Tinubu won’t bow to pressure over Lagos APC ticket — Ajose

By Lawrence Agbo

A Lagos State governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Samuel Ajose, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not succumb to pressure over the party’s 2027 governorship ticket in the state.

Ajose made the remark while reacting to the reported adoption of Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat as the consensus governorship candidate of the party by the Governance Advisory Council and governor Babajide Sanwolu ahead of the next election.

Speaking during an interview on Politics Today, Ajose dismissed the move, insisting that Tinubu would not be coerced into endorsing any candidate against the democratic process of the party.

“I don’t think our president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is giving in to what they are doing. What they are just trying to do is to coerce him into taking a decision, and I don’t think that decision will stand,” he said.

Ajose questioned why Hamzat was allegedly avoiding a direct contest through the party’s primary election, arguing that every aspirant should be allowed to test their popularity through a transparent process.

“We don’t know why Hamzat is scared of going into the primaries. We don’t know why he is trying to force everybody into the consensus,” he added.

He maintained that the APC governorship ticket in Lagos should not be decided through imposition or backdoor arrangements, stressing that party members deserved a fair and open primary.

The aspirant also faulted the role of the Governance Advisory Council in pushing for consensus, warning that such moves could create unnecessary division within the party ahead of the 2027 governorship election.