Firdaus Obiremi
The Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for the 2027 election, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, has unveiled a 100-point manifesto, challenging residents to hold him accountable for its implementation if elected governor.
Hamzat, who presented the document, tagged The Lagos Promise, at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, formerly the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, on Friday, described it as a social contract between him and the electorate.
He said the manifesto contained measurable commitments designed to address challenges confronting residents, particularly in healthcare, education, infrastructure, economic development, security and social welfare.
The APC candidate urged Lagosians to scrutinise the document and demand explanations from him if his administration failed to deliver on the promises.
According to him, the manifesto is built around seven pillars: People First, Renewal, Opportunity, Machinery of Government, Inclusion, Security and Resilience, and Everyday Dignity.
Describing the commitments as more than conventional campaign rhetoric, Hamzat said the document was designed to provide residents with clear benchmarks for assessing his performance.
“Seven letters, seven pillars, one word you can hold me to,” he declared.
On healthcare, Hamzat promised to increase the number of maternal and child centres in the state from 10 to 15 and expand enrolment in the Ilera Eko health insurance scheme from nearly two million beneficiaries to one in every three Lagos residents.
He said low-income households would receive priority under the proposed expansion, adding that his administration would pursue a healthcare system that makes quality medical services more accessible and affordable.
The former commissioner also pledged to deliver the 150-bed Massey Children’s Hospital and a 280-bed general hospital, complete the ongoing 150-bed Shomolu General Hospital and establish two additional general hospitals at Ogombo and Ibeju-Lekki.
He said the projects would provide an additional 580 hospital beds, while 100 primary healthcare centres would be upgraded to flagship facilities.
Hamzat further promised to recruit more doctors, nurses and midwives and improve the working conditions of healthcare professionals.
On education, he pledged to strengthen public schools and improve pupils’ foundational learning abilities, particularly in reading, comprehension and reasoning.
He said the ECO-EXCEL programme was already operational in 1,028 public primary schools, while the ECO-LEARNERS initiative provided 320 lessons through online platforms and television to support learning beyond classroom hours.
He promised to expand the programmes and strengthen early childhood education to ensure that children acquired essential learning skills before entering primary schools.
The APC candidate also highlighted the establishment of Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Ikorodu, and Lagos State University of Education, Ijanikin, saying the state now had three public universities.
He disclosed that plans were underway to establish a University of Medicine and Health Services to expand the capacity to train healthcare professionals.
For teachers, Hamzat promised continuous professional development and a review of their compensation packages to reflect their responsibilities.
He said more than 33,000 teachers had undergone training in the past seven years, adding that the next administration would build on the existing interventions.
On economic development and employment, Hamzat identified small businesses, artisans, traders, manufacturers and entrepreneurs as critical to Lagos’ economic growth.
He promised to simplify government charges, reduce the burden of business permits, improve access to credit and align vocational training with the actual demands of employers.
Citing the performance of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, he said more than N15bn had been disbursed to over 21,000 businesses, while more than 116,000 businesses had benefited from training, advisory and mentorship programmes.
He added that 30,000 young people had been trained, nearly 15,000 placed in employment and businesses supported by the fund had generated more than 300,000 jobs.
Hamzat pledged to introduce a single published schedule of local government charges, allocate a defined proportion of state procurement to qualified small businesses and establish a one-stop system for simplifying business registration and permit processes.
He also promised to provide vocational and technical trainees with between six and 12 months of workplace placements, with the state bearing 40 per cent of their stipends.
Artisans and other workers who already possessed practical skills, he said, would be able to obtain free certification at their workplaces.
Beyond economic opportunities and infrastructure, the deputy governor said children and vulnerable residents would occupy a central position in his proposed administration.
Recounting the experience of a 10-year-old boy reportedly found sleeping under a bridge in Oshodi after fleeing home because he felt unsafe, Hamzat said the incident reinforced the need for stronger child protection mechanisms.
He said schools, healthcare facilities, social welfare agencies, security institutions and communities must work together to identify vulnerable children and provide necessary protection.
“If you are a child and you live in Lagos, then you are a child of Lagos. Wherever your parents were born, whatever language you speak, and whatever faith your family practises, Lagos will know your name, Lagos will work for you, Lagos will protect you,” he said.
Meanwhile, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has thrown his weight behind his deputy’s governorship ambition, describing him as a loyal and trustworthy partner with extensive experience in Lagos State governance.
Sanwo-Olu, who spoke at the manifesto unveiling, argued that Hamzat’s years in government had prepared him for the responsibility of leading the state.
He traced the succession of APC administrations in Lagos from President Bola Tinubu through former governors Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode to his own administration.
According to him, successive leaders had worked closely with their predecessors before assuming office, describing the arrangement as a tradition of continuity in the state’s governance.
He said Hamzat had served as commissioner under Tinubu and Fashola before becoming deputy governor in his administration.
“No deputy governor in the history of this state has ever been handed the baton. Lagosians have never before been offered a man who ran this long, this close, beside the governor he hopes to succeed,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He added, “Lagos does not hand the baton to a man standing still. And look at what he did while he ran!”
Earlier, the Lagos State Chairman of the APC, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, said the state could not afford to reverse its development trajectory, stressing the need for continuity, innovation and purposeful leadership.
Ojelabi described the manifesto as a covenant between the party, its candidate and the electorate, saying its credibility would depend on realistic commitments, measurable targets and effective implementation.
“Our position is clear: Lagos must move forward, not backward. Continuity must not mean complacency; it must mean building on proven achievements, correcting identified shortcomings and pursuing greater progress with renewed determination,” he said.
He expressed confidence in Hamzat’s capacity to lead, citing his experience in the private sector and public service, including his years as deputy governor.
Also speaking on behalf of the party’s Governance Advisory Council, former Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan, urged the next administration to sustain successful policies while addressing areas requiring improvement.
Sosan said Lagos’ development had resulted from deliberate planning and purposeful leadership, warning against abandoning programmes that had produced positive results.
“You cannot build a strong state by abandoning everything that has worked; you must preserve the good, correct the areas that need improvement and continue to make progress,” she said.
She identified infrastructure, transportation, education, healthcare, security, employment, housing and environmental sanitation as priority areas requiring sustained government attention.
In a related development, the Director-General of the Kadri Obafemi Hamzat Campaign Organisation pledged that the campaign would be peaceful, disciplined and issue-based.
He said the campaign would focus on competence, ideas and the ability to deliver rather than personalities or political structures.
The campaign organisation also promised to take its message to local governments, wards and communities across the state, urging party members to maintain unity and discipline.
Hamzat, meanwhile, maintained that the success of his manifesto would ultimately be determined by its impact on residents, insisting that public trust could only be sustained through transparency and accountability.
“A government that publishes the truth about itself earns its people’s trust,” he said.
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