I will be Lagos governor next year, NDC candidate, Doherty

The governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in Lagos State, Funso Doherty, talked with YUSUF OKETOLA about his belief in challenging the All Progressives Congress in the 2027 governorship election.

At first, we joined ADC hoping the party would unite the opposition. But that plan failed because the key players in ADC had different ideas. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi chose different paths. So, people had to pick sides. When I consider the philosophy, governance style, and focus on accountability, I see a match between my approach and the NDC platform. Our party's slogan is service. Government is a service. That is why I am with NDC today.

We are very confident. Let us wait and see.

The role of government is to provide welfare and security for the people, as our constitution says. To judge any government, you look at what they have done in these areas. Go around Lagos and ask people about their welfare and security compared to four years ago. There is much space for improvement. When we think of a government, we ask how the people are doing. What is their standard of living? What is their income level? What kind of education do public schools provide? What healthcare do public hospitals offer? What transport options are available? What quality of buses are on the roads? What happens when a woman is pregnant? What is the rate of infant mortality?

These are the questions to ask. When you compare Lagos to other cities worldwide, you see that the government has failed. The Yoruba say, 'ti obinrin o ba fe oko meji, ko le mo iyato' (If a woman doesn’t marry two husbands, she won’t know which is better and which is worse). That is Lagos' situation. We have been under one administration for 30 years. People are used to it; they think that is how it should be, but that is not true. Those who have visited other cities know how a city should function. Lagos is not functioning well.

There is much to do, especially in education. The failure rate in the 2024 WASSCE was above 50 percent. That was a disaster. So, we have a lot of work ahead. We are also producing graduates who are not properly trained. We must greatly enhance technical education, so if graduates cannot find office jobs, they can still be employed using their skills. The number of out-of-school children is another big issue in education.

Healthcare also needs a major boost. Many people avoid government hospitals; they prefer traditional healers and pharmacists because those services are better than what government hospitals provide.

When it comes to transportation, no modern city should have the chaotic transport system that Lagos has. This is because the government has neglected its duty. It left everything to the private sector. People run old, poorly maintained buses all over the streets. A big part of the traffic problem in Lagos comes from the poor behavior of many public transport workers. More people live in slums than in proper houses in Lagos. The government needs to improve housing, and we have a big plan for that, aiming for thousands of homes, not just hundreds. This will also help industries and create jobs.

The way government operates must change. The cost of governance has to be lower. We must make sure people are doing their jobs and getting fair pay. We will review salaries and benefits to ensure civil servants in Lagos receive decent wages.

We need to help people believe that their votes matter. They must understand that the chance to create change is in their hands. The opportunity for good governance comes every four years. The people have to seize it because if they miss it, they lose it for another four years. Look at what happened in Osun during the last governorship election. People knew what they wanted and fought for it. They did not just sit at home and wait for change. Voter turnout in Osun was about 47 percent. In the last Lagos election, only about 15 percent voted. It is part of our job to show people that we have a different mindset and a new way of doing things.

I don’t think that is true. I have been challenging the state government for the past four years. I even sued the government in 2024 about the environmental impact assessment for the coastal road. We are currently at the appeal court regarding that matter. People think there is no opposition because they see APC posters everywhere and they control the media. But that is not true! We are here speaking and fighting, but we are up against a very aggressive government that does not want to share power. APC came into power because there was freedom to operate. If the government back then said, 'it was live and die,' would they have APC today?

The youth need to know that the future of Lagos State is in their hands. They should look at what happened in Osun. If anyone didn’t know before, they should understand now that no amount of federal power can stop the people's will.

I encourage them as we approach the election season. This is another chance to get things right. If they felt discouraged last time, maybe due to the electoral process, they should come out even more this time to vote for good governance.