media personality Toni Kan, quoted Sanwo-Olu as saying that while he had sought to serve under Hamzat four years earlier, he eventually became the governorship candidate, with Hamzat agreeing to serve as his deputy.
The two episodes provide a remarkable account of how their political fortunes changed between 2015 and 2018.
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