2027: Sanwo-Olu says peaceful handover to successor will be his proudest achievement
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed pride that his administration will hand over power to a successor in May 2027 without any political disagreement or rancour.
Sanwo-Olu said a peaceful transition of power would be one of his greatest achievements, noting that political successions in some states had resulted in disputes between outgoing governors and their deputies.
The governor spoke on Friday during the unveiling of the manifesto of his deputy and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Obafemi Hamzat, in Lagos.
He said his administration had seven months left in office, adding that his greatest satisfaction was not necessarily the infrastructure projects delivered but the cordial relationship he had maintained with his deputy.
According to him, Lagos would witness a change of leadership without the kind of disagreements that had characterised political transitions in some other states.
“I will tell you one thing that I’m the proudest of. It is not what is made of concrete; it is that Lagos is going to change governors without a quarrel.
“Think about how rare that is. Across this country, we have seen successions that have ended in courtrooms. We have seen deputies at war. In Lagos, the governor and his deputy walked into this hall together, will walk out together and in May, with your support, one of them will hand over the stage to the next one,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu urged Hamzat to sustain the relationship and governance structure they had built over the past seven years if elected governor.
He also charged his deputy to ensure that ongoing projects were completed and that programmes initiated by the current administration were not abandoned.
“Finish the work, every line, every bridge, every hall, and let no Lagosian ever say what we started together was abandoned,” he added.
The governor further described the transition of leadership in Lagos as a relay race, noting that successive administrations since 1999 had built on the foundations laid by their predecessors.
He said the incoming administration should continue ongoing projects while addressing areas that required improvement.
Sanwo-Olu also recalled how Hamzat stepped down from the 2018 governorship race to support his emergence as the APC candidate, describing the decision as a demonstration of loyalty.
He said their working relationship had remained cordial since they assumed office in 2019.
Hamzat, who emerged as the APC governorship candidate for the 2027 election, unveiled his development agenda tagged The Lagos PROMISE, outlining his proposed priorities for the state.
