The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, has promised to expand transport infrastructure and introduce long-term mortgage arrangements to make housing more affordable for residents of Nigeria's commercial capital.

Hamzat, who is the state's deputy governor, made the pledges during the 2026 Lagos State Governorship Debate on Sunday, organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium. He was answering a question about why residents continued to feel economic hardship despite the state's enormous wealth.

He described Nigeria as going through what he called a financial corrective phase, and said transport, housing and food were the areas where government had to intervene deliberately. "We are going through a corrective phase financially in Nigeria. We understand that transportation, housing and food are major concerns for our people, and these are areas where government must deliberately intervene," he said.

On transport, Hamzat said his administration would prioritise an integrated network of road, rail and water transport so that large numbers of commuters could move across the state. He said the completion and expansion of the Blue and Red rail lines, alongside investment in water transport, would increase passenger capacity, improve connections and take pressure off Lagos roads.

He also said the party's manifesto included plans to procure between 3,000 and 4,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to strengthen public transport and give residents cheaper commuting options.

On housing, Hamzat pointed to the delivery of 18,000 housing units across 24 estates over the past eight years as part of the current administration's record. He acknowledged, however, that more accessible financing was needed so ordinary residents could become homeowners.

Under the mortgage arrangement he proposed, buyers would make a 10 per cent initial payment and spread the balance over 25 years, moving away from an arrangement in which a buyer must pay the full cost of a property upfront. "Our plan is to make sure that we don't buy houses the way we buy yam and rice," he said, explaining that the mortgage would let people pay over time.

Hamzat also promised to enforce the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency Law, which bars landlords from demanding more than one year's rent in advance, and to complete housing projects already under way across the state.

Presenting his development blueprint, which he called Jacob's Promise, Hamzat said it was built around seven pillars, seven broad areas of action and 100 pledges. He described the debate as a job interview and urged voters to judge candidates on the substance of their programmes and their capacity to deliver.

His main rival at the debate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the African Democratic Congress, offered a contrasting vision. Rhodes-Vivour promised to deliver 100,000 housing units within his first four years in office, funded in part by a luxury tax on high-value property, and to connect the state's rail lines within two and a half years through private-sector participation.

The governorship election is set for 6 February 2027. For Lagosians coping with rising living costs, expensive accommodation and daily traffic congestion, the debate put the central question plainly: which candidate's plan for housing and transport can actually be delivered?