Governorship candidates in Lagos State have presented contrasting policy proposals on housing, education, transportation, healthcare, waste management and economic development ahead of the February 6, 2027 election.
Four candidates participated in a public debate in Lekki: Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Funsho Doherty of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) and Deji Doherty of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The debate, titled A Conversation About Lagos: Its Future and Choices Ahead, was organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium.
The consortium comprises Channels Television, TVC News, The Punch, TheCable and Vanguard Newspaper.
The platform allowed candidates to present their manifestos, defend their policy positions and respond to questions on issues affecting residents.
While Hamzat defended the achievements of successive APC administrations, opposition candidates challenged aspects of the state’s development priorities and proposed alternative approaches.
Housing: Hamzat Defends APC Record As Rhodes-Vivour Promises 100,000 Units
Housing affordability and rising rents featured prominently during the debate.
Hamzat promised to enforce existing tenancy laws against arbitrary rent increases and landlords demanding multiple years’ rent in advance.
He said landlords must comply with regulations governing tenancy arrangements and pledged stronger enforcement to protect tenants from exploitative practices.
The APC candidate also said Lagos had established 24 housing estates in the last eight years.
He promised to expand access to affordable accommodation through improved mortgage facilities and complete ongoing housing projects.
According to him, increasing housing supply and providing affordable financing would improve access to homeownership.
Rhodes-Vivour, however, promised to deliver more than 100,000 housing units if elected.
The ADC candidate said the programme would prioritise low- and middle-income earners, with transparent allocation procedures to prevent beneficiaries from acquiring multiple units.
He also proposed a rent protection framework requiring landlords to give tenants at least six months’ notice before increasing rent.
Under the proposal, rent increases would fall within a range of 20 to 30 per cent.
Rhodes-Vivour added that tenants would have access to a feedback mechanism to report landlords who violated the proposed regulations.
He criticised successive administrations for pursuing what he described as elite-focused housing policies that disadvantaged vulnerable communities.
He also faulted the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC), arguing that its projects concentrated on highbrow areas and sometimes contributed to the displacement of low-income residents.
Citing demolitions in Makoko, Rhodes-Vivour said residents had been promised a better future but eventually faced displacement.
“The Lagos government in the last over 20 years has been focused on elite policies that only favour the elite. You look at how they do housing. LSDPC is mainly focused in high-brow areas and always at the push out of the vulnerable of our society,” he said.
Education: Funsho Doherty Promises Free Public Schooling
On education, NDC candidate Funsho Doherty promised to introduce completely free public education.
He said no child should lose access to schooling because their parents could not afford financial obligations.
His proposed policy would cover examination fees and other charges that sometimes prevent pupils from completing their education.
Doherty also pledged to introduce a programme providing pupils in public schools with one affordable meal daily.
He said his administration would prioritise education and skills development to improve young people’s employment opportunities.
Rhodes-Vivour also criticised the APC government’s development model, arguing that Lagos residents had not experienced improvements in living conditions proportionate to the state’s internally generated revenue.
He said his administration would prioritise affordable housing, safer communities and a cleaner environment.
The ADC candidate maintained that government policies should improve the welfare of ordinary residents rather than concentrate development in affluent neighbourhoods.
Transportation: Hamzat Targets 4,000 CNG Buses And Electric Ferries
Hamzat outlined plans to expand Lagos’s multi-modal transportation system through investments in rail, roads and waterways.
He said the state was targeting the movement of one million passengers daily through a fleet of 4,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.
He also announced plans to expand water transportation through the deployment of 77 electric ferries.
According to him, Lagos’s extensive waterways offer opportunities to reduce pressure on roads.
The deputy governor defended government investment in rail infrastructure, arguing that private-sector financing alone had not delivered a rail system anywhere in Africa.
He also promised to extend the Blue Line rail project to Okokomaiko and connect the Red Line to the Wole Soyinka station around the Trade Fair axis.
Hamzat highlighted the Omi Eko water transport initiative as part of efforts to integrate rail, road and waterways.
“The idea is to build rail, road, and water so that it’s all connected and move people en masse. In my manifesto, in the section of renewal, we said we will build 24,000 new buses, CNG buses, to move people en masse,” he said.
Healthcare: APC Candidate Promises 150 Primary Health Centres
On healthcare, Hamzat said the state government was building additional hospitals to improve access to medical services.
He promised to increase the number of primary healthcare centres from 87 to 150.
The facilities, he said, would operate round the clock to improve access to basic healthcare across the state.
Debt And Local Government Funding Generate Debate
The candidates also discussed Lagos’s financial management and the burden of public debt.
PDP candidate Deji Doherty criticised the state’s debt profile, arguing that debt servicing was putting pressure on government finances.
He estimated the debt-servicing burden at between ₦19bn and ₦20bn, saying the expenditure could limit the government’s ability to meet other financial obligations.
Doherty also questioned the financial independence of local governments.
He argued that councils, as the closest tier of government to residents, needed adequate resources to address community-level challenges.
He called for greater financial autonomy and questioned the handling of certain revenues.
Hamzat acknowledged the pressure rising food and petrol prices had placed on residents.
He said the state government could intervene in areas within its jurisdiction to address the economic challenges.
The debate provided an opportunity for the four candidates to outline their proposed approaches to Lagos’s major development challenges ahead of the February 2027 governorship election.
