…Says: My running mate will be a school teacher

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA — The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Lagos State, Chief Adedeji Doherty, has said a future Lagos government under his leadership would actively support efforts to tackle insecurity in neighbouring states and parts of the Niger Delta, arguing that the safety of Nigeria’s commercial capital depends on the security of the wider region.

According to him, Lagos cannot isolate itself from problems beyond its borders. Whether it is banditry disrupting food production, kidnappings in neighbouring states or criminal activity along coastal routes, the effects ultimately reach the state through higher prices, economic disruption and direct security threats.

Briefing journalists at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja, Doherty, who also serves as the party’s South-West National Vice-Chairman, unveiled a regional security framework, a 10-point development agenda and a raft of economic proposals he said would reposition Lagos ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

“If I’m going to keep Lagos safe, I have to keep Oyo safe. I have to keep Ondo safe. I have to keep even the Niger Delta safe,” Doherty said.

Responding to concerns over the recent abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo State and fears that criminal groups could eventually target Lagos, the PDP candidate maintained that security challenges elsewhere in the country should not be viewed in isolation.

“Let me give you an example of why it affects Lagos. If there are bandits in a place like Gombe, where potatoes are being produced, and out of 15 trailers of potatoes that are supposed to come from Gombe to Lagos, only five are able to come in a week, what happens to the price of potatoes in Lagos? It will go up,” he said.

“The bandits have now come to Oyo, terrorising people in Oyo. Definitely, it now becomes a state security problem and a national security problem.”

Doherty said his administration would deploy drones, surveillance technology and intelligence-driven operations to combat criminal networks before they establish a presence close to Lagos.

He also pledged to support neighbouring states through intelligence-sharing, technological assistance and other forms of security collaboration.

Arguing that Lagos has both the responsibility and capacity to play a broader regional role, he said insecurity in neighbouring states could easily spill into the state through land and coastal routes.

“As Governor of Lagos State, I will move there with drones. I will move there with every security resource available. I must stop them in Oyo. I must squash them in Oyo,” he said.

“We will extend a hand of fellowship in equipment, intellect, IT and different technological ways. We have youths who possess these technological skills.

“We have heat-sensitive equipment that can go into the forest and detect wherever they are. Even if they are inside a cave, it will detect them.”

Beyond security, Doherty argued that Lagos remains central to the success of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, saying the impact of federal policies would be limited if they were not effectively reflected in the country’s economic hub.

“Mr President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu can do all he wants to do as President. His Renewed Hope Agenda, his removal of fuel subsidy, his creation of Band A and Band B in the power sector, his opening up of the power industry and his empowerment programmes for youths.

“Where you don’t have Lagos attached to the execution of what the President is doing, it will not really show and have an effect on the generality of the people,” he said.

Despite Lagos’ enormous revenue base, Doherty said the state had yet to deliver commensurate improvements in key sectors such as education, healthcare and infrastructure.

“Lagos is a state with N3.3 trillion in income, and we haven’t gotten a new university in the past 30 years.

“We haven’t gotten a new general hospital in the past 25 years. We haven’t gotten a well-articulated road network. We still have traffic jams at the same level we had 15 years ago,” the PDP candidate noted.

To address those challenges, he said his proposed 10-point agenda would focus on roads, education, healthcare, housing, security, water supply, power, youth empowerment, women and child welfare.

Doherty also disclosed that his running mate would likely come from the education sector, reflecting what he described as the need to strengthen learning outcomes and better prepare young people for the future.

“That is why right now I’m saying that my deputy governor is definitely going to have to be somebody from the educational sector, someone who has been a teacher, someone who is a Muslim, a lady or a man, someone who knows what is missing in building up the youth of tomorrow.”

On the economy, the PDP candidate proposed using part of the gains from fuel subsidy removal to reduce electricity costs and support small businesses, arguing that affordable power remains one of the most effective ways to stimulate growth and create jobs.

“Let Lagos State subsidise power. Let us invest in the companies that are running the DISCOs. Let us inject our own investments there and let us sit on their boards.

“Let us make sure that the hairdressers, the barbing salons, the tailors, the welders and the vulcanisers are able to get real power, 24-hour power and, most importantly, at an affordable and profitable price,” Doherty said.

He argued that cheaper and more reliable electricity would help small businesses expand, improve productivity and reinforce Lagos’ position as the country’s commercial hub.

Doherty also used the briefing to highlight his long-standing relationship with the PDP, describing himself as a consistent party loyalist who has spent decades building his political career within its ranks.

“This is probably my fourth or fifth time running for the position of governor. The first time I ran for governor as an aspirant was at the age of 38. I have been consistent with the party. I have not moved to another party or visited another party,” he said.

Now 64, he said his political journey reflected persistence, commitment and faith in what he described as God’s timing.

He also vowed to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in Lagos, expressing confidence that his years in politics and familiarity with the state’s political landscape had prepared him for the contest ahead.

“I wouldn’t want to say too much today, but to let you know that we will challenge the sitting government in Lagos,” he said.