2027: HAMZAT UNVEILS 100-POINT MANIFESTO

By ‘Sefiu Ajape

The Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Dr. Kadri Hamzat, has unveiled a 100-point manifesto outlining plans to expand public transportation, improve healthcare, provide affordable housing, and create more jobs if elected governor in 2027.

Hamzat, the incumbent deputy governor, unveiled the manifesto, tagged The Lagos Promise (Ileri Eko), on Friday at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, Lagos.

Anchored on seven pillars, the document outlines his proposed policies and programmes across transportation, healthcare, education, housing, security, job creation, governance, and public service delivery.

Under his transportation agenda, Hamzat pledged to increase Lagos’ public bus fleet from 1,000 to 4,000, with a target of transporting one million passengers daily.

“I will grow the public bus fleet from one thousand buses to four thousand, so our buses can carry one million passengers every day,” he said.

He also promised to extend the Blue Line rail project to Okokomaiko, establish an interchange connecting the Blue and Red lines at the National Theatre Station, and advance the Green Line from Marina to the Lekki Free Trade Zone in partnership with the Federal Government.

On water transportation, the APC candidate pledged to dredge an additional 140 kilometres of waterways, optimise 15 ferry routes, refurbish 25 terminals and jetties, and procure 75 additional electric vessels under the Omi Eko project.

“Lagos is a water state. The lagoon must be our third highway,” Hamzat said.

He added that his administration would integrate road, rail, and water transportation through a unified ticketing and timetable system.

In healthcare, Hamzat promised to increase the number of Maternal and Child Centres from 10 to 15 and expand enrolment in the state’s Ilera Eko health insurance scheme from nearly two million beneficiaries to one in three Lagos residents.

“I will take the Maternal and Child Centres into the communities that have waited longest for them. We currently have 10; I will increase it to 15,” he said.

He also pledged to upgrade 100 primary healthcare centres to flagship status and construct two new general hospitals in Ogombo and Ibeju-Lekki.

According to him, the proposed facilities would complement ongoing hospital projects, including the 150-bed Massey Children’s Hospital, the 280-bed Ojo General Hospital, and the 150-bed Somolu General Hospital, which are expected to provide a combined 580 additional beds.

The deputy governor further promised to recruit more doctors, nurses, and midwives and improve their working conditions to discourage health professionals from leaving the state.

In education, Hamzat pledged to strengthen the EKOEXCEL programme, which currently operates in 1,028 public primary schools, while improving teacher training and reviewing compensation packages.

“Every child in Lagos belongs in school. I will bring every one of them in, and keep them there,” he said.

He also promised to expand digital learning opportunities and pursue the establishment of a University of Medicine and Health Sciences.

On job creation, the APC candidate said his administration would support small businesses, expand vocational training, and improve access to credit.

He disclosed that the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund had provided more than N15bn to over 21,000 businesses, while its interventions had reached more than 116,000 businesses through training, advisory services and mentorship.

Businesses supported by the fund, he added, had created more than 300,000 jobs, while nearly 15,000 young people had secured employment through its programmes.

Hamzat also promised to publish a single schedule of lawful government charges to protect businesses from multiple levies and ensure that a defined share of state procurement went to qualified small businesses.

“A defined share of state procurement will go to Lagos small businesses that meet the standard,” he said.

He further pledged to introduce a scheme under which students in vocational and technical schools would spend between six and 12 months with employers, with the state covering 40 per cent of their stipends.

On housing, Hamzat promised to complete several ongoing housing projects across the state, strengthen the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme, and introduce more affordable mortgage arrangements.

“I will make mortgages reachable. Ten per cent down. Single-digit interest. Longer repayment periods,” he said.

For security, he pledged to strengthen the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency and extend its presence to all 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas.

He also promised to expand street lighting and CCTV coverage, establish a State Intelligence Fusion Centre to tackle cybercrime, financial crimes, and organised criminal activities, and improve the welfare of security personnel.

The manifesto further outlines plans to increase water supply through the completion of the 70-million-gallon-per-day Adiyan Phase Two waterworks, rehabilitate 24 micro and mini waterworks, and expand waste collection coverage to 95 percent.

