APC 2027 governorship candidates South-West
On a Sunday evening in Lagos, President Bola Tinubu hosted a gathering of APC stakeholders from Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo states the only three South West states scheduled to hold governorship elections in 2027.
The session, held at his Lagos residence during the Eid el-Fitr holiday period, was described by multiple sources as lengthy and deeply strategic.
The President had just returned from a two day state visit to the United Kingdom, yet political business took immediate priority.
What emerged from those discussions was a shortlist that signals the party’s preferred direction
Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat for Lagos, Senator Olamilekan “Yayi” Adeola
for Ogun, and Senator Sharafadeen Alli for Oyo.
Insiders say the choices were not arbitrary they reflect a reading of each candidate’s state wide popularity, internal party dynamics, and alignment with the President’s broader political vision.
The Three Frontrunners
Obafemi Hamzat Lagos
Currently serving as Deputy Governor to Babajide Sanwo Olu, Hamzat is seen as the
establishment’s safe bet for Lagos.
His decades in engineering and public administration, combined with his proximity to the Tinubu political structure, make him a candidate the party can rally around.
However, the race is far from quiet the field also includes House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Hakeem Muri-Okunola (the President’s Principal Private Secretary), and several others, all
with formidable political bases.
Olamilekan “Yayi” Adeola Ogun
Senator Adeola, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and represents Ogun
West, has accumulated significant goodwill across the state through legislative
impact and grassroots mobilisation. His endorsement by the Ogun East APC caucus and
other political groups underscores a growing coalition in his favour.
The complication, however, lies within the governor’s mansion Governor Dapo Abiodun is reportedly backing a different aspirant, creating a tension that party managers must navigate carefully.
Sharafadeen Alli Oyo
Representing Oyo South in the Senate, Alli steps into one of the most competitive gubernatorial arenas in the South West.
With Governor Seyi Makinde completing his constitutionally limited second term, the race to Agodi Government House has attracted no fewer than 30 aspirants from various parties.
Within the APC, names like Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu who ran twice under the Penkelemesi banner and others remain live possibilities, even as the consensus needle moves toward Alli.
The Consensus Strategy Unity or Control?
The push for consensus candidates is not new to Nigerian party politics, but in the APC’s current context, it carries particular weight.
With the 2027 cycle being the first general election since Tinubu assumed the presidency, the South West is expected to function as his political fortress and any intraparty fractures could prove costly.
The APC’s Deputy National Organising Secretary, Chidi Duru, acknowledged the tension between consensus building and democratic openness.
He made clear that while consensus remains the party’s preferred approach, no legitimate aspirant would be barred from throwing their hat in the ring.
The “right of first refusal” principle essentially a performance-based advantage for incumbents or anointed candidates was floated as a guiding framework for managing competing ambitions.
Internal negotiations are already underway to manage dissenting aspirants.
In Lagos, for instance, the sheer number of serious contenders spanning serving legislators, former governors, and presidential aides means managing expectations will demand considerable political finesse.
In Ogun, the friction between Adeola’s backers and the governor’s camp adds another layer of complexity.
Voices From the Grassroots
The group stressed that credibility and public acceptability must anchor the selection process or the
party risks conceding ground it currently holds.
In Lagos, a coalition of prominent indigenes formally requested that the governorship ticket be given to a candidate with verifiable Lagos roots, strong academic credentials, demonstrated leadership experience, and a clean record.
The group also endorsed President
Tinubu’s second-term ambition, signalling that grassroots loyalty to the President does not automatically translate into blank-cheque acceptance of whatever candidate emerges from top level consultations.
In Oyo, a separate group of party advocates argued that the APC risks losing the state if it recycles familiar faces with unresolved controversies.
Opinion polls cited by the group suggested a potential credibility gap if the party does not refresh its candidate
profile ahead of 2027.
What Comes Next
The political season is still early. Formal party primaries are months away, and the landscape will shift as endorsements pile up, alliances form and fracture, and Abuja continues to weigh in on state-level calculations.
What is clear, however, is that the
APC’s South West project has moved from whisper to visible motion and the three names that surfaced from that Lagos evening meeting are now the ones to watch.
For Hamzat, Yayi, and Alli, the path to the governorship runs through a gauntlet of internal rivals, public scrutiny, and the ever-present hand of a President who has shown little appetite for leaving electoral outcomes to chance in his home region.
