Lagos State governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) have criticised aspects of the state’s development under the All Progressives Congress (APC), with promises to overhaul housing, transportation, education, waste management, youth empowerment and flood control, if elected.

However, the APC candidate and incumbent Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, while defending the administration’s record, acknowledged areas where more needed to be done and outlined measures he would adapt to consolidate existing interventions.

The candidates spoke yesterday at The Platform Nigeria Town Hall Meeting for Lagos State Gubernatorial Candidates, organised by Poju Oyemade, a pastor, where they presented their programmes and responded to challenges confronting residents.

A major issue at the forum was the contrast between the state’s growing revenue and the living conditions of residents.

ADC candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, said Lagos had been governed for more than two decades by the same political tendency, which, according to him, had placed excessive emphasis on internally generated revenue (IGR) rather than the welfare of residents.

He said the alternative should be an approach centred on the Lagosian, which he associated with the administration of the late governor, Lateef Jakande.

“The other ideology is one that emphasises the person, the resident, the Lagosian. I would call that ideology the Alhaji Lateef Jakande ideology,” Rhodes-Vivour said.

He said his administration would increase access to skills acquisition and employment by decentralising councils.

According to him, young people would not only receive training in areas such as tiling, bricklaying and POP installation, but would also be given opportunities to apply those skills through government projects, including a proposed housing programme.

He promised to construct 100,000 housing units within four years, saying the houses would be designed to accommodate residents’ changing needs and financial capacity.

NDC candidate, Funso Doherty, also identified housing, transportation, education, healthcare, waste management and unemployment as areas requiring urgent intervention.

He proposed constructing 150,000 housing units and argued that Lagos needed a stronger social contract with residents, particularly young people.

Doherty said the state must invest in technical and vocational education, improve local government roads, and reform the transportation system, including transport unions’ activities.

He also highlighted the need to address the challenges facing street children and improve access to public services.

PDP candidate, Deji Doherty, similarly placed youth development and human capital at the centre of his agenda, outlining a 10-point programme covering transportation, power, housing, healthcare, disability inclusion, industrialisation and public-sector development.

He argued that Lagos needed policies capable of expanding economic opportunities while improving residents’ quality of life.

Hamzat, however, used the platform to acknowledge shortcomings while highlighting what he described as progress recorded by successive APC administrations.

He said Lagos could not afford to ignore the improvements made since 1999, but acknowledged that “not everything” had been achieved.

The deputy governor said he had spent about 20 years working in different government capacities and understood the challenges facing the state from both the public and private sectors.

On education, he cited an increase in the proportion of students obtaining five credits, including English and Mathematics, in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), while also acknowledging the need for further improvement.

He said the state had also expanded emergency response capacity, noting that Lagos had moved from having no public ambulance service in 1999 to having about 200 ambulances, while fire service capacity increased from 11 trucks to 176.

On the economy, Hamzat proposed a different funding approach for the next decade through a State Wealth Fund, arguing that Lagos needed to plan beyond immediate political cycles and create resources for future generations.

Waste management also featured prominently. While Rhodes-Vivour accused the present system of inefficiencies and called for greater private-sector participation, Hamzat outlined plans to expand waste transfer stations, increase the number of trucks, improve landfill operations and explore waste-to-energy projects.