The Isokan Yoruba Group has endorsed Lagos deputy governor, Obafemi Hamzat, for the 2027 governorship election.

The group, in a statement in Lagos on Monday, also urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to pick a Lagos indigene as deputy governorship candidate.

The statement was jointly signed by the group’s president, Adekunle Adegoroye; national secretary, Shola Omolola; national organising secretary, Adewale Samson; and national legal adviser, Kayode Alabi.

Mr Adegoroye said that the group remained a leading socio-cultural and political organisation of Lagos State indigenes.

“We declared support for Dr Obafemi Hamzat as the next governor of Lagos State.

“We call on the All Progressives Congress (APC) to ensure that the deputy governorship slot is ceded to a bona fide Lagos indigene,” he said.

The president said the position followed extensive consultations with traditional rulers, community leaders, and indigenous stakeholders across the five administrative divisions of the state – Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, and Epe.

He added: “As stakeholders and landlords of Lagos State, we have resolved to support the aspiration of Dr Obafemi Hamzat to lead our dear state. We acknowledge his competence, experience, and loyalty to the progressive family.

“However, we state clearly and unequivocally: For equity, balance, and political inclusion, the next deputy governor of Lagos State must be a bona fide Lagos indigene.

“This is the irreducible minimum for our vote and total support in 2027.”

According to him, while Lagos remains home to all Nigerians, the principle of fairness demands that indigenes be represented in the highest offices of their ancestral state.

“From Badagry to Epe, from Ikorodu to Awori-speaking communities, Lagos parades highly qualified, loyal party men and women who can serve excellently as deputy governor.

“They understand the land, the culture, and the grassroots,” Mr Adegoroye said.

He urged President Bola Tinubu, as national leader of the APC and political leader of Lagos State, as well as the leadership of the APC, to ensure this demand was factored into the final ticket.

“We are not making this demand from a place of hostility. This is a patriotic call for balance and inclusion.

“A Lagos indigene as deputy governor will deepen social cohesion, strengthen the party’s bond with the grassroots, and guarantee massive indigenous votes for the APC in 2027,” he said.

Mr Adegoroye reaffirmed the group’s loyalty to the APC and to Mr Tinubu’s reelection, stressing that the move would consolidate the party’s dominance in Lagos State. 

(NAN)