I did not know my running mate before she was chosen

Lagos State Deputy Governor and APC governorship candidate for the 2027 election, Obafemi Hamzat, has said he did not know his running mate, Damilola Sonayon-James, before she was selected by the party.

Hamzat made this known during the screening of the documentary Who Is She? at the Syrian Club Event Centre in Ikoyi, Lagos.

According to him, the decision to choose a deputy governorship candidate followed consultations within the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after President Bola Tinubu asked party leaders in the state to resolve the issue.

Hamzat said he suggested that the running mate should be a young woman, and the President supported the idea.
He recalled that Tinubu told party members to settle the matter among themselves.

Hamzat said he then proposed a female candidate and also recommended that the person should be young, a suggestion the President accepted.

The APC candidate explained that the party also considered Lagos State’s zoning arrangement before making its choice.

He noted that since he is from Lagos East and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is from Lagos Central, many party members expected the deputy governorship slot to go to someone from Lagos West.

Hamzat said he had never met or spoken with Sonayon-James before her selection.
He revealed that he did not even have her phone number and had to obtain it from another person after she was chosen.

According to him, Sonayon-James, who serves as the Lagos APC Deputy Woman Leader and is from Badagry, was selected because of her competence and qualifications.

Hamzat said her emergence was based on merit and the confidence the party had in her ability to serve the people of Lagos State.