By Peace Udugba
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) senatorial candidate for Lagos Central, Ladipo Johnson, has promised to provide what he described as an effective voice for residents of the senatorial district if elected to the Senate in 2027.
Johnson made the pledge on Tuesday while speaking on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu.
He said many residents of Lagos Central were not sufficiently aware of who currently represents them in the Senate, arguing that the district deserves stronger and more visible representation at the National Assembly.
“Well, unfortunately, if you speak to most people in Central — there’s Apapa, Eti-Osa, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland and Surulere — if you ask most of them who has been representing you for the past three-plus years, a lot of them don’t know his name,” Johnson said.
The NDC candidate described Lagos Central as a strategically important part of Lagos State and the Nigerian economy, noting that the senatorial district includes major commercial and economic centres such as Apapa, Lagos Island, parts of Eti-Osa and major markets.
“We pride ourselves on being the Centre of Excellence, and we in Lagos Central further believe that our Lagos Central is the heartbeat of the economy,” he said.
Johnson also highlighted the scale of commercial activity across the district, arguing that the area requires stronger representation at the National Assembly.
“It is very difficult for some people in Lagos Central to believe that, being the Centre of Excellence, we really have not had a voice in the Senate for the past three-plus years,” he said.
Johnson Outlines Legislative Agenda
Johnson said his decision to contest the election was driven by his belief that he could effectively represent the interests of residents of Lagos Central.
“In all humility, I believe, and that is why I put myself forward, that I could be that voice in the Senate that will represent my people, our people from Central, in a very effective, efficient manner,” he said.
He identified five broad areas that would form the basis of his proposed legislative agenda: people, productivity, infrastructure, security and the rule of law, and governance.
Johnson stressed that, as a legislator, he would not promise to execute projects that fall within the constitutional responsibilities of the executive arm of government.
“I am looking at the people. I’m looking at productivity, infrastructure, security, and of course, governance itself,” he said.
“I am going into the legislative branch, not going in to build bridges. I’m not the executive arm of government, so I will not make those promises.”
According to him, his role would include legislative oversight, lobbying and using what he described as the “soft power” of the Senate to attract investment and support government interventions in Lagos Central.
He particularly highlighted the contribution of small and medium-sized businesses to employment and economic activity across the district.
“I will genuinely engage with our people in Central and talk about what we could do to ensure that we support the government, the executive arm, and that we use the legislative oversight function and the soft power of the Senate to encourage people to bring in businesses,” Johnson said.
He cited the Lekki axis, Lagos Mainland and Surulere as areas with significant concentrations of small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Look at the Lekki axis, look at the amount of shops and small businesses, medium-sized businesses you have there, even in Mainland, even in Surulere, and they are the highest employers of labour,” he said.
Johnson also called for government policies that would support businesses rather than impose what he described as unnecessary burdens through multiple levies and taxes.
“We can get that axis taken properly again and not kill them with all sorts of levies and taxes and this and that,” he said.
Unemployment, Flooding, Security Among Challenges
On the challenges confronting Lagos Central, Johnson identified unemployment, infrastructure deficits, flooding, insecurity and governance as major concerns.
He expressed particular concern about youth unemployment across communities in the senatorial district.
“The number of young ones I have from Lagos Island, from Eti-Osa, the level of unemployment is outstanding. It’s just something that is waiting to explode,” he said.
Johnson also linked security, the rule of law and good governance to economic development, arguing that these factors are necessary to attract businesses and investment to the district.
“And the security, rule of law, governance is another thing, because those are the things that will enable the economy to begin to move, enable us to attract businesses into our senatorial district,” he added.
Candidate Promises Quarterly Town Halls
Johnson also pledged to maintain regular engagement with constituents if elected.
He said he would provide quarterly reports on his activities and organise town hall meetings to enable residents to raise concerns and assess his performance.
“I have already stated that I will pledge to be in constant touch with my people in two or three ways. One is that I have pledged that in every quarter, I will report back to them and I will hear from them through town halls, so that we’ll have a minimum of fair hearing,” he said.
The NDC candidate further promised to establish a digital platform that would enable constituents to monitor his legislative activities and constituency projects.
According to him, the proposed digital dashboard would allow residents to track bills before the Senate, constituency projects and other commitments directly from their mobile phones.
“Secondly, I will have them create a digital dashboard, whereby the people can report to us as things are happening,” he said.
“They can report and they can assess and track whether it is a constituency project or whether it is a bill before the Senate. They can track it from their phones, so they know whether their senator is sleeping or whether that thing is slow because of the minister and not the senator’s fault.”
Johnson said the proposed system would give constituents a direct channel to question their representative about the progress of legislative and constituency commitments.
He added that it would also help citizens distinguish between delays attributable to their representative and those caused by other arms of government.
“For those who want to see the process of government work properly, they will take that step. At least they will take the step of using a platform to report incidents that their representatives can aid with or help with, since they know they can do it from their phone,” Johnson said.
