Because the 2027 common election gathers momentum in Lagos State, former governor Akinwunmi Ambode is re-emerging in political calculations, with occasion energy brokers mentioned to be working to defer Seyi Tinubu’s governorship ambition to 2031.
The competition is shaping as much as be one of the aggressive in latest historical past, with a number of high-profile aspirants, rising energy blocs, and an more and more vocal citizens weighing in on the state’s future management.
Seyi, 40, who’s the son of President Bola Tinubu is being touted by a number of youth and diaspora teams as a possible contender for the Lagos State governorship.
Final 12 months, there have been endorsements from organisations such because the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders, The Future Platform and segments of Nigerian communities within the diaspora who urged him to declare his curiosity within the race.
The event reportedly threw the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) into a dilemma, as Seyi has neither formally declared his ambition nor obtained any public endorsement or remark from his father on the matter.
By 2027, Lagos State is anticipated to have a brand new governor, as Babajide Sanwo-Olu can be finishing his second and constitutionally permitted time period in workplace.
Nevertheless, there are feelers that the ability brokers within the state are contemplating Ambode to return and full his second tenure to pave approach for Seyi Tinubu in 2031.
Recall that Ambode fell out with Tinubu and Lagos APC leaders forward of the 2019 election and was denied the APC ticket, dropping the occasion’s major to Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who went on to win the governorship ballot.
Sources mentioned the GAC members at the moment are reportedly working to delay Seyi Tinubu’s governorship bid, shifting it to 2031, citing a necessity for occasion continuity and strategic planning.
The supply instructed our reporter that though Seyi Tinubu was earlier within the governorship race, he was suggested to maintain a low profile to focus on his father’s bid for a second time period.
“The occasion management considered his ambition as a possible distraction to his father’s second-term dream, given the rising opposition to the present authorities,” Segun Badejo, an APC chieftain in Gbagada, instructed our reporter.
The GAC, a robust 30-member political physique established by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu throughout his tenure as Lagos State governor in 1999, led by Prince Tajudeen Olusi, includes former governors and deputy governors, previous audio system of the Lagos State Home of Meeting, former and serving senators, in addition to revered elder statesmen and girls.
The GAC performed a decisive function within the emergence of former governors Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode, and later Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
In line with a dependable insider, if President Tinubu is re-elected in 2027, he would full his tenure by 2031, and to maintain his political legacy, Seyi Tinubu is anticipated to step into the Lagos governorship race by then.
One other supply attributed the explanation to the anger within the Epe district over the circumstances that led to Ambode’s ouster from workplace.
Administratively, Lagos State is split into 5 districts, collectively known as IBILE: Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos Island and Epe.
Notably, previous Lagos governors, Tinubu, Fashola and Sanwo-Olu, all hail from Lagos Island and accomplished their two phrases, whereas solely Ambode, from Epe, was denied a second time period.
This has sparked discontent amongst stakeholders in Epe, who’re sad with the style wherein their native son, Ambode, was faraway from workplace.
Though Tinubu later rewarded Epe with the appointment of Tunji Alausa as Well being Minister and later, Training Minister, the individuals are nonetheless demanding that the zone must be allowed to finish its time period.
Stakeholders are claiming that Epe has been politically marginalised and insisted that both Alausa or Ambode ought to succeed the present Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2027.
A senior APC stakeholder in Ogba, Ikeja, who requested anonymity whereas talking with DAILY POS mentioned, “The concept is to not sideline Seyi Tinubu however to make sure he has a extra secure runway.
“The occasion doesn’t desire a repeat of what occurred in 2023 when the Labour Social gathering defeated Tinubu within the state.
“Seyi wants to pay attention and mobilize the youth entrance for his father.
“Going for governorship would divide consideration and that might additionally result in public outcry.
“You realize Nigeria is a really humorous nation, they might not stand the daddy as a president and his son as a governor. Proper now, the consensus is that Ambode or Alausa has a greater likelihood of carrying the occasion in 2027,” the supply added.
DAILY POST noticed that the 2027 subject is already crowded in Lagos, with heavyweights together with Chief of Employees to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the state meeting speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, Tokunbo Abiru and Abdul-Azeez Adediran, popularly often called Jandor, amongst others, being touted for the primary seat.
A group chief, who recognized himself as Olumide Balogun, instructed DAILY POST, “Now we have watched as different areas monopolised energy. It’s time for Epe folks to be heard. Both Tunji Alausa or Ambode must be our subsequent governor.”
An observer, Edafe Oghenebrume, warned that if the Lagos APC fails to subject a governorship candidate from the Lagos West Senatorial District, it could be a catastrophe.
He warned, “If Lagos APC fails to subject a governorship candidate from Lagos West Senatorial district, there may be electoral challenges as a result of because the emergence of democratic rule in 1999, West has been marginalized as regards the governorship seat.”
In the meantime, solely Jandor, a former PDP aspirant who defected to APC in October 2025, has publicly declared his ambition for the governorship.
“I consider Lagosians deserve a recent imaginative and prescient, one which blends expertise with innovation,” Jandor mentioned in an interview with Channels Tv.
“Having noticed governance from each side of the aisle, I’m prepared to supply options that mirror the folks’s wants if I’ve a stable backing of Mr President and the occasion in Lagos State. It is going to be a walkover,” he added.
Public sentiment and voter perspective
Residents and citizens throughout Lagos have been carefully watching the political maneuvering, with many expressing a mixture of pleasure, skepticism and cautious optimism.
A store proprietor in Ikeja, Mrs Funke Adeyemi, mentioned, “It doesn’t matter who the occasion chooses. What we wish is somebody who will carry improvement, enhance our roads, and safe jobs. Lagosians are uninterested in guarantees with out motion.”
One other resident, Tunde Olanrewaju, emphasised continuity and stability.
“Ambode has governance expertise, and Tinubu has political lineage. However we want sensible insurance policies, not simply the spectacle of politics,” he mentioned.
Youthful voters seem eager to see a extra inclusive course of. A college pupil, Chidera Nwosu, mentioned, “We want a pacesetter who listens to bizarre folks, not simply occasion elders. The following governor will need to have a imaginative and prescient that goes past political calculations.”
The highway to 2027
A political marketing consultant conversant in the occasion’s technique in Kirikiri City, Taiwo Akorede said, “The occasion should reconcile all pursuits whereas projecting a candidate able to successful in a aggressive common election.”
As Lagos gears up for the 2027 governorship election, the race is shaping as much as be one of the carefully watched and fiercely contested in latest reminiscence.
One factor is for certain, the countdown to 2027 has begun, and Lagosians are watching carefully.
