Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has recounted how his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, stepped down from the Lagos governorship race in 2018 to run alongside him, describing the decision as a demonstration of loyalty and selflessness.
Sanwo-Olu appealed to the electorate to support continuity in Lagos governance, describing Hamzat as an experienced administrator who understands the state’s development priorities and is prepared to build on the administration’s achievements.
The governor made the remarks in a social media post on Friday, recalling that Hamzat had 13 years of public service experience under former governors Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola when party leaders asked him to step aside from the 2018 governorship contest.
According to Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat accepted the decision without resentment and agreed to become his running mate five weeks later.
“It takes a rare man to put down what he wants without nursing a grudge. Femi shook my hand and five weeks later, agreed to run beside me. I have never forgotten that,” he wrote.
Reflecting on their seven years in office, the governor said Hamzat had remained a dependable partner during major challenges and landmark projects, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of the Blue and Red rail lines, and the opening of the Lekki Deep Sea Port.
“For 2,711 days, I have been in that room with him,” Sanwo-Olu said, adding that Hamzat was involved in key decisions and raised critical questions about projects even before their formal commencement.
He described his deputy as a committed public servant who had fulfilled his promise to be the best deputy governor in the state’s history.
“In seven years, there has not been a single day I wondered whose side he was on. We have had one government, one direction, and one voice,” he stated.
Sanwo-Olu also defended the principle of continuity in Lagos governance, likening the state’s development process to a relay race in which successive administrations build on the achievements of their predecessors.
He cited Hamzat’s public service experience, including his role in the construction of the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge under Fashola and his involvement in the digitisation of government under Tinubu.
The governor argued that Lagos needed an experienced leader to sustain its development plans, particularly with major projects underway and a long-term master plan extending to 2052.
“Critics say Lagos keeps choosing from the same pool. I say Lagos trains its people,” he wrote, adding that Hamzat’s vision was “not a campaign promise cooked up on a bus” but the next phase of a development process that began in 1999.
Sanwo-Olu urged residents to support the continuity agenda, declaring: “Lagos does not hand the baton to a man standing still. Today, you have seen the man who is already running. Let us move forward together with The Lagos PROMISE.”
