In Nigeria, the race for the Lagos governorship seat has not officially begun, but political groups and strategists have continued to clamour for President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi to throw his hat into the contest. The call for him to vie for the biggest office in Lagos gained momentum in late 2024, around the time former house speaker Mudashiru Obasa advocated his governorship credentials.
“It is the right of everybody to contest; as long as you are a citizen, you are qualified,” Shegunfunmi Ajayi, a Seyi Tinubu supporter, tells The Africa Report. “It is left for [Seyi] to decide if he wants to run or not, whether he has the numbers to try his popularity.”
November 2024 was the period Obasa marked his 52nd birthday. It was also when Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu presented his N3trn ($2bn) state budget to the Lagos Assembly. The former Lagos speaker used both events to sermonise on why he is qualified to be the governor of Lagos.
That month, at least half a dozen largely unknown groups rolled out their campaigns for Seyi Tinubu, a philanthropist and entrepreneur, as the most qualified to become Lagos governor when the next election day arrives in 2027. A biopic that chronicles Seyi’s humanitarian activities across Nigeria was also released.
Friends of Seyi Tinubu, one of the groups, described him as an embodiment of ‘innovation, altruism, and strategic foresight.”
Ajayi, who manages a Facebook page ‘Seyi Tinubu for next governor’, says those urging the president’s son to run are doing so for their interests. “Maybe they will get an appointment or a contract if he decides to run and wins.”
Seyi has yet to break his silence
The rally for the younger Tinubu as governor has not been without pushback. One of the opposing groups warned that only an indigene of Lagos would become the next governor. The main opposition party in Lagos, the Peoples Democratic Party, also questioned whether governorship in the state is an inheritance of the Tinubus.
Those people who are campaigning for him just want to make money off him
Even one of President Tinubu’s ardent supporters, Joe Igbokwe, described the calls for Seyi Tinubu as the next Lagos helmsman as a needless distraction, adding that governing Lagos requires “significant experience and maturity”.
Seyi Tinubu has not signalled his intention to join partisan politics. But his latter-day philanthropy has not gone unnoticed. Last year, he donated N500m to victims in Borno after a devastating flood wreaked havoc in the northwest state.
In 2020, the Seyi Tinubu Grassroots Foundation was launched with the idea to use the empowerment of people as a stepping stone into politics, Olukayode David, the foundation’s national president, tells The Africa Report.
“We can’t say for now if Seyi wants to run for governor. Those people who are campaigning for him just want to make money off him,” David says. “He has not told anybody that he is interested.”
Taking turns at the top table
Since 1999, the ruling party in Lagos has attempted to strike a political and religious balance in its politics. The governorship candidate has often rotated between Christians and Muslims, and among the three senatorial zones in the state.
Governor Tinubu was a Muslim from Lagos Central, as was his successor, Babatunde Fashola. The next two governors were Akinwunmi Ambode, a Christian from Lagos East, and Sanwo-Olu, a Christian from Lagos Central.
Analysts say Lagos West, being the only zone yet to produce a governor, might be given the slot in 2027.
“Now is the turn of Lagos West, that’s why people like Obasa were pushing their agenda,” a party member who asked not to be named tells The Africa Report. “They say [that it is Lagos West’s turn] but, at the end of the day, whatever Tinubu decides to do, nobody can challenge him.”
It is not unusual for the ruling party leadership in Lagos to direct their candidate to pick a nomination form from any senatorial zone.
Former house speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji, was initially elected a lawmaker in Lagos East (Epe) constituency. Subsequent elections saw him contesting and winning from a constituency in Lagos West (Ikeja).
‘Not a political entity’
After Obasa’s colleagues in the house impeached him on 13 January, calls for Seyi Tinubu resurfaced. Sulaimon Arigbabu, a political analyst, says although it is still early days, the likelihood of the president’s son running for governor in Lagos is slim.
Let’s wait till the end of this year, we can see the picture clearly then
“I don’t see [President] Tinubu carrying on the burden of Seyi,” Arigbabu, the executive secretary of HEDA Resource Centre, tells The Africa Report. “Seyi is not a political entity, he has no wealth politically. The only thing he has for himself is that he is Tinubu’s son.”
Since 2023 when his father became the president, Seyi Tinubu’s influence in the corridors of power has risen enormously. Analysts say it is not uncommon for a wave of endorsements from various groups to herald a public figure’s political aspiration.
Foundation leader David says Seyi Tinubu has shown no intention to run for governor. “I’m close to Seyi and I know him very well. Before we can say Seyi wants to run for governorship, let’s wait till the end of this year, we can see the picture clearly then,” he says.
(The Africa Report)
