Tunji Alausa denies plan to quit cabinet for Lagos governorship race

2026-03-04 - 21:08

Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, has dismissed reports that he is planning to resign from the Federal Executive Council to pursue a governorship bid in Lagos State ahead of the 2027 general election. Alausa, in a post on X on Wednesday, said he remains fully in office and continues to carry out his responsibilities at the Federal Ministry of Education. “We’re still hard at work here at the FME, don’t believe the rumours,” the minister wrote. His reaction followed speculation that some political appointees were preparing to step down in order to seek elective offices ahead of the next election cycle. According to the 2027 election timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, political parties are expected to conduct their primary elections between April 23 and May 30. The schedule implies that serving political appointees who intend to contest elective positions would be required to vacate their offices before participating in party primaries. In addition, Section 77(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 mandates political parties to submit a comprehensive digital membership register to the electoral body at least 21 days before the conduct of their primaries. The law requires that the register must include the name, sex, date of birth, residential address, state, local government area, ward, polling unit, national identity number and photographs of party members, both in hard and soft copies. It also stipulates that only party members whose details appear in the submitted register shall be eligible to vote and be voted for during party primaries, congresses and conventions. Alausa’s statement was aimed at dispelling claims that he was positioning himself to exit the cabinet in line with the legal and party requirements for aspirants ahead of the 2027 polls. The minister maintained that, for now, his focus remains on his official duties at the education ministry, insisting that reports linking him with a planned resignation and governorship ambition were unfounded. Vanguard News