Lagos State Deputy Governor and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the 2027 election, Obafemi Hamzat, has revealed 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 disclosure during the public screening of the documentary, Who Is She?, held at the Syrian Club Event Centre in Ikoyi, Lagos.
According to him, the selection of the deputy governorship candidate followed consultations within the Lagos APC after President Bola Tinubu directed the state chapter to resolve the issue internally.
Hamzat explained that he recommended that the party should choose a young female running mate, a proposal that received Tinubu’s approval.
“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’ political zoning arrangement in making the choice. According to him, since he is from Lagos East and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is from Lagos Central, many party members expected the deputy governorship slot to go to Lagos West.
Hamzat said 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 Deputy Women Leader of the Lagos APC and an indigene of Badagry in Lagos West, was selected based on her competence and qualifications for the role.
