Seyi and 2027 Lagos Governorship: New Permutations, Considerations Emerge; The Ambode Angle

By Aina Akinjide, Abuja Bureau Chief

Though Seyi Tinubu, son of Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has neither formally confirmed nor denied his alleged Lagos gubernatorial ambition, this magazine can confirm that a Think Tank sort of has been commissioned by promoters of his governorship project and charged to come out with the best approach to actualise it.

Before Seyi’s ambition berthed on the media space, a number of Lagos APC chieftains including President Tinubu’s staunch loyalists had been linked with the same ambition. These include the incumbent Lagos state Deputy governor, Femi Hamzat, Chief of Staff to the president and immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, the President’s Private Secretary, Hakeem Muri- Okunola, Speaker of Lagos state House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, among others.

With the exception of Obasa who made a veiled declaration of his ambition penultimate week during the presentation of Lagos budget for 2025 by Governor Babajide Samwo-Olu to state Assembly, other individuals mentioned above are yet to either give a hint about their alleged guber ambition or react to Seyi’s

Meanwhile, despite muted opposition from a section of the Lagos chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and some critical members of the Lagos political establishment to the Seyi Tinubu’s governorship ambition, the project, impecable sources told the magazine, will in the coming months proceed with vigour as it will receive endorsements from critical stakeholders in the party in Lagos.

The Source Magazine was further informed that, “Seyi’s governorship project  will ultimately result in his emergence as Governor Samwo-Olu’s successor in a such a manner that will leave opponents to his ambition as well as other aspirants to the Lagos number one political seat bemused and overwhelmed”

However, there are now a section of the Lagos political stakeholders who feel that Seyi’s governorship should not happen immediately after Sanwo-Olu on the grounds that it would be misinterpreted as the president using his official position to install his son in Lagos an then perpetuate the Tinubu political dynasty in the state.

Consequently speculations are rife that a search for a candidate stop-gap candidate, one that will do one term and leave the stage for Seyi in 2031, is afoot with former governor Akinwunmi Ambode featuring prominently in many discourses as fitting the bill.

The idea is to draft in Ambode, hand him the APC ticket and have him finish his eight year term which was cut short in 2019 following the godfather of Lagos politics and now President, Bola Tinubu’s insistence that he would not be re- elected.

“At least, in 2031, President Tinubu will be on his way out of power and the accusation of using his position to make a way for his son in Lagos will carry less weight”, one of the stakeholders told The Source.

Meanwhile, the Seyi governorship project think tank, the magazine learnt, is saddled with fashioning out less acrimonious ways to actualise the President’s son’s guber ambition has allegedly come up with a number of recommendations that will see him grab the APC Lagos gubernatorial ticket effortlessly and subsequently go ahead to win the election itself.

To get the APC  ticket without rancor or upsetting his father’s political structure in Lagos, sources claim that the Think Tank will be recommending that other aspirants should be prevailed upon to stand down for Seyi in exchange for juicy federal political appointment.

And should they insist on pursuing their ambitions to a logical conclusion, the Think Tank, it was gathered, will be recommending a gubernatorial primary election, which on the surface, will present a  semblance of an open, competitive and transparent exercise but behind the scene heavily skewed to produce Seyi.

Said an insider conversant with the unfolding intrigues: “It will be a case of carrot and stick. They will be cajoled, they will be informed the implication of proceeding with their ambition and insisting on an open primary election; those who opt to stand down for Seyi will be rewarded with juicy federal appointments, including ministerial positions, diplomatic postings and National Assembly membership.  However, those who stubbornly pressed ahead will face political siberia.

“In any case, I don’t expect any contest against Seyi for the APC ticket; I believe that in deference to the President, others will announce their withdrawal from the race days before the primary”

And for the governorship election proper, given the outcome of the 2023 Presidential election in Lagos and the cosmopolitan nature of Lagos, Seyi is allegedly favourably disposed to a unique electioneering campaign and government where non- Yorubas will play critical roles.

To this end, the Think Tank is mulling a non- Yoruba running- mate for Seyi, preferably someone from the Southeast and a campaign DG of either a Middle Belt or South South extraction.

“You can’t wish away the peculiar nature of Lagos. The truth is that Lagosians of non- Yoruba extraction wield enormous electoral strength in Lagos and this reflected in the outcome of the last presidential election in the state.

“The grim reality is that if election is strictly held on the basis of one man one vote, any governorship candidate non- Yoruba voters support, particularly the Igbos with a significant voting strength, will win with a landslide.This is why Seyi, whose wife is from the Southeast state of Anambra, will be packaged as a pan- Nigerian candidate with his ticket and campaign line up reflecting so;  our intention is to harvest all the non- Yoruba votes in Lagos” , the source stated.

Like a hurricane, rumours of Seyi’s gubernatorial ambition has been sweeping Lagos’ political space as a melange of groups and associations daily saturate the social and traditional media space with endorsements. Critics however, say the pro- Seyi groups are mere collection of mercantile, procured supporters who are only after their pockets.

The endorsement gale began with a press statement in Owerri, the Imo state capital by a hitherto unknown group, the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders, CONYL, made up of youth leaders from the six geo-political zones. While endorsing the younger Tinubu as the next governor of Lagos, the leaders of the group including its President, Goodluck Ibem, the Secretary Comrade Junard Abubakar,  Public Relations Officer, Comrade Iniobong Sampson and the Publicity Secretary Comrade Adeyemo Adewale argued that Seyi has the capacity and competence to replicate his father’s legacies in Lagos when he ruled state between 1999 and 2007.

