On Thursday, the stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) converged in their thousands at the Agege Stadium to affirm the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, as the consensus candidate of the party in the 2027 governorship election.
At the end of the exercise, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, engaged the crowd in a call-and-response session, asking who they voted for in the House of Assembly primary held the previous day.
The names “Egunjobi” and “Ninalowo” rent the air.
Indeed, supervising officers from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the immediate past Executive Chairman of Agege Local Government Area, High Chief Ganiyu Kola Egunjobi, and Barrister. Azeez Oladapo Ninalowo as winners of Agege Constituencies I and II respectively. Egunjobi polled 10, 126 votes while Ninalowo scored 12, 455 votes.
Both candidates had earlier emerged as consensus aspirants during a caucus meeting of the party presided over by Speaker Obasa last Tuesday.
Speaking on the outcome of the primaries, Obasa declared: “We’ve done everything according to the dictates of the party. Dr Obafemi Kadiri Hamzat is our governorship candidate.
Senator Idiat Adebule is our candidate in the Lagos West Senatorial District, and Mudashiru Obasa is the candidate for Agege Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. Collectively, we have decided and we are standing by the decision of our members.”
He commended INEC and security agencies “for helping us to have a free, fair, and transparent exercise devoid of violence and disorderliness.” The Speaker also praised party members for their loyalty and steadfastness, stating: “Agege is always here for the party.
“We are always present. When you are a member of a party, you should always participate in all its activities. Why will anyone who isn’t here claim to be part of us?
“You can’t be absent from all primaries and still claim that you are with us. We have conducted House of Representatives, Senate, House of Assembly, and Governorship primaries, yet some disgruntled party members have consistently stayed away. It is not possible. They are not part of us.”
Further, Obasa said, “We should be mindful of the people we send to represent us in any position. If they disregard us, we will wait until their tenure expires and remove them.
“The beauty of any political structure is continuity. Agege remains a shining example of a well-structured political organisation at the local government level.
“Nothing was done by subterfuge; everything was done in the open. INEC, DSS, Police, the media, and party leaders were all present. There’s nothing to fear. If anybody is initiating fake reports, let them continue.
“Anybody who has a problem should go and challenge the result in court. After the general election, maybe they will wake up.”
The thunderous affirmation at Agege Stadium was more than a show of numbers; it was a declaration of intent.
“With Hamzat at the helm and Obasa drawing battle lines, the APC in Agege has signaled that loyalty will define its path to 2027, while dissenters will be left on the sidelines.
