We’ll rent houses, sublet to residents — Lagos PDP candidate

Deji Doherty, the Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has announced plans to rent houses and make them available to residents as part of efforts to tackle the rising cost of accommodation. During the 2026 Lagos governorship debate organized by the Nigeria Debate Consortium, Doherty emphasized the need for the government to compete with private landlords to make housing more accessible to low-income earners.

He suggested that the state struggles to address the housing crisis if it continues to operate under a heavy debt burden and fails to tackle the high cost of property development.

Doherty attributed about 40% of the cost of constructing a house in Lagos to physical planning and other building approval charges. He proposed that the government should take a more active role in providing accommodation by becoming one of the biggest developers in the state. Doherty argued that the government must be the highest developer in the state, as it cannot compete with private landlords otherwise.

He called for low-cost housing and long-term lease arrangements, highlighting that many workers earning the minimum wage in Lagos cannot afford accommodation due to the high prices. The candidate questioned how residents on the minimum wage could secure affordable housing and noted that some of his employees had moved to areas outside Lagos due to the cost of accommodation within the state.