On May 29, 2027, Lagos is expected to have a brand new governor who on that day will be sworn in as the 16th, executive leader of the state to replace incumbent, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who on that day would have exhausted his constitutionally allowed two terms of eight years in office.

Though, it is still two and a half years to the appointed date, a lot of intrigues are already playing out as those who are seeking the plum job have commenced jostling for it.
While some have commenced jostling, others are however still bidding their time and assessing the situation to ascertain whether it will be worth the plunge for them to contest since the stakes seem to be getting higher by the day.

This piece attempts to unveil those who are considered to be in the radar of political activities in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). It will also try to highlight their chances by appraising their strengths and weaknesses.

Akinwunmi Ambode
One name that has continued to be on the lips of most members of the APC in Lagos State is that of a former occupier and immediate past governor of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode, who many are touting as having been anointed by stakeholders in the party to come back to complete his term of office.
It would be recalled that Ambode who prior to his emergence as the chief executive of the state was the Accountant General during the regime of Babatunde Fashola whom he succeeded in 2015 after many stakeholders in the APC worked against his re-election in 2019.
Many leaders of the APC worked against him, having accused him of sidelining them in the scheme of things when he was governor. The grouse of the stakeholders and other prominent non-partisan Lagosians was that they lacked any iota of inputs when he (Ambode) held sway as the governor.
From findings conducted by Saturday Telegraph, Ambode’s name seems to be on the lips of many stakeholders in the party as many hitherto aggrieved members are said to have mellowed their hardline stance against him and might be willing to work for him to complete his eight years constitutional limit in office come 2027.

Strengths
Ambode’s seeming political resurgence according to sources within the party might actually be premised on the kind of positive approval he has with many Lagosians who still harbour some form of sympathy for him with regards to how he was shoved aside for Sanwo-Olu.
This is also helped by the perception among Lagosians that he performed excellently during his four-year stint in office and that the treatment the APC meted out to him played out in the outcome of the 2023 poll when President Bola Tinubu lost his Lagos base to the opposition Labour Party.
But for some adroit moves, Sanwo-Olu would have lost the governorship poll to the same Labour Party, thus robbing the APC of its most cherished political base which is Lagos.
Sources in the know said the thinking in the APC now is to look for a very acceptable candidate to present to the residents of the state in the light of the current performance of the APC at the national level.
“We are looking at the direction of Ambode to return and take his constitutional second term of office. We are considering him because of the love and respect he enjoys among Lagosians,” a member of the state executive council of the APC who pleaded not to be named told our correspondent.
According to the source, “We are already trying to see how we can make him mend fences with major stakeholders and groups within the party who have one grievance or two against him to soften their stance.”

Drawbacks
Sources in the know told our correspondent that some of the grievances are deep seated owing to the fact that some of those who feel hurt about his tenure are yet to let go of their anger and are working towards thwarting any efforts to bring him back.
“Many people in the party have continued to accuse him of highhandedness, citing how he ran his government by excluding members of the APC who worked for his election. Many people in the party have some reservations with regards to his return,” the source said.

Hon. Mudashiru Obasa
Another prominent leader of the APC whose name is being bandied around is the current Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, who many describe as ‘a serious contender.’
Those in the know within the Lagos State chapter of the APC rate him as a major stakeholder whose influence in and out of the party cannot be wished away considering his standing in the ruling party.
Obasa is a five-term member of the state House of Assembly and a third term serving speaker of the Assembly whose influence far transcends the confines of the House, considering his influence within the party which stems from his closeness to the highest level of authority in the APC.
He let out his intention recently during the presentation of the 2025 budget by Governor Sanwo-Olu to the Assembly when he said he was well qualified to govern the state, saying those that had presided over the affairs of the state in the past lacked his credentials.
Sensing the danger inherent in his speech, Obasa made clarification when he added that he hadn’t given it a thought and that the series of meetings, contacts and mobilisation he has been embarking on in recent times were all aimed strengthening the party’s ability for continuous dominance in the state.

Strengths
Obasa unlike many others jostling for the office has wider reach and contacts within and outside the party to draw from when the contest becomes hotter. His membership of the influential Governance Advisory Council (GAC) is also said to be a source of political power for him.

