The NDC governorship candidate in Lagos State, Funso Doherty, has unveiled what he described as a “radical approach” to tackling the state’s housing deficit, saying his plan would focus on delivering tens of thousands of homes rather than the few hundred units traditionally associated with government housing schemes.
Doherty made the pledge on Saturday during a visit to NDC stakeholders in Alimosho Local Government Area, where he outlined some of the policies he said would form the foundation of his administration if elected governor in 2027.
According to him, addressing Lagos’ housing challenge would require more than direct government construction of housing units.
He said the state must create the land, financing and institutional framework needed to attract substantial private-sector investment into affordable housing.
“We have a radical approach to housing that expects to deliver a much greater number of homes than we have seen. We are not talking about the 100 units that we have been seeing. We are talking about units in the tens of thousands,” Doherty said.
He identified proper land allocation as one of the critical elements required to achieve large-scale housing delivery, arguing that priority must be given to land designated for affordable residential development.
“To do that, there are a number of things you must do, and each of those pieces has to work together to deliver it. One is that you must have the right land allocation, with priority given to that purpose,” he said.
Doherty also advocated stronger government intervention in housing finance, including guarantees and the development or support of secondary mortgage finance institutions capable of making long-term funding available to developers and prospective homeowners.
“The government has to provide institutional support that may take the form of guarantees. It may take the form of operating secondary mortgage finance institutions. These are some of the things that government can step in to provide,” he said.
The governorship candidate maintained that the scale of Lagos’ housing needs meant government could not finance the required development alone.
He said the role of government should instead include creating the regulatory, institutional and financial environment necessary to give private investors confidence to commit capital to large-scale housing projects.
“But what government can do is provide a backing framework and institutional environment that gives providers of capital the comfort to come in and fund,” Doherty added.
Doherty Promises People-Centred Government
Beyond housing, Doherty promised what he described as a more people-centred and inclusive government, saying the performance of any administration should ultimately be assessed by the everyday experiences of residents.
He said his administration would prioritise education, healthcare, transportation and housing, because those sectors directly affect the quality of life of ordinary Lagosians.
“Lagos people should expect a government that is much more people-centred in its approach to governance. A Lagos that is more inclusive, a government that prioritises the lives of the people, whether you measure that in terms of the educational options that they have, the quality of education they receive in public schools, the quality of healthcare they can access in government facilities, the quality of transportation that they ride on a day-to-day basis, or the quality of housing options that they have,” he said.
Doherty argued that governance should not simply be assessed by projects announced or money spent, but by whether citizens actually experience measurable improvements in their lives.
“These are the things that affect the ordinary citizen. This is what governance is all about. It is about the welfare and security of the people. Therefore, you must measure the outcome of governance by the experience of the people,” he said.
He added that his objective would be to leave office with Lagos residents able to point to significant improvements in their living standards.
“That is why we will be bringing a people-centred government so that, at the end of our time in government, people will be able to look back and say the quality of people’s lives improved significantly,” Doherty stated.
Earlier, the NDC Chairman in Alimosho Local Government Area, Pius Omodarantan, assured Doherty of the party’s readiness to mobilise support ahead of the 2027 election.
“We will do everything possible and lawful together to deliver Alimosho for NDC,” he said.
