Lagos State Deputy Governor and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the 2027 election, Obafemi Hamzat, has disclosed that he had never met or spoken with his running mate, Damilola Sonayon-James, before the party selected her for the position.
Hamzat made the revelation during the public screening of Who Is She? at the Syrian Club Event Centre in Ikoyi, Lagos.
According to him, the selection process followed consultations within the Lagos APC after President Bola Tinubu directed the state chapter to resolve the issue of the deputy governorship candidate.
Recounting the discussions, Hamzat said he recommended that the party nominate a young female running mate, a suggestion the President endorsed.
“The President called me and said, ‘You guys go and sort it out.’ I said, ‘Sir, I think it should be a female.’ He said, ‘It’s okay.’ I said, ‘It should be young.’ He said, ‘It’s okay,'” Hamzat recalled.
He added that the party also considered Lagos State’s zoning arrangement in making its decision. According to him, with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu from Lagos Central and himself from Lagos East, there was a strong expectation that the deputy governorship slot would go to Lagos West.
Hamzat further revealed that he had no prior relationship with Sonayon-James before her emergence as his running mate.
“Until Damilola was chosen, I didn’t know her phone number. I got her phone number from somebody,” he said.
He noted that Sonayon-James, the Lagos APC Deputy Woman Leader from Badagry in Lagos West, was ultimately selected based on her competence and qualifications.
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