Drawbacks
Aside from this, Obasa’s meteoric rise in politics and his sustaining ability has served as a burden to his aspiration considering the amount of loyalty and enmity he has garnered for himself overtime in his political career.

Obafemi Hamzat
Highly cerebral and calm, Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat is the incumbent Deputy Governor of the state who is vastly exposed professionally and politically in and outside the state.
A doctorate degree holder in System Process Engineering, he is said to be in the race but for now, nothing too serious is coming from his direction. His aspiration might be coming on the heels of his initial failed attempt when he lost the primaries of the party to the eventual winner, Akinwunmi Ambode in the build up to the 2015 poll.

Strengths
Hamzat is the scion of late Oba Muftau Olatunji Hamzat, a traditional ruler in his lifetime and one of the disciples of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. The late traditional ruler was during his lifetime, the leader of a powerful caucus within the APC called Justice Forum.
This platform has continued to wax strong and it is said that it (Justice Forum) has been inherited by his son who has since assumed its leadership. So formidable is the group that the party had to bend over backward by allotting the slot of deputy governorship to it.

Drawbacks
What is considered as a source of strength for Hamzat has actually become a burden considering the tendency of the party not to select core politicians for the governorship of the state owing to perceived difficulty the party might encounter in managing such figures when elected.
Hamzat comes from a well established political family; considering the fact that he had the opportunity of learning the ropes from his late father, will this become a drawback given the tendency alluded to?

Tokunbo Abiru
The son of a respected jurist, Justice Mubasheer Akanbi Abiru, Tokunbo is a trained accountant and a professional banker who rose to the pinnacle of his career by emerging the managing director of Polaris Bank before his foray into politics in 2019.
A native of Ikorodu, Abiru is currently the member representing Lagos East District in the Senate, serving his second term of office.

Strengths
Though he has not declared his intention to contest, many in the APC however see him as a strong contender, considering his many positive points, which many believe will eventually work for Abiru in the build up to the 2027 poll.
Ikorodu, his native enclave remains one of the two other divisions within the state that have yet to produce an elected chief executive of the state. In this bracket is the Badagry Division.
Many stakeholders in the party are however saying that the slot should go there this time as a way of carrying the division along in the scheme of things since the creation of the state in 1967.
Abir’s perceived limited understanding of politics might prove handy for those who would eventually decide where the pendulum will swing.
A devout Muslim, it is expected that he would also be considered owing to the fact that the outgoing governor and his immediate predecessor in office are Christians.

Drawbacks
It is widely known that he has no known platform through which he hopes to make any meaningful bid, a situation that might impact negatively on his bid should he try to give vent to any aspiration he might have in this direction.

Hakeem Muri-Okunola
Presently the Private Secretary to President Tinubu, Muri-Okunola is the immediate past Head of Service of the Lagos State Civil Service who is also being touted in the political circles owing to his closeness to source of power within the party, particularly, the President.
Son of the late Justice Muritala Okunola, the young politician is said to enjoy the confidence of the president who many sources say was a friend and close confidant of his late father.

Strengths
Largely seen as apolitical, the Lagos Island born retired civil servant is said to enjoy wide respect within the political circles, especially within the APC and his aspiration might not necessarily evoke negative vibes as it would be embraced by many.
Those in the know are of the opinion that he might actually be the dark horse in this way considering the fact that he has largely been kept away from partisan politics and has never attracted any form of negative vibes to himself.

Drawbacks
His aspiration might also draw some unnecessary vibes from politicians in the state who believe that any kind of consideration for the governorship must and should be zoning sensitive.
Those in this line of thought argue that since the incumbent hails from the same senatorial zone, Lagos Central as Muri-Okunola, the slot should go to another area and not that same place where the current holder hails from.

Seyi Tinubu
Mr. Seyi Tinubu is the son of President Tinubu who is also being rumoured to be interested in throwing his hat into the ring but sources in the know argue that that bid will not happen after all.
“I can tell you for free that this (Seyi Tinubu’s rumoured bid) is not in the works. Some people are only using it to raise the stakes and frighten likely major aspirants out of the race,” a source who pleaded not to be named said.

Strengths and weaknesses
What is considered as his major strength is also said to be his weakness and that is the fact that his status as the son of the president is both a plus and a militating attribute which would work for him or against him.