Reactions have continued to trail the advice by Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the 2027 election, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, that young workers struggling with high rents should consider living with their parents or relatives.

While some Lagos residents described the suggestion as insensitive and impractical given the financial pressures facing young workers, others defended it as a realistic approach to managing accommodation costs within one’s income.

Hamzat made the remarks during an interview on Nigeria Info FM while responding to concerns about the affordability of housing for young workers in Lagos.

The deputy governor was asked how a 22-year-old earning N100,000 monthly could afford a self-contained apartment or mini-flat reportedly costing about N1 million in annual rent.

In response, Hamzat advised young, unmarried workers to consider staying with their parents or relatives, or sharing accommodation with others, until their earnings improve.

He also urged residents to select housing based on their financial capacity, warning against committing an excessive portion of their income to rent.

According to Hamzat, spending more than 40 per cent of one’s income on accommodation was too high, given other essential expenses such as food, clothing and transportation.

He cited the way some young people live in countries such as Turkey as an example of alternative approaches to accommodation.

The deputy governor also identified mortgage financing as part of the long-term solution to Lagos’ housing challenges, arguing that prospective homeowners should have access to arrangements that allow them to spread the cost of acquiring property instead of paying the full amount upfront.

However, the comments have drawn criticism from some young residents who argued that many workers had already established independent lives and had financial responsibilities that made returning to their parents’ homes unrealistic.

A Lagos resident, Abiola David, said he had left his parents’ home years earlier, secured employment, taken responsibility for his accommodation and built his life around his work.

He argued that returning to his parents simply because of rising rent would not necessarily solve the problem, particularly for young workers who also provide financial support to their families.

David noted that some workers send money home regularly, pay school fees for younger siblings or support dependent parents, making the option of moving back home difficult.

The governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election, Fusho Doherty, also criticised Hamzat’s position.

Doherty described the comments as evidence of what he called the government’s disconnect from the economic difficulties confronting Lagos residents.

He attributed the housing challenges to what he described as failures in Lagos State’s housing policies under successive APC administrations over the past three decades.

However, human rights activist, Comrade Nelson Ekujumi, defended Hamzat’s position, describing it as an uncomfortable but practical reality.

Ekujumi argued that people who could not afford their preferred accommodation could reasonably consider living with parents or relatives temporarily until their financial circumstances improved.

He stressed that Hamzat had not suggested that anyone should become homeless, adding that individuals who disagreed with the advice remained free to make their own accommodation choices.

The differing reactions have further intensified discussions around Lagos’ housing crisis, rising rental costs and the ability of low- and middle-income workers to secure affordable accommodation in the state.