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The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has criticised successive administrations for failing to translate the state’s high internally generated revenue (IGR) into better living conditions for ordinary residents.
He said government policies over the past two decades had largely favoured wealthy residents while neglecting low-income earners, particularly in access to affordable housing.
Rhodes-Vivour spoke on Sunday during the Lagos Governorship Debate, organised by a consortium of media organisations, including TheCable, where he outlined his proposed housing reforms ahead of the 2027 election.
“Government in the last 20 years has been focused on elite policies that only favour the elite,” he said.
He faulted the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) for concentrating its housing projects in high-income neighbourhoods, arguing that the approach had pushed vulnerable residents further away from affordable accommodation.
“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,” he said.
The ADC candidate cited the demolition of homes in Makoko as an example of government policies that, in his view, had failed to protect low-income communities despite previous assurances to residents. He added that private-sector developments replacing such communities were beyond the reach of many Lagosians.
“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,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
He promised that his administration would place low-income residents at the centre of its housing policy, with a target of delivering more than 100,000 housing units. He also proposed a transparent allocation system to prevent individuals from acquiring several units at the expense of other applicants.
“We are not going to have a situation where one person can then own 10 units,” he said.
Rhodes-Vivour further proposed a housing arrangement that would allow residents to move into larger homes as their earnings and family responsibilities increased. Under the plan, young people leaving school could start with self-contained apartments, progress to two-bedroom homes after marriage and qualify for three-bedroom houses as their families expanded.
He said residents would accumulate credit or points as they progressed through the housing system, which could later be applied towards securing a mortgage.
“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.
