Adedeji Doherty, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Lagos State, has suggested that the state administration ought to act as a principal real estate developer to supply homes that citizens can lease directly from the government.
Doherty said government intervention was necessary to make accommodation affordable, arguing that landlords could not be compelled to reduce rents simply through regulation.
He made the proposal during the Lagos governorship debate on Sunday, in response to discussions on the rising cost of housing and the burden of rent on residents.
“There is no landlord and there is no government that can control a landlord. What we are going to do is very simple. We are going to rent those houses ourselves and then you come and rent from us if you want to,” he said.
The PDP candidate argued that government must become the biggest housing developer in Lagos and compete with private landlords to provide more affordable accommodation.
“If they cannot compete with the landlords, then let us forget it,” he said.
Doherty also called for long-lease apartments and low-cost housing, saying the cost of accommodation was increasingly beyond the reach of ordinary workers.
He questioned how residents earning the state’s minimum wage could afford housing in the city, citing the experience of his own staff, whom he said lived in areas outside central Lagos, including Epe and other parts of the state.
Doherty further argued that the cost of obtaining planning approvals and meeting other building requirements added significantly to construction expenses.
He said he would rather present what he considered practical solutions than make promises that could not be delivered.
“If we want to lie, if we just want to play politics, then let us play. But this is my own position,” he said.
What You Should Know
Adedeji Doherty argues that private landlords cannot be easily forced to lower their prices through mere regulations, prompting his idea for direct state competition in the housing market.
- Potential Relief: If executed, direct government-built rental units could offer cheaper options for everyday workers who struggle with exorbitant rent in central Lagos.
- Implementation Challenges: Critics might question the state’s capacity to effectively build and manage housing on a scale large enough to significantly influence market rates.
