The Lagos State Deputy Governor and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, on Friday unveiled a 100-point manifesto, urging the citizens and residents of the state to carry him accountable for its implementation if elected governor in 2027.
Hamzat, who learn the manifesto, tagged The Lagos Promise on the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, previously the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos described the doc as a social contract between him and the folks.
He promised far-reaching interventions in healthcare, schooling, infrastructure, financial growth, safety and social welfare, with explicit emphasis on bettering the standard of lifetime of strange residents.
The doc is anchored on seven pillars: People First, Renewal, Opportunity, Machinery of Government, Inclusion, Security and Resilience, and Everyday Dignity.
Describing the manifesto as a set of measurable commitments relatively than typical marketing campaign guarantees, Hamzat mentioned its provisions have been designed to provide Lagosians clear benchmarks towards which to guage his efficiency.
“Seven letters, seven pillars, one word you can hold me to,” he declared.
He urged residents to scrutinise the doc, insisting that his proposed administration can be judged by its means to translate the guarantees into tangible outcomes.
Among the main healthcare commitments is a plan to extend the variety of maternal and little one centres within the state from 10 to fifteen and develop enrolment within the Ilera Eko medical insurance scheme from its present stage of practically two million to at least one in each three Lagos residents, with precedence for low-income households.
He additionally promised to ship the brand new 150-bed Massey Children’s Hospital and a 280-bed basic hospital, full the continued 150-bed Shomolu General Hospital and set up two further basic hospitals at Ogombo and Ibeju-Lekki.
According to him, the initiatives would supply a further 580 hospital beds, alongside the upgrading of 100 major healthcare centres to flagship standing.
Hamzat additional pledged to recruit extra medical doctors, nurses and midwives whereas bettering the working situations of healthcare professionals.
On schooling, the APC candidate promised to strengthen public faculties and enhance studying outcomes, significantly in studying, comprehension and reasoning.
He mentioned the ECO-EXCEL programme was already working in 1,028 public major faculties, whereas the ECO-LEARNERS initiative supplied 320 classes via on-line platforms and tv to allow pupils to proceed studying outdoors the classroom.
He promised to develop each initiatives and make sure that youngsters acquired the mandatory foundational abilities earlier than coming into major schooling.
The former commissioner additionally highlighted the institution of Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Ikorodu, and Lagos State University of Education, Ijanikin, saying the state now had three public universities.
He disclosed that plans have been underway for a University of Medicine and Health Services to extend the capability to coach healthcare professionals.
For lecturers, he promised steady skilled growth and a assessment of their compensation packages to replicate their duties, noting that greater than 33,000 lecturers had been skilled prior to now seven years.
On financial growth and job creation, Hamzat recognized small companies, artisans, merchants, producers and entrepreneurs as essential drivers of Lagos’ financial system.
He promised to simplify authorities expenses, cut back the burden of enterprise permits, enhance entry to credit score and align vocational coaching with the precise wants of employers.
Citing the efficiency of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, he mentioned greater than ₦15 billion had been disbursed to over 21,000 companies, whereas greater than 116,000 companies had benefited from coaching, advisory and mentorship help.
He added that 30,000 younger folks had been skilled, practically 15,000 positioned in employment and companies supported by the fund had generated greater than 300,000 jobs.
Hamzat pledged to introduce a single revealed schedule of native authorities expenses, allocate an outlined proportion of state procurement to certified small companies and set up a one-stop system to simplify enterprise registration and allow processes.
He additionally promised six to 12 months of office placements for vocational and technical trainees, with the state bearing 40 per cent of their stipends.
Artisans and different employees with present sensible abilities, he mentioned, would have the ability to get hold of free certification at their workplaces.
Beyond financial and social infrastructure, Hamzat mentioned his administration would place youngsters and weak residents on the centre of its insurance policies.
Recalling the rescue of a 10-year-old boy discovered sleeping underneath a bridge in Oshodi after operating away from dwelling as a result of he felt unsafe, he mentioned the expertise bolstered the necessity for stronger safety programs involving faculties, healthcare services, social welfare businesses, safety establishments and communities.
