|By Chinwendu Nwani
As political manoeuvring intensifies ahead of the 2027 general election in Lagos State, former governor Akinwunmi Ambode has resurfaced as a central figure in behind-the-scenes calculations within the All Progressives Congress (APC), amid moves by party power brokers to push Seyi Tinubu’s governorship ambition to 2031.
The race for Lagos is shaping up as one of the most fiercely contested in recent years, with multiple high-profile aspirants, emerging political blocs and an increasingly assertive electorate positioning for influence in Nigeria’s commercial capital.
Seyi Tinubu, 40, son of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been promoted by several youth, civic and diaspora groups as a potential contender for the governorship. In the past year, organisations including the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders and The Future Platform, alongside segments of Nigerians in the diaspora, publicly urged him to declare interest in the race.
Those endorsements, however, reportedly unsettled the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), Lagos APC’s highest decision-making body, as Seyi has neither formally declared his ambition nor received any public endorsement from his father.
By 2027, Lagos will constitutionally require a new governor, with Babajide Sanwo-Olu set to complete his second and final term. Within the APC, however, sources say discussions are underway to draft Ambode back into the race to complete a second term, a move designed to stabilise the party and clear the path for Seyi Tinubu in 2031.
Ambode, who governed from 2015 to 2019, fell out with party leadership ahead of the 2019 election and lost the APC governorship primary to Sanwo-Olu. Sanwo-Olu subsequently won the general election, ending Ambode’s tenure after one term.
Multiple sources disclosed that GAC members are now working to delay Seyi Tinubu’s governorship bid, citing the need for party cohesion, strategic timing and continuity. One insider said Seyi, who had earlier shown interest in the race, was advised to maintain a low profile and focus on mobilising support for his father’s re-election bid.
“The party leadership saw his ambition as a possible distraction to the president’s second-term campaign, especially with the growing opposition mood in Lagos,” Segun Badejo, an APC chieftain in Gbagada.
The GAC, a powerful 30-member body established by President Tinubu in 1999 during his tenure as Lagos governor and led by Prince Tajudeen Olusi, comprises former governors and deputies, past speakers of the Lagos State House of Assembly, serving and former senators, as well as respected party elders. The council played decisive roles in the emergence of governors Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
According to party insiders, if President Tinubu secures re-election in 2027, his tenure will run until 2031, aligning with plans for Seyi Tinubu to enter the Lagos governorship race at that time as part of a broader legacy strategy.
Another factor driving Ambode’s possible return is the lingering resentment in the Epe division over the circumstances surrounding his removal after one term. Lagos State is administratively divided into five divisions, collectively known as IBILE: Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos Island and Epe.
Notably, Tinubu, Fashola and Sanwo-Olu—all from Lagos Island—each completed two terms in office, while Ambode, from Epe, was denied a second term. This has fuelled claims of political marginalisation within the Epe axis.
Although Epe later benefited from the appointment of Tunji Alausa as Minister of Health and subsequently Minister of Education, stakeholders in the area insist the zone deserves a full second term through either Ambode or Alausa.
A senior APC stakeholder in Ogba, Ikeja, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the strategy was not aimed at sidelining Seyi Tinubu but at protecting both the party and his political future.
“The idea is to give Seyi a more stable runway. The party does not want a repeat of what happened in 2023 when the Labour Party defeated the APC in Lagos,” the source said.
“He needs to mobilise the youth for his father. Running for governor now would split attention and trigger public backlash. Nigerians may not accept a situation where the father is president and the son is governor at the same time. Right now, the thinking is that Ambode or Alausa stands a better chance of carrying the party in 2027.”
