Deputy Governor Hamzat Annihilates Challenger in Lagos APC Primary; Wins Ticket to Fight for Alausa Throne as Rivals Step Down

The highly anticipated battle for the ultimate political prize in Alausa has produced a definitive, record-breaking climax. Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, has officially locked down the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket for the 2027 election, flattening the competition in a direct primary exercise that looked less like a contest and more like a total coronation.

The numbers announced on Thursday night, May 21, 2026, by the Chairman of the Governorship Electoral Committee, retired General Jonathan Temlong, left political watchdogs completely speechless. Out of 657,974 party faithful accredited across the state’s 20 local government areas, Hamzat carted away an astronomical 657,917 votes. His sole surviving opponent on the ballot, Olanrewaju Jim-Kamal, suffered the ultimate electoral disaster, logging just one single vote to his name.

The lopsided manual of the victory was carefully scripted in the weeks leading up to the primary portal. Recognizing the insurmountable establishment wall built around the deputy governor, prominent rival contenders including Babajide “Jandor” Adeniran and Samuel Mawuyon Ajose (SMA Gold) withdrew from the race, voluntarily stepping down to merge their political machinery with Hamzat’s. This strategic consolidation ensured that when Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the First Lady arrived to cast their ballots at Ward E3, Okepopo on Lagos Island, the entire exercise functioned as a unified demonstration of party structure.

For Hamzat, this triumph marks a massive personal breakthrough after years of playing the supportive partner. Having unsuccessfully contested the ticket in 2015 and famously stepping down for Sanwo-Olu in 2018, this victory represents a complete technical rescue of his lifelong gubernatorial ambition. His path was firmly cleared after receiving the ironclad endorsement of the powerful Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) and a definitive thumbs-up from President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Delivering an emotional acceptance speech at the APC Secretariat in Ikeja, the newly minted candidate hailed the direct primary system, describing it as a beautiful exhibit of internal democracy.

“This primary was never a conflict of interests, but a competition of ideas on how to move our people forward and build a permanent security shield over Lagos’ development,” Hamzat stated, urging all party factions to unite.

With the governorship ticket safely in his pocket, the APC has officially closed the portal on internal friction, positioning Hamzat at the head of a massive political line ready to defend the party’s twenty-eight-year dominance over Nigeria’s economic hub.