Vanguard, others organise Lagos gov debate: Our plans for housing, traffic, others — APC, ADC, NDC, PDP candidates

By Efe Onodjae LAGOS — THE Lagos State governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr Obafemi Hamzat; African Democratic Congress, ADC, Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour; Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Funso Doherty and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Adedeji Doherty, yesterday, unveiled their development plans for housing, traffic congestion, transportation, security and infrastructure if elected in 2027.

They presented their credentials, policy proposals and vision for the state ahead of the governorship election. The candidates spoke at a debate organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium, which comprises Vanguard Newspaper, Channels Television, TVC News, Punch Newspaper and The Cable. During the debate, the candidates outlined different approaches to addressing the developmental challenges facing Lagos.

On the developmental challenges facing the state, the APC candidate, Dr Hamzat, emphasised continuity and expansion of existing infrastructure, while the ADC candidate, Mr Rhodes-Vivour, called for a departure from what he described as two decades of bad governance. In his remarks, the NDC candidate, Mr Doherty, questioned the political interests surrounding the state’s public transportation system, alleging that the failure to modernise the sector was deliberate.

Taming traffic in Lagos On traffic congestion, Doherty alleged that the persistent gridlock in Lagos was being sustained by vested interests benefiting from the existing chaotic public transportation system. He argued that the state’s traffic problems were not simply the result of inadequate infrastructure but also reflected poor management of existing roads and the failure to modernise public transportation.

The NDC candidate also alluded to the informal transport network popularly associated with agberos, arguing that the interests surrounding the system had made its modernisation politically difficult. He said: “Lagos continues to rely on dilapidated commercial buses operating chaotically, contributing to gridlock and making commuting difficult for residents.

“Our public transportation system is not modernised. Thousands of rickety buses are moving around. We must ask ourselves: are these what our people deserve? Why has it taken so long to modernise public transportation? “In my opinion, the lack of modern transportation is not by accident. There are vested interests in operating the bus system the way it is.

Many of us understand the agbero system; there is an ecosystem around it, and there is no political will to deal with that problem.” “We would modernise public transportation because we would be elected by the people and not by the agbero network,” he added. Hamzat, on his part, proposed expanding the state’s Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, system from about 1,000 buses to 4,000, with a target of transporting one million passengers daily.

“The plan would involve deploying Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, buses and creating dedicated BRT corridors across major routes. Integrated transportation system linking road, rail and water networks, saying the approach “would provide commuters with alternative means of movement and reduce pressure on major roads.” Housing, urban devt On housing, the ADC candidate, Mr Rhodes-Vivour, proposed delivering 100,000 housing units within his first four years in office through a combination of luxury taxation to fund social housing, development of the eastern foreshore and intergenerational areas, and decentralisation of development across the state.

He argued that Lagos required an integrated approach to urban development, noting that housing, waste management, transportation, healthcare, education and urban planning were interconnected. Hamzat, on his part, said the Lagos State government had delivered 18,000 housing units in the last eight years, adding that plans were underway to expand access to affordable homes through mortgage financing.

He said: “The proposed mortgage arrangement would allow prospective homeowners to make an initial payment of between 10 and 25 per cent and spread the balance over an extended period.” Meanwhile, the PDP candidate, Mr Doherty, proposed that the Lagos State Government should become a major property developer and build houses which residents could rent directly from the government.

He said: “There is no landlord, and there is no government that can control a landlord. What we are going to do is very simple. We are going to rent those houses ourselves, and then you can come and rent from us if you want to. If they cannot compete with the landlords, then let us forget it.” Governance, experience Presenting his credentials, Hamzat described the debate as a job interview, saying his professional background and experience in public service had prepared him for the responsibility of governing Lagos.

He said: “I take tonight (yesterday night) as a job interview. The first question you ask anybody who wants this type of responsibility is, what have you done to prepare fo