2027: Hamzat Picks Obanikoro As Lagos Gov Campaign DG

According to Ireporter Online, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the 2027 Lagos State election, Obafemi Hamzat, has appointed former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, as the Director-General of his campaign organisation.

The announcement was reportedly made during an expanded meeting of the campaign council held in Lagos, where key stakeholders of the party were in attendance.

Sources indicate that President Bola Tinubu endorsed Obanikoro’s appointment during a recent engagement with APC leaders and stakeholders in Lagos State. The President was said to have expressed confidence in Obanikoro’s capacity to steer the campaign, pointing to his extensive political experience, public service background, and record of leadership in both elective and appointive offices.

Obanikoro’s appointment is being viewed as a strategic decision aimed at strengthening the APC’s grassroots mobilisation and consolidating its political structure ahead of the 2027 polls, given his deep familiarity with Lagos politics.

A veteran politician, Obanikoro’s career spans several decades across state and federal levels. He previously contested the Lagos governorship election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before later rejoining the APC.

His public service record includes serving as Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture in 1999 during the administration of then-Governor Bola Tinubu. He was later elected to represent Lagos Central Senatorial District in the Senate in 2003.

After his tenure in the National Assembly, he was appointed Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Ghana in 2008. In 2013, he returned to the federal executive council as Minister of State for Defence before being later redeployed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he also served as Minister of State.