Lauretta Onichie, former Aide to Buhari affirms Seyi Tinubu’s eligibility to contest for Lagos governorship seat

Lauretta Onochie, former Special Assistant on Social Media to President Muhammadu Buhari, has joined the conversation about Seyi Tinubu’s eligibility to contest for Lagos governorship seat.

The likelihood of Seyi, President Bola Tinubu’s son contesting for the number one political office in Lagos, has been a trending conversation since the Lagos State House of Assembly impeached its Speaker, Mudashir Obasa on Monday, January 13, 2025.

Many critics of the president and political observers have argued that Obasa’s impeachment was a ploy to pave the way for Seyi to succeed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

While many Nigerians, especially supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have no problem with Seyi’s alleged ambition, others opposed the idea of a father and son leading Nigeria and the country’s economic headquarters respectively.

However, Onochie believes the president’s son has the right to have political aspirations and be voted for, saying the Nigerian law does not exclude those whose parents are governors or presidents from contesting.

In a tweet on Wednesday, the former presidential aide urged Nigerians to be guided by the law when they discuss Lagos State succession.

Lauretta Onochie

She wrote: “To become a Governor in Nigeria, the law does not exclude those whose parents were governors or Presidents. Let us be guided by the law when we argue about Lagos State succession. We cannot have a set of laws for Nigeria and a different set for Lagos.”

To support her submission, Onochie highlighted the legal requirements governorship aspirants must fulfil.

Onochie accompanied the tweet with a photo showing the state’s Deputy Governor, Babafemi Hamzat, President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, the impeached Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Mudashir Obasa, former Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, Senator Tokunbo Abiru and Seyi Tinubu as potential aspirants for the 2027 governorship race.

Besides Obasa, whose recent declaration of interest suffered a setback due to his impeachment, other purported aspirants have neither denied nor confirmed their aspirations.