Sanwo-Olu accuses Abuja politicians of frustrating Lagos’ special status bid

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has accused politicians in Abuja of frustrating the state’s quest for special status, citing its historical significance and major contribution to Nigeria’s economy.

Sanwo-Olu spoke at the Financial Times Africa Summit in London at the weekend, where he acknowledged the Federal Government’s support for Lagos but said more needed to be done to address the state’s peculiar challenges.

Asked whether President Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos, was doing enough for the state, Sanwo-Olu said discussions with the Federal Government were ongoing.

“It’s an ongoing conversation. I cannot pretend that the current federal government is not helping out,” he said.

He added that although the Federal Government was supporting Lagos, the state deserved greater consideration because it previously served as Nigeria’s capital and remains the country’s commercial hub.

“So, the federal government is helping us. Lagos used to be the capital of the country and the administrative head until when Abuja came up. So, they are helping but it could be a bit more,” he said.

The governor said Lagos had repeatedly pushed for special status but encountered resistance from politicians in Abuja.

“We have talked about Lagos being given a special status but constitutionally, the politicians in Abuja will never let that happen. So, we are having conversations,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu argued that Lagos was unique among Nigeria’s 36 states because it accommodates people from different ethnic groups across the country.

“We are one of 36 states but they just need to look at us very differently because indeed, every single ethnic national have a place in Lagos,” he added.

He noted that securing special status would require political negotiations but expressed optimism that the Federal Government was listening to the state’s concerns.

Sanwo-Olu also called for a review of the distribution of value-added tax (VAT) revenue, arguing that Lagos generates a significant share of the revenue distributed nationally.

“You know it is a political environment but they are listening to us. It takes a while for some of those changes to happen,” he said.

He added that the state was discussing ways to ensure it received a greater share of VAT revenue generated through economic activities within its territory.

“Also, a lot of the VAT that is distributed nationally gets collected from Lagos. We are having some discussions about ensuring that Lagos still continues to earn more on value added taxation,” he said.

On infrastructure, the governor cited the Lagos section of the coastal road and the proposed Sokoto-Badagry superhighway as examples of Federal Government support.

He said the 70-kilometre Lagos section of the coastal road was largely completed, noting that the project would improve connectivity between Lagos and other parts of the country.

“The coastal road which is one place where we thought it was impossible which is now 700km, the 70km coming out of Lagos is largely completed,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu also highlighted the proposed Sokoto-Badagry superhighway, saying its planned network of 250 dams would support irrigation and agricultural production, helping to increase food supplies to Lagos.

The governor identified electricity sector reforms under Tinubu’s administration as another area of progress, saying they had enabled states to participate more actively in power generation and distribution.

According to him, Lagos has established its electricity regulatory commission and signed about 22 public-private partnership agreements aimed at increasing power generation capacity by 2,000 megawatts within three years.

On security, Sanwo-Olu said discussions on state policing were ongoing, expressing hope that a constitutional amendment would allow states to play a greater role in maintaining security.

He said the proposed reform would strengthen public security and create a more favourable environment for economic activities.