LAGOS 2027: If It’s Not Hamzat, Who Else?
Why Experience, Continuity and Preparedness Matter
By Seye Oladejo, Lagos APC Spokesman
September 21, 2026
As Lagos approaches the 2027 governorship election, one question deserves serious consideration: who is adequately prepared to lead a complex megacity with more than two decades of accumulated institutional experience?
For Lagos, the debate should go beyond political slogans and personalities. It should focus on experience, competence, institutional memory, continuity and the capacity to build on what has already been achieved.
Against that background, the emergence of Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat as the Lagos APC’s adopted governorship candidate presents a proposition worth examining.
A RECORD BUILT OVER DECADES
Lagos has, for more than two decades, pursued a development model built around continuity, long-term planning and successive administrations consolidating on existing foundations.
The argument for continuity is not necessarily that everything is perfect or that every policy should remain unchanged. Rather, it is that sustainable development requires governments to understand what has worked, identify what has not, and improve existing systems instead of repeatedly starting from scratch.
Hamzat’s professional and political trajectory places him within that institutional history.
He holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Ibadan and a Ph.D. in System Process Engineering from Cranfield University, England.
His professional career also extended beyond academia. He worked in the private sector and technology-related environments, including Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Columbia University and Oando Plc, where he served as Chief Information Officer and Group Head of IT Strategy.
That experience exposed him to technology, systems management, corporate administration and strategic planning before he assumed major public responsibilities in Lagos.
FROM TECHNOLOGY TO GOVERNANCE
Hamzat joined the Lagos State Executive Council in 2005 as Commissioner for Science and Technology under then-Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He was subsequently retained by Governor Babatunde Fashola and appointed Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, giving him responsibility in one of the most critical areas of Lagos’ physical development.
He also served at the federal level as a technical adviser on works and infrastructure.
These appointments provided him with exposure to different dimensions of governance—from technology and public-sector systems to infrastructure development and policy implementation.
His journey later took him to the Deputy Governorship.
Since 2019, Hamzat has served as Deputy Governor of Lagos State and was re-elected alongside Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2023.
The trajectory gives him experience across several layers of governance: the private sector, technology, state executive administration, infrastructure, federal advisory work and the political management of Lagos.
He therefore does not approach the 2027 contest as someone unfamiliar with the machinery of government.
He has worked with governors, technocrats and private-sector professionals. He has operated within the state bureaucracy and understands the political environment in which policies must ultimately be implemented.
THE PERSEVERANCE FACTOR
Hamzat’s political journey has also involved patience and persistence.
In 2018, he sought the APC governorship ticket. He subsequently became the running mate to Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the ticket won the 2019 election and returned to office in 2023.
In 2026, the Lagos APC adopted Hamzat as its consensus governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
His trajectory illustrates a political career that has evolved over time rather than being built around a single electoral opportunity.
LAGOS AND THE QUESTION OF CONTINUITY
Lagos is a densely populated commercial centre with complex demands across transportation, infrastructure, housing, healthcare, education, environmental management, technology and economic development.
The next administration will inherit ongoing programmes and long-term projects.
Consequently, one of the central questions for 2027 is how effectively the next governor can sustain viable programmes, correct shortcomings, complete ongoing projects and introduce new policies where necessary.
This is where continuity becomes a governance question rather than merely a campaign slogan.
Continuity does not mean refusing to change.
It means retaining what works, correcting what does not, improving what can be improved and taking successful initiatives to the next level.
Development is rarely achieved in a single electoral cycle. Major cities are built through successive layers of planning, investment and institutional learning.
WHY START FROM ZERO?
There is always an attraction to political novelty—a new face, a new slogan and a new set of promises.
But novelty and preparedness are not necessarily the same thing.
Hamzat brings decades of exposure to Lagos governance that cannot be acquired overnight.
He has been a technocrat, commissioner, private-sector professional, federal adviser and Deputy Governor.
He has participated in policy formulation and implementation and has had direct exposure to the administration of one of Africa’s most complex urban centres.
For his supporters, that accumulated experience represents one of the strongest arguments for his candidacy.
THE 2027 QUESTION
The 2027 contest will ultimately be decided by Lagos voters, who will assess the candidates, their records, programmes, ideas and capacity to address the challenges ahead.
The argument for continuity therefore does not require the claim that Lagos has reached its destination.
Rather, it asks whether the state should build on the institutional knowledge and development foundations accumulated over the past two decades or pursue a fundamentally different direction.
Those advocating a departure from the existing trajectory will also have to explain what alternative model they propose and how it would improve upon existing systems.
Because change, by itself, is not a development strategy.
The more important question is what should change, what should remain, and what should be improved?
That is where Hamzat’s experience becomes central to the 2027 conversation.
With his academic background, professional exposure, executive experience and long involvement in Lagos governance, he enters the contest with substantial knowledge of the system he seeks to lead.
Ultimately, the question “If it’s not Hamzat, who else?” should not be answered by political rhetoric alone.
It should be examined through the lens of credentials, experience, preparedness, vision and the future needs of Lagos.
For those calling for a departure from continuity, another question remains:
If the objective is change, what exactly is the proposed destination?
Lagos must continue to evolve. But evolution does not necessarily require starting over.
Lagos must move forward—not start all over again.
[🔓JAILBREAK]For a more newspaper-style treatment, I would make the headline even more punchy and less like an opinion essay:
LAGOS 2027: HAMZAT’S EXPERIENCE, CONTINUITY TESTED AS APC ADOPTS GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE
From technocrat to commissioner and deputy governor, Hamzat’s supporters argue that Lagos needs an experienced hand rather than a fresh start.
This framing gives the story stronger journalistic appeal while making it clear that the arguments in favour of Hamzat are those advanced by the author and his political camp.
