By Henry Obetta

The governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Lagos State, Prince Laja Adeoye, has urged residents to vote out the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 6, 2027 election, saying the state needs a change in leadership to address economic hardship and improve living conditions.

Adeoye said the election offered Lagosians an opportunity to end what he described as a political arrangement that had governed the state since 1999 without adequately addressing the challenges confronting ordinary residents.

The APM candidate, who spoke while unveiling his campaign agenda, tagged Atunto Eko 1.0 (Reset Lagos), argued that the state’s impressive revenue generation had not translated into corresponding improvements in the welfare of residents.

He acknowledged that Lagos generated about N1.77 trillion in internally generated revenue in 2025 but said residents continued to contend with traffic congestion, flooding, high rents, multiple taxation, inadequate electricity, housing shortages and poor waste management.

Adeoye questioned the benefits of political continuity when many Lagosians were still struggling to meet basic needs.

He also criticised the state’s approach to urban development, citing forced evictions in communities such as Makoko and Oworonshoki as examples of policies he said were implemented without adequate consultation or alternative arrangements for affected residents.

He noted that the APC, which has governed Lagos through successive political platforms since 1999, was seeking another term with Deputy Governor Femi Hamzat as its governorship candidate.

While acknowledging the APC’s proposed 100-point agenda covering transportation, housing, healthcare and other sectors, Adeoye argued that many of the challenges remained unresolved, insisting that Lagos needed fresh ideas rather than an extension of the existing political arrangement.

Unveiling his alternative programme, themed Re-engineering Lagos for Inclusive Prosperity, he said an APM administration would prioritise affordable healthcare, quality education, employment generation, modern infrastructure and improved security through community policing.

On employment, Adeoye promised to create about 100,000 direct jobs within two years and up to 1.5 million jobs within four years through technology hubs, agro-processing centres, skills acquisition programmes and support for small businesses.

He identified Yaba and Ogba as potential technology hubs, while Badagry, Epe and Ikorodu would benefit from agro-processing initiatives.

On housing, he proposed the development of about 100,000 affordable homes through private-sector partnerships, alongside single-digit interest mortgages to ease the burden of high rents and advance payments on residents.

He also pledged to pursue the generation of at least 2,000 megawatts of electricity through independent power projects across the five IBILE divisions of the state.

In the health sector, Adeoye said his administration would build or rehabilitate more than 300 primary healthcare centres within 18 months to expand access to affordable medical services.

He further promised to increase education funding beyond the UNESCO-recommended benchmark and return more than 300,000 out-of-school children to classrooms, with particular attention to girl-child education.

The APM candidate also proposed an annual N50 billion fund for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to provide grants and seed capital for young entrepreneurs and business owners, particularly women and graduates.

On governance, he promised a more inclusive decision-making process, proposing to replace the existing Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) arrangement with a broader advisory council involving traditional rulers, market leaders, youths, women and business stakeholders.

He also advocated the conversion of the state’s 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) into full-fledged local government areas through the necessary constitutional and legislative processes.

According to him, strengthening grassroots administration would improve service delivery and reduce multiple taxation.

“We are not coming to manage Lagos; we are coming to reset it,” he said.

Adeoye, who said his private-sector experience had equipped him with the discipline to manage projects, contractors and resources, promised not to abandon ongoing projects if elected.

He also pledged to prioritise payments to contractors who had completed government projects but were yet to receive their money, as well as promote deserving civil servants.

He maintained that continuity should be measured by the benefits delivered to residents rather than the length of time a political party had remained in power.

Adeoye urged Lagosians to assess the governorship candidates based on their capacity to address the state’s challenges, expressing confidence that his proposed agenda offered a credible alternative in the 2027 election.

2027: APM candidate urges Lagosians to reject APC

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