The Lagos State All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Dr Kadri Hamzat, has unveiled a 100-point manifesto, promising to expand public transportation, build new hospitals, provide affordable housing and create more jobs if elected governor in 2027.
Hamzat, the incumbent deputy governor, who is seeking to succeed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, made the pledges on Friday while unveiling his manifesto, tagged The Lagos Promise (Ileri Eko), at an event held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, Lagos.
The manifesto, anchored on seven pillars, outlines plans to improve transportation, healthcare, education, housing, security, job creation and government accountability.
Under his transportation plan, Hamzat promised to increase the state’s 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 pledged to extend the Blue Line rail project to Okokomaiko, connect the Blue and Red lines through an interchange 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, he promised 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 work towards integrating road, rail and water transportation through a unified ticketing and timetable system.
On healthcare, the deputy governor promised to increase the number of Maternal and Child Centres from 10 to 15 and expand the coverage of 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 build two new general hospitals in Ogombo and Ibeju-Lekki.
According to him, the proposed projects would complement ongoing hospital developments, including the 150-bed Massey Children’s Hospital, the 280-bed Ojo General Hospital and the 150-bed Somolu General Hospital, which would collectively provide 580 additional beds.
Hamzat also promised to recruit more doctors, nurses and midwives and improve their working conditions to discourage health professionals from leaving the state.
On education, he pledged to strengthen the EKOEXCEL programme, which currently operates in 1,028 public primary schools, while improving teacher training and reviewing teachers’ 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 plans to establish a University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
On job creation, Hamzat 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.
He added that businesses supported by the fund had created more than 300,000 jobs, while nearly 15,000 young people had been placed in employment through its programmes.
Hamzat 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.