“Nigerians youths came to this conclusion because Lagos State has been a home for all Nigerians and who becomes the governor of the state is pivotal given the role the state has played since the inception of the country.

“Seyi Tinubu is gifted, qualified, experienced, well-read and capable to lead Lagos State to the promised land come 2027”,  CONYL said.

Further highlighting Seyi’s credentials, the group recalls that “when there was flooding in Borno State, Mr Seyi and his team were there to sympathize and show support to those Nigerians whose property, homes and means of livelihood were destroyed by the flood. He gave a lot of gift items, food, home utensils, drugs and money to the affected persons during that period when the sad even took place”

Other groups that has since followed in the footsteps of CONYL include the Lagos branch of the Middle Belt Youths. Addressing a press conference in Lagos Eko Hotel, Dr Stanley Augustine Kavwam, Deputy National Publicity Secretary of Middle Belt Forum and other leaders of the Forum not only endorsed Seyi Tinubu but urged him to take over as governor of Lagos State in 2027 to continue building on political structure and legacy and of his father.

Another youth group which claims to be an advocate of progressive leadership and youth development, The Nationwide Tinubu Connect Associate (NTCA), has also endorsed Seyi.

NTCA in a statement by its South West Zone Coordinator Mr. Olusegun Nelson emphasized  that “Seyi Tinubu, a dynamic and dedicated individual, has made significant strides in youth empowerment and community development across Lagos State and the Southwest region of Nigeria.

“His contributions have spanned various sectors, including education, entrepreneurship, and social services, reflecting his deep commitment to fostering growth and opportunities for young people”

In the same vein, Friends of Seyi Tinubu (FOST), has equally endorsed Seyi as next governor of Lagos State come 2027.

A statement by FOST President, Comrade Adejorin Tai Manuel, stressed that “Lagos State deserves a leader who embodies innovation, altruism, and strategic foresight. Seyi Tinubu has consistently demonstrated these qualities, making him uniquely qualified to steer Lagos into an era of unprecedented advancement”

Meanwhile, the younger Tinubu’s guber ambition which is increasingly assuming octane dimension is not without opposition. No sooner did CONYL stage its Owerri  outing than a coalition of Lagos Indigenous Youths stated its determination to scuttle Seyi’s dream and those of non- indigenous Lagosians to rule the state come 2027.

Reacting to the endorsement of Seyi by CONYL which it described as a faceless group, the indigenous Lagos youths urged the President’s son to go to Osun, his state of origin or Imo state where CONYL issued its statement endorsing him to actualise his governorship dream.

“Our attention has been drawn to the recent endorsement of Seyi Tinubu for Lagos governor by a group known as Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders (CONYL) and the group is described as the the umbrella body of all the youth groups drawn across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.

“The said Coalition sat in Owerri, Imo State and publicly issued the statement on endorsement. While we know Mr Seyi Tinubu has his democratic rights as a Nigerian, we condemn the ill-fated endorsement and describe it as anti-democracy and a deliberate move by some faceless individuals to deny indigenes of Lagos State right to govern themselves in 2027.

“It is no longer news that since 1999 no true blood indigenes of Lagos State have taken over the mantle of leadership in the state (except one), the marginalization which underscores the essence of democracy and an outright denial of indigenes of Lagos State the right to govern themselves.

“We know as a fact that there will soon be vacancy in Osun State  where Mr Seyi Tinubu can best exercise his democratic rights unhindered. And if the people of Owerri in Imo are also interested in benefiting from the experience Mr Seyi Tinubu has acquired in recent times, they can push him to succeed Governor Uzodinma.

“As for us there is no vacancy for non indigenes in Lagos State in 2027. The marginalization is too much and the marginalization has led to the underdevelopment in the state.

“It’s unbelievable that since 1999, our hinterlands are not developed, no good roads, Lagos State is in debts and our traditional system distorted by successive governments.

“We are also aware of the moves by some non-indigenes to penetrate our traditional rulers in getting endorsements and ratifications from them.

“We are hereby calling on the Oba of Lagos to beware of persons who will soon seek indigenship of Lagos State because of 2027…We will fight dirty if the Oba of Lagos allows such anti- Lagos Indigenes move,”, the group’s president, Abdul Kareem Whyte said in a press statement.

Surprisingly, a staunch royalist of the president and Chieftain of the APC in Lagos, Joe Igbokwe, is also opposed to Seyi’s governorship drive, describing him as “a boy”.

Igbokwe who had held numerous strategic political appointments in Lagos at the behest  of Tinubu wrote on his facebook wall: “Who are these faceless people pushing Seyi Tinubu for Lagos Governor? This is a needless distraction.

“To pull PBAT down is their target. Please allow PBAT to do his very engaging and tasking job. Ruling Lagos is not the job of boys”.

Seyi’s supporters have however, dismissed Igbokwe’s opposition, suggesting it was borne out of frustration.”Can’t you see that the man is frustrated? Governor Samwo-Olu did not consider him for any position and his main benefactor, President Tinubu appears to have completely forgotten and sidelined him, so Mr Igbokwe is doing everything possible to be noticed and remembered for appointment. Nobody should take him seriously”, Akinola Adigun, one of those pushing  Seyi’s guber ambition told the magazine.