Hamzat’s PROMISE: Putting The Lagosian At The Centre of Governance

This is an examination of the People First agenda and its 15 pledges on healthcare, education, community safety and citizen services

Every political manifesto comes with an assortment of promises, but their importance is ultimately determined by how closely they address the needs of the people for whom government exists.

For a state such as Lagos, where rapid population growth continually stretches public infrastructure and services, the relationship between government and the ordinary resident is particularly important.

A parent concerned about the cost of medical treatment, a young graduate struggling to find employment, a trader confronted by harassment on the streets and a resident spending an entire day pursuing a government document may have different immediate concerns.

Yet, all four experiences raise a common question: how effectively does government respond to the needs of its citizens?

This is the question at the heart of the People First component of the Lagos PROMISE, the manifesto unveiled by the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, ahead of the 2027 election.

Structured around four thematic areas and 15 distinct pledges, People First addresses healthcare, education and human capital, community safety, and the relationship between citizens and public institutions.

Of the 15 pledges, 11 are classified as firm commitments and four as aspirations. The distinction is significant because it separates proposed obligations from broader objectives whose achievement may depend on additional resources, external partnerships or conditions yet to be established.

Together, the pledges offer a framework for examining what people-centred governance would mean in practical terms.

Healthcare: From Building Hospitals to Improving Access

Healthcare occupies a central position in the People First agenda, with five pledges covering medical infrastructure, personnel, insurance, vulnerable populations and specialist treatment.

Among the proposed targets are a workforce of 9,000 doctors, two additional general hospitals, 120 flagship primary healthcare centres and 15 maternal and child centres by 2031. The manifesto also proposes expanding selected general hospitals, including those in Alimosho, Odan and Ikorodu.

These commitments address an enduring challenge of urban development: the tendency for population growth to outpace the availability of public services.

For Lagos, however, the issue extends beyond the number of healthcare buildings. A hospital is useful only to the extent that it has qualified personnel, functional equipment, essential medicines and the capacity to attend promptly to patients.

Consequently, the proposed expansion of healthcare facilities would need to proceed alongside effective staffing, maintenance and financing arrangements.

This is where the Pledge of Systems connects with the Pledge of the Healthcare Economy, which proposes extending Ilera Eko health insurance coverage to 30 per cent and strengthening the state’s medicine supply and healthcare financing systems.

The significance of insurance cannot be overstated. For many households, a serious illness is simultaneously a medical emergency and a financial crisis.

Wider insurance participation could help reduce the immediate pressure of paying for treatment, although the eventual benefit would depend on the services covered, participating facilities and affordability of premiums.

Another dimension is the Pledge of the Vulnerable, which sets targets for reducing malaria, maternal mortality and the burden of non communicable diseases, while expanding community mental healthcare across the five administrative divisions of Lagos.

Here, the distinction between inputs and outcomes becomes especially relevant.

The number of hospitals constructed can be counted. So can the number of doctors recruited. But the more consequential questions concern whether fewer mothers die during childbirth, whether more diseases are detected early and whether patients receive timely treatment.

These are the measures by which healthcare expansion would acquire meaning beyond physical infrastructure.

The fifth undertaking, the Pledge of Care on Lagos Soil, addresses specialist medical services and the ambition to reduce outbound medical tourism through facilities such as the Lagos Cancer Diagnosis Centre, Medipark and other specialist institutions.

Classified as an aspiration, it reflects a broader economic consideration: the possibility of retaining healthcare expenditure, professional expertise and medical investment within Lagos.

Its realisation would nevertheless require sustained investment in specialist personnel, equipment, quality assurance and the confidence of patients, who currently seek treatment elsewhere.

Education: Preparing the Lagos Mind for a Changing Economy

Education constitutes the second component of People First, with four pledges directed at learning outcomes, vocational training, tertiary education and access.