Hamzat to Young Lagosians: Start Small, Don’t Spend Over 40% of Income on Rent

Hamzat to Young Lagosians: Start Small, Don’t Spend Over 40% of Income on Rent
Promises Better Housing Affordability, Advises Young Workers
Advocates Shared Living

Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the 2027 election, Obafemi Hamzat, has advised residents not to spend more than 40 per cent of their income on rent.

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Eko Hot Blog reports that Hamzat gave the advice while speaking on Nigerian Info, where he discussed housing affordability, income levels and the rising cost of living in Lagos.

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He said young workers should not feel pressured to immediately rent expensive self-contained apartments or larger homes when they begin earning an income.

According to him, young Nigerians can reduce their housing burden by living with parents, relatives or sharing accommodation until their earnings improve.

“Don’t let us misunderstand ourselves as a people. We are cultural people. So, if I start to work as a young person and I’m not married, a lot of us live with our parents,” Hamzat said.

“A lot of us live with our cousins. So, you don’t start from the top. Self-contained. You don’t start from the top. You start from the average.”

The deputy governor said housing costs must be considered alongside other essential expenses such as food, clothing and transportation.

“So, in fact, if you spend more than 40% of your income on rent, it is too high because you must eat, you must buy clothes, you must do transportation,” he said.

Hamzat also encouraged Nigerians to develop a culture of saving, saying an individual’s ability to save should form part of the consideration when seeking to acquire property.

He said young people could begin their housing journey with a one-bedroom apartment or self-contained accommodation, depending on their income.

“It doesn’t have to be, if you are a young person, you can start it with one bedroom or even a self-contained,” he said.

The APC candidate, however, acknowledged that housing affordability cannot be addressed without improving Nigerians’ earning power.

“What is important is we must also build our economy in such a way that people earn better,” he said.

Hamzat linked the housing crisis to broader economic conditions, arguing that a stable economy would make it easier for households and businesses to plan their finances.

He expressed optimism about the economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu administration, saying efforts to stabilise the economy could eventually make inflation and prices more predictable.

“If this economy is stable, then things are becoming predictable. In that way, you can predict inflation, you can predict everything, and prices become steady,” he said.

According to him, the government must first address fundamental economic challenges, including the rising cost of goods and services, before significant progress can be made in areas such as housing.

Hamzat is seeking to succeed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the 2027 Lagos governorship election after emerging as the APC candidate at the party’s governorship primary in May 2026.

He secured 657,917 votes to defeat his rival, Olanrewaju Jim-Kamal, who polled one vote.