The political conversation around Ikorodu Division’s 250,000-vote target for the 2027 elections took a significant step forward on Thursday, 10th of September as the APC Governorship Candidate for Lagos State, Engr. (Dr.) Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, engaged traditional rulers, community leaders and other key stakeholders across the division, with Rep. Babajimi Adegoke Benson providing a prominent link throughout the day’s engagements.
From the palace of the Ayangburen of Ikorodu to the conference of Baales and Chiefs, and ultimately to the studios of Ikorodu 106.1 FM, the engagements provided an opportunity for Hamzat to present his vision for Lagos and Ikorodu while Benson reinforced the political commitment of the division to the progressive political family ahead of the 2027 elections.
The day’s activities began at the palace of the Ayangburen of Ikorodu Kingdom, HRM (Engr.) Dr. Oba Abdulkabir Adewale Shotobi, Ilufemiloye II, where Hamzat met with traditional rulers from across Ikorodu Division.
Benson, the Member representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and a prominent political stakeholder in the division, was at the forefront of the engagement, accompanying the Deputy Governor and APC governorship candidate as he met the royal fathers.
The meeting also received the presence of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, adding further weight to the engagement with the traditional institution.
The gathering provided a broad platform for Hamzat to speak directly to the traditional rulers about his vision for Lagos and, particularly, his plans for Ikorodu Division. He highlighted employment creation, infrastructure, transportation, water supply, healthcare, housing and education as key areas of focus, while also outlining plans to strengthen healthcare facilities in the division and improve accommodation for medical personnel.
He also spoke about the need for an integrated transportation system that would combine rail, road and waterways, as well as the importance of reliable electricity to support industrial and commercial activities, particularly around areas such as Odogunyan.
One of the defining moments of the engagement was the emergence of a common political commitment around the 250,000-vote target.
Benson, who has in recent days intensified grassroots consultations across the six councils of the division, assured the political leadership that Ikorodu would deliver 250,000 votes for the APC in the 2027 elections.
The commitment reflects the lawmaker’s ongoing mobilisation efforts across the division, where he has been engaging Community Development Associations, traditional institutions, political stakeholders, market groups, youths and other grassroots structures around the need for stronger electoral participation.
Rather than presenting the 250,000-vote target merely as a campaign slogan, Benson has increasingly linked it to Ikorodu’s political bargaining power and its quest for a greater share of developmental opportunities.
At the Thursday’s meeting, he called for fairness and equity in the distribution of government projects and opportunities, stressing that Ikorodu’s consistent support for the progressive political family should be matched by tangible dividends of democracy.
His message effectively placed two issues side by side: Ikorodu’s willingness to deliver politically and the expectation that such political commitment should translate into sustained development for the division.
The engagement subsequently moved from the palace to Aquilla Events Centre, where Hamzat met with the Conference of Baales and Chiefs across Ikorodu Division.
There, the APC governorship candidate again sought the support of the traditional and community leadership for his ambition to succeed Governor Sanwo-Olu, while the Baales and Chiefs expressed their readiness to support the party’s candidates and the continuity agenda.
The day’s political conversation then took an interesting turn from the traditional institution to the airwaves.
Benson accompanied Hamzat to Ikorodu 106.1 FM, where the governorship candidate featured on “KOH Unscripted in Ikorodu”, a specially designed interactive programme bringing together veteran Ikorodu voices to discuss leadership, politics, governance and the division’s journey towards the 250,000-vote target.
The radio engagement offered Hamzat an opportunity to speak directly to a wider audience beyond the traditional and political leadership assembled at the earlier meetings.
During the session, he discussed his motivation for public service, his connection with Ikorodu and Lagos, ongoing and proposed projects in the division, transportation, water supply, taxation, institutional development and the need for efficient public services.
He also emphasised the importance of stronger institutions and citizen participation in governance, urging stakeholders to think globally while acting locally in addressing the needs of their communities.
The Thursday engagement was therefore not simply another political courtesy visit.
It represented a deliberate convergence of the traditional institution, political leadership, grassroots structures and the media around a common conversation: the 2027 elections, continuity in Lagos and the place of Ikorodu in the next phase of the state’s development.
For Hamzat, the engagement offered an opportunity to seek the confidence of the people whose support he would require to succeed Sanwo-Olu.
For Benson, it reinforced the role he has increasingly assumed in the division’s political mobilisation — connecting the APC’s state-level leadership with Ikorodu’s traditional, community and grassroots structures while placing the division’s developmental expectations firmly on the table.
The presence of Governor Sanwo-Olu at the palace engagement further elevated the significance of the meeting, while the participation of traditional rulers and political stakeholders from across the division demonstrated the breadth of the consultation.
Among the royal fathers at the engagement were Oba Adefarasin Saheed Hassan Ajanaku II, Alajede of Ijede Kingdom; Oba Olukayode David Raji, Eweye of Isiu; Oba Richard Abayomi Ogunsanya, Olubeshe of Ibeshe; Oba Bashir Aremu Sotonwa, Sekumade of Ipakodo; and Oba Ahmed Olakunle Ogunnaike Ogunderu, Alagura of Agura Kingdom.
Other political figures and stakeholders who participated included Lagos APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi; members of the Governance Advisory Council; Asiwaju Kaoli Olusanya; Asiwaju Olorunfunmi Basorun; Senator Tokunbo Abiru; members of the Conference of Baales and Chiefs; and other political and community leaders across the division.
The engagements ended with a renewed emphasis on unity, grassroots mobilisation and collective responsibility ahead of the 2027 elections.
For Ikorodu, however, the emerging 250,000-vote conversation is taking on a significance beyond the figure itself.
It is increasingly becoming a statement of political strength – and, for Benson, a platform through which the division can make a stronger case for equitable development, greater representation and tangible dividends from the governments it supports.
With the mobilisation now moving from council to council, from traditional institutions to community structures and from physical meetings to the airwaves, Ikorodu’s 250,000-vote ambition has clearly moved from conversation to campaign strategy.
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