ESG & Sustainability Risk Expert
Deputy State Chairman, APC Lagos State
First Badagry Indigene on a Governorship Ticket
Built on Service
Princess Damilola Sonayon James was born into the royal family of the Kweme Kingdom in Badagry West, granddaughter of the late Oba Afolabi Ogungbe James and daughter of the late Hon. Bolarinwa Sonayon-James, a former member of the House of Representatives. Public service was part of her inheritance, and she built her own path into it.
She studied at ASCON Badagry and Lagos State Model College, Kankon, before earning a BSc in Business and Human Resources Management from the University of Hull in the UK, followed by an MSc in Social Work with a specialisation in Community Development from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH).
Professionally, she works as an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) expert and sustainability risk consultant, bringing a modern governance lens that few candidates in Lagos politics carry. Her nomination made her the first indigene of the Badagry axis to run on a Lagos State governorship ticket and, at 41, one of the youngest candidates in the race.
A Voice Earned, Not Given
Education
BSc, Business and Human Resources Management, University of Hull
Studied at ASCON Badagry and Lagos State Model College, Kankon, before earning her degree in the UK, followed by an MSc in Social Work with a specialisation in Community Development from LAUTECH, grounding her later work in the theory behind the grassroots practice she'd already begun.
Community First, Always.
Sustainability & Governance Consulting
Advises on ESG strategy, sustainability risk, and governance, bringing modern policy frameworks into a traditionally old-guard political space.
Youth & Women's Empowerment Programmes
Worked with the Lagos State Ministry of Youth, the Mind-Gap Incubation Hub, and the National Youth Council of Nigeria on skills development, entrepreneurship, and women-focused programming.
Grassroots Political Organising
Built her political career from the ground up through the APC's community-level and women's mobilisation structures, not from a top-down appointment.
Advocate for Women in Leadership
Consistently associated with expanding women's participation in Lagos governance and politics, both inside and outside the party.
Voice for Lagos West
Her nomination is widely read as a deliberate move to strengthen representation for the Badagry and Lagos West axis, a region that has historically had less voice at the state level.
