The ADC governorship candidate says the state’s impressive internally generated revenue has done little to improve living conditions for low-income residents……
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for the 2027 Lagos governorship election, has criticised successive state governments for failing to ensure that the benefits of Lagos’ growing internally generated revenue (IGR) reach ordinary residents.
He made the remarks on Sunday during a governorship debate in Lagos, organised by a consortium of media organisations.
Rhodes-Vivour argued that government policies over the past two decades had largely favoured wealthy residents, while the needs of vulnerable communities, particularly in the housing sector, received insufficient attention.
“Government in the last 20 years has been focused on elite policies that only favour the elite,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
He specifically questioned the focus of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC), arguing that its housing projects were concentrated in affluent neighbourhoods and often came at the expense of poorer communities.
“You look at how they do housing. Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) is mainly focused in highbrow areas, and always at the push out of the vulnerable of our society.”
The ADC candidate also cited the demolition of homes in Makoko, despite previous political assurances to residents, as an indication of the government’s failure to safeguard low-income communities.
He maintained that private-sector developments taking the place of such settlements were often priced beyond the reach of most Lagosians.
According to him, the disparity between the state’s revenue performance and the living conditions of its residents raises questions about how public resources are being deployed.
“So that is why, on paper, Lagos celebrates a high IGR, but on the ground, people are not experiencing the benefits of coming from a state that is this rich,” he said.
Rhodes-Vivour pledged that an ADC-led administration would place ordinary residents, particularly those facing economic difficulties, at the centre of its policies.
“All our policies are centred around the people and the people that are struggling in Lagos state,” he said.
On housing, he proposed the construction of more than 100,000 residential units, with an allocation process designed to ensure fairness and prevent individuals from acquiring several properties at the expense of others.
“We are not going to have a situation where one person can then own 10 units,” he said.
He further outlined a housing arrangement that would enable residents to move into larger homes as their earnings and household needs change.
Under the proposed model, young people entering the workforce could initially access self-contained apartments, progress to two-bedroom homes after marriage and eventually qualify for three-bedroom accommodation as their families expand.
Rhodes-Vivour said the system would also incorporate a credit or points-based structure, allowing residents to build financial value through the different stages of the housing programme.
“There’s credit that is being acquired, or points are being acquired all down this value chain, so that in your 40s, in your 50s, that credit can then be applied to a mortgage,” he said.
He described the proposal as a way of linking access to housing with long-term financial capacity, giving residents an opportunity to build towards home ownership as their circumstances improve.
