Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 Lagos election, says the state’s high internally generated revenue (IGR) has not translated into benefits for ordinary residents.
Rhodes-Vivour spoke on Sunday during a governorship debate
in Lagos, organised by a consortium of media organisations, including TheCable.
He said successive administrations had focused on policies
that favour wealthy residents while neglecting vulnerable people, particularly
in housing.
“Government in the last 20 years has been focused on elite
policies that only favour the elite,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
“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.”
Rhodes-Vivour said the demolition of homes in Makoko,
despite previous political promises to residents, is an example of how
government policies has failed to protect low-income communities.
He said private-sector housing projects that replaced such
communities are unaffordable for most Lagos residents.
“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.
The governorship candidate said his administration would
prioritise policies aimed at improving the living conditions of low-income
residents.
“All our policies are centred around the people and the
people that are struggling in Lagos state,” he said.
Rhodes-Vivour proposed the delivery of more than 100,000
housing units, saying the homes would be allocated transparently to prevent
individuals from acquiring multiple units.
“We are not going to have a situation where one person can
then own 10 units,” he said.
He also proposed a housing system that would allow residents
to move into larger homes as their income and family size increase.
According to the politician, young people who have just left
school could begin with self-contained units, move into two-bedroom homes after
marriage and later qualify for three-bedroom homes as their families grow.
“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.
Rhodes-Vivour said the approach would amount to using
housing policy to influence how residents build financial capacity over time.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com