The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, senatorial candidate for Lagos Central, Ladipo Johnson, has vowed to provide stronger, more accountable and people-focused representation if elected to the Senate in 2027.
Johnson said he entered the race because he believes Lagos Central deserves a representative whose presence, activities and contributions would be felt by the people across the district.
Speaking on Tuesday during Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Johnson argued that many residents of Lagos Central could not readily identify their current representative in the Senate, a situation he said reflected what he described as a lack of visible representation.
According to him, Lagos Central, comprising major areas including Apapa, Eti-Osa, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland and Surulere, occupies a strategic position in the economic life of Lagos State and Nigeria and should have a stronger voice 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.
He described Lagos Central as the heartbeat of the economy, citing its concentration of commercial centres, markets and businesses.
“We pride ourselves as 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 maintained that despite the district’s economic importance, its people deserved more effective representation and greater engagement with their elected senator.
“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.
The NDC candidate said his ambition was driven by his conviction that he possesses the capacity to provide the representation he believes the district requires.
“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 and efficient manner,” he added.
Johnson said his legislative agenda would focus on five major areas — the people, productivity, infrastructure, security and the rule of law, as well as governance.
However, he stressed that he would not make promises outside the constitutional responsibilities of a senator by presenting executive projects as though they were solely within the powers of the legislature.
“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,” he said.
Rather, Johnson said he would deploy legislative oversight, advocacy, lobbying and what he described as the “soft power” of the Senate to influence policies, attract investment and encourage government intervention in areas affecting the people of Lagos Central.
He particularly identified the district’s vast network of small and medium-sized enterprises as an important sector requiring support, noting that such businesses remain major employers of labour.
“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,” he said.
Drawing attention to the Lekki axis, Lagos Mainland and Surulere, Johnson said the government must create an environment that enables businesses to survive and expand rather than impose excessive burdens on them.
“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.
“We can get that axis taken properly again and not kill them with all sorts of levies and taxes and this and that.”
On the challenges confronting the district, the NDC candidate listed unemployment among young people, infrastructure deficits, flooding, insecurity and weaknesses in governance as issues requiring urgent attention.
He expressed particular concern about youth unemployment, warning that the situation could worsen if economic opportunities were not expanded.
“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 added that improvements in security, respect for the rule of law and good governance were essential to creating an environment capable of attracting investment and stimulating economic growth.
“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 said.
On accountability, Johnson promised to maintain regular contact with his constituents and provide periodic reports on his activities if elected.
He said he would organise town hall engagements every quarter to update residents on his work at the Senate while also giving them an opportunity 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 senatorial hopeful also proposed the creation of a digital dashboard that would allow constituents to monitor his legislative activities, track constituency projects and follow the progress of bills directly from their mobile phones.
According to him, the platform would also enable residents to report issues requiring attention and help them understand how government processes affect the delivery of projects and services.
“Secondly, I will have them create a digital dashboard, whereby the people can report to us as things are happening,” Johnson 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 such a system would bring representation closer to the people and make elected officials more directly answerable to their constituents.
He maintained that citizens should be able to question their representatives and monitor the progress of commitments made during campaigns rather than wait until another election cycle before demanding accountability.
“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,” he said.
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