Lagos State Deputy Governor and Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, has said the task before the next administration in Lagos will go beyond building more roads and rail lines.
According to him, the priority must be to create a city where residents can live, work and move around with safety and dignity.
He made this known during the week in an exclusive interview in Lagos while outlining the All Progressives Congress 2027 governorship manifesto.
The document, he explained, was initially drafted in 537 pages but has been reduced to 137 pages following consultations with market women, drivers, professors and other experts aimed at setting realistic priorities.
Hamzat noted that the Sanwo-Olu/Hamzat administration is in its final phase focused on completing ongoing projects under the THEMES Plus agenda and aligning them with a 25-year master plan that runs through 2035.
He cited the rail system as a key example. Government, he said, must complete the Blue Line to Okokomaiko, a 27.1-kilometre corridor, link it with the Red Line at the National Theatre, and prepare an extension from Ikeja to the airport for the incoming administration.
Beyond infrastructure, Hamzat said organisation will define his government. He explained that projects are being costed immediately to produce one-year, two-year and three-year plans. One immediate target is to ensure 60 per cent of Lagos residents have running water within the first two years.
He disclosed that reticulation from Adiyan 2 to Ogba alone is estimated at N97 billion.
On security, Hamzat made a strong case for state police, arguing that local knowledge is critical to crime prevention. Drawing from his experience growing up in Mushin, he noted that residents know those involved in crime, unlike officers posted from other states who lack that familiarity.
He added that technology is already available and government will expand the current security architecture while ensuring residents are not harassed on the streets.
He said addressing street harassment will be a priority within the first six months of his administration, emphasizing that people should be able to drive and go home without interference.
He linked the push for order to daily living, stating that government is lighting up the state with solar street lights to enable people to walk freely at night and conduct business at any time in a safe environment.
Flooding and waste, two recurring challenges, will be tackled through both engineering and behavioural change, he said.
Hamzat explained that Lagos sits two metres below sea level and that the state’s six drainage systems discharge into creeks and lagoons that also rise during rainfall, leading to tidal block and backflow. He said government’s responsibility is to ensure that canals are cleared regularly.
He also stressed the need to enforce physical planning laws, noting that building beyond approved land limits will create problems for the state in the future and such structures should be removed.
On waste management, he said landfills in the small state are becoming clogged. To address this, government is building a facility that will convert about four tonnes of the 13,000 tonnes of waste generated daily into useful resources.
Another landfill has been identified in Badagry, while moribund transfer-loading stations will be revived to reduce waste volume by up to 30 per cent before it gets to landfills. He added that opportunities in carbon credits will also be explored.
Regarding the waste-to-fertiliser plant at Odonguyan in Ikorodu, he said the PPP partner encountered structural and funding challenges.
He disclosed that a new model is now being developed at Olusosun.
Housing for the poor featured prominently in the discussion. Hamzat said the current 35 per cent subsidy on homes is not sustainable because the cost of building materials remains high.
He advocated a mortgage system supported by a revolving fund and said the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency was created to build credit data for potential homeowners. He compared housing finance to health insurance, arguing that a mortgage model is the sustainable way forward.
On slums and urban renewal, he insisted that government cannot develop at the expense of the poor. Citing the Badia clean-up and the Makoko situation where residents had agreed to a December 24, 2024 removal around high-tension lines, he said the objective is elevation rather than eviction. He maintained that a better society is built by lifting the poor out of poverty.
For agriculture, Hamzat acknowledged that Lagos lacks sufficient land to grow rice, but said the Imota rice mill will depend on other states through a N500 billion agricultural project. Under the plan, government will guarantee off-take, provide seeds and pay farmers immediately upon delivery.
He also revealed plans to procure 2,000 CNG trucks and establish a logistics hub to track cattle, fish and other food items coming into Lagos daily.
He dismissed the notion that Lagos is rich, comparing its N4.4 trillion, about $3.2 billion, budget to New York City’s nearly $600 billion budget for eight million people, while Lagos has 24 million residents.
He said 40 per cent of road costs in Lagos go to drainage and cited the Wemco drainage as being taller than an average person. He concluded that while Lagos is doing well, it needs more resources.
To address building collapses, Hamzat said government will depend on the Certified Accreditors Programme. Lagos will be zoned into 10 to 20 areas with registered private engineers who will be held liable for failures.
On the three Oshodi terminals he helped design as Commissioner for Works, he said they must be better organised with a clear separation between intra and inter-state transport and replicated in other parts of the state.
The Deputy Governor described himself as a proponent of discipline and the rule of law. He said walkways should be used for their intended purpose and markets should remain in designated areas to allow residents to plan their lives.
He recalled the Okota road project, where government spent nine months in court, paid N12 million compensation instead of the N60 million demanded, and demolished an obstructing building. He said residents in the area have benefited from improved drainage and free movement.
Hamzat also spoke on party politics. He said there is no agreement to serve one term and that the perceived rift between the Justice Forum and Mandate Movement has no philosophical basis.
On the 2023 presidential loss in Lagos, he said the party conducted an assessment and has corrected gaps in mobilisation.
On his running mate, Damilola Sonayon-James, he said the choice was made to balance religion, gender, age and senatorial district.
He noted that having a Christian female deputy from the West was important to the ticket.
He concluded that ego remains the biggest obstacle to governance. Managing ego, he said, is key to avoiding crisis, and that the work ahead is enormous.
