Hamzat unveils 100-point Lagos platform with focus on services and accountability

All Progressives Congress governorship candidate Obafemi Hamzat has unveiled a 100-point manifesto for Lagos, promising expanded healthcare, improved public services and new mechanisms to measure his administration’s performance if elected. Hamzat presented the programme on Friday at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in Iganmu. Channels Television reported that he described the platform as a plan to continue Lagos’s “progressive vision”, while Premium Times said its campaign theme was “Lagos, Forward Together”.

The manifesto, called “The Lagos Promise” or the Hamzat Compact, is organised around seven pillars: people, infrastructure, economic opportunities, government operations, inclusion, security and citizenship. Hamzat said 87 of the 100 pledges were firm commitments within the state government’s powers. The remaining 13, he said, were aspirations requiring consultation with the federal government, courts or other institutions.

Accountability was a central part of the programme. Hamzat promised to publish a scorecard against which residents could assess his performance. He also proposed creating a Lagos State Service Delivery Office by executive order, with the governor as chair and baseline figures for tracking commitments.

He said government offices would introduce service charters specifying the services residents should receive and the standards expected. Under his proposed system, complaints would be acknowledged within 48 hours, answered within seven days and resolved within 30 days. He also promised to send a bill to the Lagos State House of Assembly within his first 100 days to create a Child Protection and Nutrition Agency.

The proposed agency would ensure that every child under 18 was either in school or learning a trade and had adequate food, according to Premium Times. Hamzat also pledged a state wealth fund with an independent board and publicly available accounts, intended to preserve resources for future generations. Healthcare commitments included increasing maternal and child centres from six to 15, completing ongoing hospital projects and building new general hospitals in Ogombo and Ibeju-Lekki.

He also promised to upgrade 100 primary healthcare centres to flagship status and recruit doctors, nurses and midwives. The two reports differ in the figures used for some hospital commitments. Channels Television highlighted a promise of 580 new hospital beds, while Premium Times listed a 150-bed Massey Children’s Hospital, a 280-bed general hospital project and a 150-bed Shomolu General Hospital project.

Both reports said Hamzat wants to pursue a University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Lagos. On education, he promised to strengthen the EkoEXCEL programme, improve teaching and learning and expand technical and vocational training. He also pledged to review teachers’ compensation.

For technical students, he proposed placements lasting six to 12 months, with the state covering 40 per cent of stipends. Hamzat further promised easier business permits, a single schedule of local-government charges, improved access to credit and a defined share of state procurement for qualifying small businesses. Channels Television also reported pledges on the Fourth Mainland Bridge, cheaper broadband, security, food prices and youth skills.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu praised Hamzat at the launch and said Lagos would experience a peaceful transition between administrations.