Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the 2027 election, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, has unveiled a 100-point development agenda, promising improved access to healthcare, quality education, employment opportunities and technology-driven growth, with a focus on making life better for ordinary residents.
Hamzat unveiled the manifesto, titled The Lagos Promise (Ileri Eko), on Friday at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in Lagos, describing it as a social contract designed to address the everyday needs of residents and create opportunities across the state.
The manifesto, built around seven pillars, 31 chapters and 100 pledges, contains 87 specific commitments and 13 aspirations. Its seven pillars, represented by the acronym PROMISE, cover People First, Renewal, Opportunity, Machinery of Government, Inclusion, Security and Resilience, and Everyday Dignity.
At the centre of the proposed agenda is a commitment to make government promises measurable and subject to public scrutiny.
Explaining the philosophy behind the manifesto, Hamzat said: “A promise is a debt. In Yoruba, we say ‘Gbese ni Ileri’. A promise has weight.”
He said every commitment in the document was designed to answer three fundamental questions: who would benefit, whether it could be delivered and how residents could trust its implementation.
Under healthcare, Hamzat promised to increase maternal and child health centres from 10 to 15 and expand enrolment in the state’s Ilera Eko health insurance scheme from nearly two million residents to one in every three Lagosians, with priority given to vulnerable households.
He also pledged to deliver the new 150-bed Massey Children’s Hospital, complete the 280-bed Ojo General Hospital and advance construction of the 150-bed Somolu General Hospital.
The proposed plan includes two additional general hospitals at Ogombo and Ibeju-Lekki, the expansion of existing facilities and the upgrading of 100 primary healthcare centres to flagship status.
The APC candidate further promised to recruit more doctors, nurses and midwives while improving their welfare and working conditions.
In education, Hamzat pledged to strengthen the EKOEXCEL programme, which operates in 1,028 public primary schools, to improve literacy, numeracy and overall learning outcomes.
Building on the training of more than 33,000 teachers over the past seven years, he promised further investment in professional development and a review of teachers’ compensation packages.
He also disclosed plans to pursue the establishment of a university of medicine and health sciences to increase the training of medical professionals, while working towards keeping every child in school and creating opportunities for young people with sporting talents.
On employment and economic development, Hamzat promised to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks confronting businesses, improve access to credit and expand vocational and technical training.
Highlighting the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund’s interventions, he said the initiative had disbursed more than N15 billion to over 21,000 businesses since its establishment.
According to him, more than 116,000 businesses had benefited from training, advisory and mentorship services, while 30,000 young people had received training and nearly 15,000 secured employment.
He added that businesses supported by the fund had generated more than 300,000 jobs, with one in four recording a doubling of turnover within a year.
To ease the burden of multiple levies on businesses, Hamzat promised a unified schedule of lawful government charges to enable business owners to identify their statutory obligations clearly.
He also pledged to reserve a defined proportion of state government procurement for qualified Lagos-based small businesses.
Under a proposed vocational development programme, students in technical and vocational institutions would undertake between six and 12 months of practical training with employers, with the state government covering 40 per cent of their stipends.
Artisans and skilled workers would also benefit from free workplace-based certification, while contractors handling government projects would be required to provide evidence of jobs created through their contracts.
Recognising the growing importance of technology in the economy, Hamzat promised to equip young Lagosians with skills in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, blockchain, robotics and the Internet of Things.
He noted that three out of every four Lagos residents were below the age of 35, pledging to widen their participation in governance, entrepreneurship and the technology sector.
He promised more opportunities for internships, volunteering and professional development, alongside leadership positions for qualified young professionals in government agencies based on merit.
The proposed agenda also includes expanding the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy and strengthening the technology ecosystem in Yaba.
Hamzat disclosed that Lagos had established 91 digital access hubs providing digital training and public Wi-Fi across its five divisions, promising to extend the network to more communities.
He identified affordable broadband, improved security and a supportive business environment as essential to the growth of technology enterprises.
He said the overall objective of The Lagos Promise (Ileri Eko) was to translate government policies into tangible improvements in the daily lives of residents, particularly in healthcare, education, employment and access to economic opportunities.
Hamzat said the proposed commitments would guide his administration’s development priorities if elected governor in 2027.
