As the 2027 general election gathers momentum in Lagos State, former governor Akinwunmi Ambode is re-emerging in political calculations, with party power brokers said to be working to defer Seyi Tinubu’s governorship ambition to 2031.
The contest is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent history, with several high-profile aspirants, emerging power blocs, and an increasingly vocal electorate weighing in on the state’s future leadership.
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Seyi, 40, who is the son of President Bola Tinubu is being touted by several youth and diaspora groups as a potential contender for the Lagos State governorship.
Last year, there were endorsements from organisations such as the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders, The Future Platform and segments of Nigerian communities in the diaspora who urged him to declare his interest in the race.
The development reportedly threw the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) into a dilemma, as Seyi has neither formally declared his ambition nor received any public endorsement or comment from his father on the matter.
By 2027, Lagos State is expected to have a new governor, as Babajide Sanwo-Olu would be completing his second and constitutionally permitted term in office.
However, there are feelers that the power brokers in the state are considering Ambode to return and complete his second tenure to pave way for Seyi Tinubu in 2031.
Recall that Ambode fell out with Tinubu and Lagos APC leaders ahead of the 2019 election and was denied the APC ticket, losing the party’s primary to Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who went on to win the governorship poll.
Sources said the GAC members are now reportedly working to delay Seyi Tinubu’s governorship bid, moving it to 2031, citing a need for party continuity and strategic planning.
The source told our reporter that although Seyi Tinubu was interested earlier in the governorship race, he was advised to keep a low profile to concentrate on his father’s bid for a second term.
“The party leadership viewed his ambition as a potential distraction to his father’s second-term dream, given the growing opposition to the current government,” Segun Badejo, an APC chieftain in Gbagada, told newspaper.
The GAC, a powerful 30-member political body established by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his tenure as Lagos State governor in 1999, led by Prince Tajudeen Olusi, comprises former governors and deputy governors, past speakers of the Lagos State House of Assembly, former and serving senators, as well as respected elder statesmen and women.
The GAC played a decisive role in the emergence of former governors Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode, and later Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Administratively, Lagos State is divided into five districts, collectively referred to as IBILE: Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos Island and Epe.
Notably, past Lagos governors, Tinubu, Fashola and Sanwo-Olu, all hail from Lagos Island and completed their two terms, while only Ambode, from Epe, was denied a second term.
This has sparked discontent among stakeholders in Epe, who are unhappy with the manner in which their native son, Ambode, was removed from office.
Although Tinubu later rewarded Epe with the appointment of Tunji Alausa as Health Minister and later, Education Minister, the people are still demanding that the zone should be allowed to complete its term.
Stakeholders are claiming that Epe has been politically marginalised and insisted that either Alausa or Ambode should succeed the current Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2027.
Political watchers observed that the 2027 field is already crowded in Lagos, with heavyweights including Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the state assembly speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, Tokunbo Abiru and Abdul-Azeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, among others, being touted for the number one seat.
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