Follow Us on Google
Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Obafemi Hamzat, has taken a swipe at his opponents ahead of the 2027 election, accusing some of them of focusing on grievances rather than presenting workable plans for the state’s development.
Hamzat declared that while his opponents were offering what he described as “manifestos of grievances”, he had a clear blueprint to build on the achievements of successive administrations in Lagos. He spoke on Friday at a governorship debate.
The debate featured candidates from different political parties, including Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Funso Doherty of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Adedeji Doherty of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oluwapamilerin Odunaike of the Labour Party and Laja Adeoye of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
“My opponents have a manifesto of grievances. I have a blueprint. They say all these years are problems, but I see them as foundations,” Hamzat said.
The APC candidate also defended his political consistency, contrasting his long-standing membership of the party with what he described as the frequent movement of some opposition politicians between political parties.
“I’ve stayed in one political party all my life. He has moved three times. He has moved four times,” he said.
Hamzat argued that the ability to manage a political party was an important requirement for governing a state, saying anyone unable to manage a political organisation would struggle to manage the wider responsibilities of government.
“In our country, if you cannot manage your political party, you cannot govern a state because you don’t know what it takes to manage a system,” he said.
He also rejected criticisms of Lagos’ education and healthcare systems, citing the employment of Nigerian-trained professionals in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom as evidence of the quality of education and training in the state.
“They also tell us that our education is bad, our health is bad. But America is recruiting our doctors. England is taking our nurses. They are deceiving you, and you believe that our system is bad,” he said.
“People who are educated in Lagos are going to America. They are working well. Bankers are leaving, engineers are leaving, all educated here in Lagos.”
The deputy governor, who described himself as a product of Lagos’ public education system, said his personal experience had strengthened his confidence in the state’s development.
Hamzat emerged as the APC governorship candidate in May after polling 657,917 votes at the party’s primary.
In his acceptance speech, he unveiled a development agenda tagged “My Lagos Dream”, built around job creation, infrastructure development, education, healthcare and security.
He said his vision was to sustain Lagos’ position as Africa’s leading commercial hub through strategic investments and people-focused governance.