“If you are a child and you live in Lagos, then you are a child of Lagos. Wherever your parents were born, whatever language you speak, and whatever faith your family practises, Lagos will know your name, Lagos will work for you, Lagos will protect you,” he mentioned.
In his emotional speech , Lagos State Governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu mentioned his deputy was not solely loyal however very reliable .
Sanwo-Olu mentioned the state’s governance was anchored on continuity, saying, ‘’Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ran the primary leg. When he handed the baton in 2007, he handed it to Babatunde Raji Fashola, who had been operating beside him as his Chief of Staff. When Fashola handed it in 2015, he handed it to Akinwunmi Ambode, who had run beside three governors as a civil servant and because the Accountant-General of this state.
‘’When the baton got here to me in 2019, I had been operating since 2003: a commissioner underneath Asiwaju, a commissioner underneath Fashola, the top of a quasi-government company underneath Ambode. I didn’t come to Alausa to study the place the places of work have been.
‘’And Femi Hamzat? Commissioner underneath Asiwaju. Commissioner underneath Fashola. Deputy Governor beside me for seven years. No deputy governor within the historical past of this state has ever been handed the baton. Lagosians have by no means earlier than been supplied a person who ran this lengthy, this shut, beside the governor he hopes to succeed.
‘’Lagos doesn’t hand the baton to a person standing nonetheless. And have a look at what he did whereas he ran!’’
Earlier, the state chairman of the APC, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, mentioned Lagos couldn’t afford to reverse its growth trajectory, stressing the necessity for continuity, innovation and purposeful management.
Ojelabi described the manifesto as a covenant between the social gathering, its candidate and the citizens, insisting that its credibility would rely upon life like commitments, measurable targets and efficient implementation.
Harping on the state’s growth trajectory from the administration of President Bola Tinubu as governor via these of Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and incumbent Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, he mentioned successive APC administrations had established a basis that the following authorities should consolidate.
“Our position is clear: Lagos must move forward, not backward. Continuity must not mean complacency; it must mean building on proven achievements, correcting identified shortcomings and pursuing greater progress with renewed determination,” he mentioned.
Ojelabi expressed confidence in Hamzat’s understanding of presidency, citing his expertise within the non-public sector and public service, together with his tenure as deputy governor.
He, nonetheless, acknowledged that the challenges of a quickly increasing megacity required recent concepts, improved service supply and progressive responses.
Speaking on behalf of the social gathering’s Governance Advisory Council (GAC), former Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan, additionally known as for continuity in governance, urging the following administration to protect profitable insurance policies whereas correcting recognized shortcomings.
Sosan mentioned Lagos’ growth was the product of deliberate planning and purposeful management, warning towards abandoning programmes that had delivered outcomes.
“You cannot build a strong state by abandoning everything that has worked; you must preserve the good, correct the areas that need improvement and continue to make progress,” she mentioned.
She recognized infrastructure, transportation, schooling, healthcare, safety, employment, housing and environmental sanitation as essential areas requiring sustained consideration.
Sosan additionally harassed that the event of Lagos required collective accountability, urging residents, companies and authorities establishments to work collectively.
In a associated growth, the Director-General of the Kadri Obafemi Hamzat Campaign Organisation pledged that the marketing campaign can be peaceable, disciplined and issue-based.
He mentioned the competition must be decided by concepts, competence and capability to ship relatively than personalities or political constructions.
According to him, the marketing campaign would concentrate on sensible options to the challenges confronting Lagos residents, guided by the ideas of Forward and Together.
He defined that Forward represented the dedication to sustaining growth, bettering public companies and embracing innovation, whereas Together mirrored the promise of inclusive governance that provides each resident a stake within the state’s future.
He mentioned the marketing campaign organisation would take its message to native governments, wards and communities throughout Lagos, whereas urging social gathering members to stay united and disciplined.
The APC candidate mentioned the last word take a look at of his manifesto can be its influence on the lives of residents, sustaining that public belief may solely be earned via transparency and accountability.
“A government that publishes the truth about itself earns its people’s trust,” he mentioned.
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