Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos, has promised to solve the problem of touts, otherwise known as ‘agbero’ in the state if elected governor.
Rhodes-Vivour faces Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the incumbent and candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdul-Azeez Adediran of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), among others, for the governorship position on March 11.
Speaking in an interview with Chude Jideonwo, a media personality, Rhodes-Vivour said he will deliver four rail lines in four years, adding that his administration will invest in water transportation.
He said he is committed to easing the housing situation in the state, adding that solving transportation hiccups will open up Lagos to a feasible housing system.
“When I become governor, we are going to deliver four rail lines in four years. The plan is that we need 160 kilometres of rails to make Lagos state work, and we are going to invest heavily in water transportation and make Lagos state, a truly intermodal city in terms of transportation,” he said.
“Once that happens, Lagos starts to open up because development becomes decentralised. It is now feasible to build housing in Ikorodu, Badagry, Ajeromi/Ifelodun, and open Lagos up. So, everything is not coming to the centre, and we now have self-sustaining cities across the state.
“And then, we are going to fix the agbero situation across the state. This has become a real issue; we need Lagos to become a 24-hour city and security is essential to make that happen.
“We are going to work with them as stakeholders because we need to look at this thing holistically and equip them with alternative means of living.
“And because we are not a government that needs people to suppress and intimidate people not to vote, we are going to tell them that that job description is no longer available. So, we are going to put them in skills, and programs that allow that to happen.”