Dr. Obafemi Hamzat has been named as the running mate of Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu, the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2019 elections.
The Chairman of the party in the state, Alhaji Tunde Balogun made the announcement at a news conference in Ikeja on Sunday.
According to him, Hamzat was selected after wide consultations by the party’s top decision making body with other important stakeholders.
Balogun who described Hamzat as a competent hand said the party did not doubt the complementary role he would play in helping Sanwo-Olu move the state forward.
He said: “The highest decision making body of APC together with all the relevant stakeholders of APC in Lagos State have endorsed Dr. Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat as the running mate to the candidate of APC in Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
“After the endorsement, it is important for me to publicly and officially present Dr. Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat as the running mate of our candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for the 2019 gubernatorial election in Lagos State.”
The governorship candidate, Sanwo-Olu, lauded the choice of Hamzat as his running mate, expressing confidence in his ability to help realise a better Lagos.
He disclosed that he had known the former commissioner who stepped down for him in the race to the government house for years personally and professionally and that he could vouch for his competence and integrity to help deliver a better Lagos.
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“Dr. Obafemi Kadiri Hamzat and I have been players in the same political matters for many years. We have been friends and brothers for close to two decades and he is a man of deep intellectual knowledge. He is a man of high level of integrity.
“He is competent and I know he is going to help greatly to deliver the Lagos of our dream. With a technocrat like Hamzat, we will take Lagos to the next level,” Sanwo-Olu said.
In his acceptance speech, Hamzat thanked the party for choosing him and Sanwo-Olu to fly its flag in the elections saying they knew what was required to deliver a better Lagos and promising to do his best if the party gets the mandate.
“Lagos is dear to all of us and if Nigeria will be great, Lagos must be great. And as such the party decided to look for somebody who has the experience to run the state, in the person of Mr. Sanwo-Olu. We are now a global village and what we do in Lagos affects everywhere in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
“So, I am very happy. I feel very happy and I feel a sense of responsibility that the party after sitting together have selected me to be his running mate so that we can work together with our experience.
“We have known each other for over 15 years professionally and personally. So, we have the chemistry and I dare say that we understand the geography of Lagos.
“Mr Sanwo-Olu and I understand what it requires to cook what Lagosians desire. So, we promise to do our best to deliver the Lagos of our dream,” he said.
