Lagos Governorship Candidates Clash Over Housing and Waste Management

Lagos governorship candidates clashed over the state's housing crisis, waste management, and environmental policies during a televised debate in Lekki on November 8, 2026. Obafemi Hamzat, the incumbent Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress candidate, presented his Lagos PROMISE framework, proposing a 25-year mortgage scheme with a 10 percent deposit and stricter enforcement of rent laws to limit advance payments to one year.

Opposing candidates offered alternative strategies for the housing deficit. Funso Doherty of the Nigeria Democratic Congress pledged to build 150,000 affordable units and establish an ombudsman to stop rent racketeering. Adedeji Doherty of the Peoples Democratic Party dismissed the 150,000-unit target as unrealistic due to material costs, proposing instead that the government rent properties to sublet to residents. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the African Democratic Congress suggested legislation to cap rent increases between 20 and 30 percent.

The debate extended to infrastructure and public services. Rhodes-Vivour criticized the current waste system as a pick and dump system, while Hamzat defended the shift toward material recovery facilities. On education, Funso Doherty pledged to make public schooling truly free by eliminating exam fees and providing daily meals. The candidates also disagreed over the environmental impact of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the causes of chronic flooding.

Following the event, Labour Party candidate Rotimi Odunaike criticized the Nigeria Debate Consortium for excluding 13 of the 17 candidates. Odunaike argued that restricting the forum to only four candidates based on media visibility undermines democratic transparency ahead of the February 6, 2027, election.