Hamzat also promised to establish a Child Protection and Nutrition Agency within his first 100 days in office through legislation, alongside a Lagos State Service Delivery Office to monitor the implementation of his campaign pledges.

On accountability, he said 87 of the 100 promises were firm commitments that would be assessed against published performance targets, while the remaining 13 were aspirations subject to consultations, Federal Government partnerships or judicial decisions.

“Eighty-seven are firm commitments. They are within the Lagos State Government’s power, and each will be measured against a published scorecard. If one of them is not delivered, it will be noted, and I must own it,” he said.

He added that an independent Performance Council would assess his administration’s performance, while an annual report would compare its promises with actual achievements and explain any missed targets.

Residents, he said, would also be able to monitor government performance through service charters and a complaints mechanism.

“Every complaint will be acknowledged within forty-eight hours, answered within seven days, and resolved within thirty,” he said.

Hamzat said the manifesto was built around seven pillars: People First, Renewal, Opportunity, Machinery of Government, Inclusion, Security and Resilience, and Everyday Dignity.

Describing the document as a binding commitment to Lagos residents, he said, “A PROMISE is a debt,” adding that it contained specific pledges citizens could monitor and use to hold him accountable.

He said his vision would build on the achievements of previous administrations, including those of former governors Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode, as well as the incumbent, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, under whom he has served as deputy governor since 2019.

Sanwo-Olu Endorses Hamzat, Says Lagos Cannot Afford To Experiment

Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has endorsed his deputy as his preferred successor, saying the state cannot afford to experiment with a new leadership direction ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

Sanwo-Olu, who spoke on Wednesday at the unveiling of Hamzat’s governorship manifesto in Lagos, described his deputy as an experienced administrator who had been involved in the state’s development and governance for more than two decades.

The governor said Hamzat had demonstrated loyalty, competence, and commitment to public service, recalling that he stepped down for him in the 2018 governorship race following the intervention of leaders of the All Progressives Congress.

According to Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat had initially sought the party’s governorship ticket but agreed to withdraw and become his running mate after party leaders asked him to step aside.

“I have thought about what it costs a man to put down the thing he wants most, in public, at the request of people he respects, for the benefit of someone else. Many men would have done it and nursed the wound. Some would have done it and plotted. Femi Hamzat did it, shook my hand, and five weeks later agreed to run beside me,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu said his seven years of working with Hamzat had convinced him of his capacity to lead the state, adding that the deputy governor had remained loyal and contributed significantly to the administration.

“In seven years, there has not been one day, not one, when I had to wonder whose side my deputy was on,” he said.

He described Hamzat as a technocrat with extensive governance experience, noting that he had served under three governors, occupied two major ministries, and spent seven years as deputy governor.

The governor recalled that Hamzat, as Commissioner for Science and Technology under former Governor Bola Tinubu, helped computerise government operations, remove ghost workers from the state payroll and lay the foundation for the registration of Lagos residents.

He also credited him with overseeing road projects as Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure under former Governor Babatunde Fashola, including the construction of the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge.

Sanwo-Olu argued that Hamzat’s experience would support the continuation of major infrastructure programmes across successive administrations.

Among the projects he listed were the second phases of the Blue and Red rail lines, the Fourth Mainland Bridge, the proposed Lekki-Epe International Airport, the Omu Creek project, food hubs and logistics parks.

“This is not the time to experiment with Lagos. This is the time to consolidate,” the governor declared.

He, however, said consolidation did not mean repeating existing policies but completing ongoing projects, addressing shortcomings, and initiating new programmes.

“Continuity does not mean repeating ourselves. It means finishing what was started, fixing what is not working, and starting what comes next, in that order, with a plan,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu also described the planned succession as an opportunity for Lagos to demonstrate political stability, saying he was proud that his administration would hand over power without a disagreement between the governor and his deputy.

“It is this. Lagos is going to change governors without a quarrel,” he said.

He urged Hamzat to sustain ongoing projects, remain attentive to residents’ concerns and ensure that programmes initiated by successive administrations were not abandoned.