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

The Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Deji Doherty, has said his administration would rent houses and make them available to interested residents, as part of efforts to address the rising cost of accommodation.

Doherty said the government must compete with private landlords to make housing more accessible to low-income earners.

He made the proposal while speaking on strategies for affordable housing during the 2026 Lagos governorship debate organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium.

The debate was organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium, a coalition comprising  The PUNCH, Channels Television, TVC News, TheCable and Vanguard.

According to him, the state would struggle to address the housing crisis if it continued to operate under a heavy debt burden and failed to tackle the high cost of property development.

He argued that charges associated with physical planning and other building approvals accounted for about 40 per cent of the cost of constructing a house in Lagos.

The PDP candidate also questioned the government’s ability to regulate private landlords, saying direct government participation in the rental market would offer residents an alternative.

“There is no landlord and there is no government that can control a landlord. There is none. What is going to happen is this. What we’re 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.

He added that the government must be one of the biggest players in the property market to compete with private landlords and expand access to affordable accommodation.

“Government has to be the highest developers in the state. If they cannot compete with the landlords, then let us forget it,” he said.

The candidate further called for low-cost housing and long-term lease arrangements, arguing that many workers could not afford accommodation in Lagos on their monthly earnings.

He questioned how residents earning the minimum wage could secure affordable housing, noting that some of his employees lived in communities outside Lagos because of the cost of accommodation within the state.

“Minimum wage in Lagos State is probably ₦120,000, I hope. At the end of the day, ₦120,000 per month, where are you going to get which house?” he asked.

He said the situation had forced some workers to live in areas such as Igondo and communities in Ogun State.

The candidate maintained that affordable housing required practical measures rather than political promises, insisting that the government must take a more active role in providing accommodation for residents.

Lagos has long faced challenges with housing affordability, driven by high demand, rising construction costs and the concentration of employment opportunities in the state.

Many workers who cannot afford accommodation within Lagos live in neighbouring communities in Ogun State and commute to the state for work.