Gadebo Rhodes-Vivour, governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Lagos State, has proposed the delivery of 100,000 housing units within four years and a privately financed expansion of the state’s rail network as part of his plans to reshape Lagos if elected.
Rhodes-Vivour, who spoke at The Platform Millennial and Gen Z Town Meeting with Lagos governorship candidates on Thursday, said his administration would focus on improving the quality of life of residents rather than measuring government performance primarily through internally generated revenue (IGR).
The architect and entrepreneur said an ideology had emerged from more than two decades of one political group governing Lagos, which, according to him, prioritised revenue generation over the welfare of residents.
He contrasted this with what he called the ‘Alhaji Lateef Jakande ideology’, which he said should focus on providing affordable housing, quality education and infrastructure for residents.
‘Usually, people believe that all politicians are the same. They believe that all political parties are the same,’ Rhodes-Vivour said.
‘But in Lagos State, there’s been a group of people that have run this state for over 20 years. So an ideology has emerged.’
He said his administration would seek to increase the capacity of young Lagosians through skills acquisition and create opportunities for them to use those skills at the ward and local government levels.
On security, Rhodes-Vivour proposed help desks across the state where young people could report alleged police harassment, with lawyers available to assist those who believe they had been treated unfairly.
He also linked insecurity and street-level thuggery to unemployment and lack of skills, saying his government would provide pathways for young people to acquire technical skills and participate in housing and other public projects.
The candidate said his administration would establish about 40 technical and vocational schools and use the programme to prepare young people for trades and occupations required by the economy.
On housing, Rhodes-Vivour said the proposed 100,000 units would be designed to accommodate residents as their incomes and family needs change.
He said the programme would allow residents to make monthly payments while building credit towards eventual home ownership.
‘We aim to do 100,000 in four years,’ he said.
Rhodes-Vivour also promised a ‘truly multimodal and affordable’ transportation system across Lagos, saying the state could complete all its rail lines within two years by opening procurement to private-sector participation.
‘The major challenge that Lagos State has had is that they’ve not been open to private sector-driven procurement process for our rail networks and our rail systems,’ he said.
‘We’re going to open that transparently to the private sector and partner with them to ensure that Lagos is better connected.’
On waste management, the ADC candidate proposed decentralising the system and giving local governments a greater role.
He said Lagos should develop waste-to-wealth value chains that would encourage the separation of waste at household level and generate value from organic waste, plastics and other materials.
‘There is no reason why organic waste should be going to the same landfill that plastic waste is going to,’ he said.
Rhodes-Vivour also alleged inefficiencies in the state’s waste management system, questioning the number of trucks available for waste collection and the cost of hiring them.
He proposed opening the sector to more private operators, arguing that residents should not need political connections to participate in waste collection.
On technology, the candidate said Lagos needed to move beyond concentrating technology activity in places such as Yaba and identify and develop talent across wards.
He proposed government-funded access to artificial intelligence tools and credits, arguing that technological advances had made education and coding more accessible outside traditional institutions.
Rhodes-Vivour also linked technology policy to a broader shift in education from producing consumers to developing problem-solvers.
He said his administration would invest in public-school infrastructure, improve teachers’ salaries and training, and introduce technology into the education system.
He criticised the growing dependence on private schools, saying it was an ‘indictment’ that private schools had become far more numerous than public schools.
‘We want a situation where people don’t have to travel long distances because they want to access public education,’ he said.
He also proposed drawing from international education models while developing a system that gives Lagos children stronger knowledge of their history, culture and practical problem-solving skills.
On flooding, Rhodes-Vivour said Lagos needed to protect wetlands and prevent developments that reduce the city’s capacity to absorb excess water.
He proposed giving wetlands alternative uses, including leisure parks, solar parks and aquatic centres, to prevent them from being subsequently sand-filled.
He also called for regular clearing of canals and gutters, arguing that poor maintenance worsened flooding during the rainy season.
On the civil service, Rhodes-Vivour promised significantly higher salaries and better benefits for workers, arguing that an effective government could not be built without a motivated and properly rewarded workforce.
He said Lagos should recruit high-performing graduates into the civil service and reward intelligence, productivity and quality service.
Responding to a question on Yoruba language and culture, Rhodes-Vivour said Lagos was Yoruba land and that language was central to the preservation of its culture and heritage.
On maternal mortality, Rhodes-Vivour proposed establishing emergency stabilisation centres in every ward, with the aim of reducing the time between a medical emergency at home and access to initial treatment.
He said the centres would stabilise patients and use data to direct them to hospitals equipped to provide the required care.
‘If people can get to a hospital in time, you have quality services, you have quality doctors, you have quality nurses, you have quality beds all set up for our mothers and at an affordable price,’ he said.