Lagos candidate Gadebo Rhodes-Vivour unveils 100,000-home plan in four years

Gadebo Rhodes-Vivour, a Lagos State governorship candidate, has proposed delivering 100,000 housing units within four years as part of a plan to reshape the state, speaking at The Platform Millennial and Gen Z Town Meeting with Lagos governorship candidates on Thursday.

On housing, Rhodes-Vivour said the proposed units would be designed to accommodate residents as their incomes and family needs change. 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.

The architect and entrepreneur said an ideology had emerged from more than two decades of one political group governing Lagos, which he argued prioritised revenue generation over the welfare of residents. He contrasted that with what he called the “Alhaji Lateef Jakande ideology”, which he said should focus on providing affordable housing, quality education and infrastructure.

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. He proposed about 40 technical and vocational schools and said his government would provide pathways for young people to acquire skills and take part in housing and other public projects.

On flooding, he said Lagos needed to protect wetlands and prevent developments that reduce the city’s capacity to absorb excess water, proposing alternative uses such as leisure parks, solar parks and aquatic centres to stop wetlands being sand-filled. He also called for regular clearing of canals and gutters.