By Opeyemi Eniola
Lagos is not just Nigeria’s commercial hub. It is the country’s economic oxygen. It drives a disproportionate share of national output through trade, manufacturing, ports, financial services, and logistics. In plain terms, Lagos does not merely contribute to the Nigerian economy,it sets its pace. What happens here does not stay here. Policy decisions, infrastructure gaps, rising costs, and governance reliability in Lagos shape investment choices, jobs, supply chains, and fiscal behaviour far beyond the state.
That is why the emerging talk of a Lagos State Economic Council, and the case for electing Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat as governor in 2027, should not be dismissed as campaign talk. It is a question of national economic strategy. Who is best placed to keep Lagos competitive, cut unnecessary friction for businesses, and build on the gains made since 1999 without losing momentum?
Why a Lagos State Economic Council matters now
Economic planning in Lagos can no longer be occasional or reactive. It has to be continuous, coordinated, and grounded in real data. Hamzat, the APC gubernatorial candidate, has pushed this idea with some clarity. The proposed council takes a cue from the National Economic Council but keeps the focus local: bringing state executives, local government leaders, and key stakeholders together regularly to review performance, track policies, and fix problems sector by sector.
The strongest part of the proposal is not the creation of another body. It is the practical link to everyday business realities, coordinating government charges so they are less confusing, tackling multiple and unauthorised levies that still weigh on enterprises, and giving businesses a clearer picture of what they will actually pay. That kind of predictability matters. Lagos is competing for capital, talent, and long-term contracts. When costs are opaque or keep shifting, ambition becomes expensive. Weak coordination manufactures uncertainty even when the intentions are good.
A properly empowered Economic Council could reduce friction, improve transparency, and give private capital the stability it needs.
Building on what already exists more systematically
Lagos has tried versions of this before. Earlier administrations set up economic advisory groups that brought private-sector voices into government thinking. The current Sanwo-Olu administration has pushed further with platforms like the Lagos International Financial Centre Council, aiming to position the state as a serious global financial hub.
Hamzat’s version takes that tradition further. It moves beyond occasional consultation or branding exercises and tries to embed economic oversight into the regular work of government. It also recognises something operators on the ground already know: Lagos is not one uniform economy. The divisions have different strengths. A council that includes local government leadership and works across the state can help spread decision-making, ease the over-concentration around Alausa, and make development priorities more responsive to local realities.
Why Hamzat is positioned for this
This proposal lands better because it does not sound theoretical. Hamzat’s background suggests he sees Lagos as both a political arena and an operational system that has to deliver.
An engineer with a doctorate in process systems engineering, he came into public service after private-sector experience that included roles at major financial institutions and as Chief Information Officer at Oando. That mix is useful. Lagos needs more than political management. It needs people who understand systems—budgets, processes, data, agency coordination, and the discipline of actual implementation.
As Commissioner for Science and Technology he drove digital reforms, including enterprise planning systems that tightened controls and reduced leakages. As Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure he was closely involved with major projects, including the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge. As Deputy Governor since 2019 he has been part of the THEMES+ effort that has pushed progress on rail, water, transport, and industrial policy.
He is not offering a completely new Lagos. He is offering continuity with sharper focus, an approach a high-stakes economic centre needs. His recent talk of Digital Lagos 2.0, data-driven job matching, mini-secretariats outside Alausa, tailored strategies for the different divisions, and a longer development horizon all point in the same direction: structure and delivery over short-term noise.
Continuity as Economic Advantage
One of Lagos’s real strengths since 1999 has been relative governance continuity. Sudden breaks are not just political events; they disrupt policy and execution. That risk is real right now. The state still has major work ahead—finishing transport links, expanding water and sanitation, improving power reliability, dealing with housing pressure, and building resilience against flooding.
Lagos also carries the weight of rapid population growth and a large informal sector. Multiple taxation remains a genuine grievance with real costs. These problems do not vanish with slogans. They require coordination, clear authority, and steady administrative work.
Hamzat’s emergence as the APC candidate after the party primary reflects a recognition that institutional memory and technical competence are assets in a state that has to stay credible to investors at home and abroad.
The national stakes
What Lagos gets right becomes a signal for the rest of the country. Investors often treat the state as a proxy for Nigerian risk. Clearer levies, better data for planning, more reliable public-private partnerships, and infrastructure that actually reduces friction create demonstration effects. Other states notice. Models for internally generated revenue and multi-tier economic coordination can travel.
For the APC, putting a continuity-minded, systems-oriented governor in charge of Nigeria’s economic capital fits a broader claim about delivery and reform. It also underscores a basic truth: sub-national engines of growth matter as much as federal initiatives. Lagos is positioned to lead that work if the right hands are on the wheel.
What still has to be got right
None of this pretends Lagos is problem-free. Congestion, housing shortages, flooding, and the sheer scale of the city remain hard facts. Multiple taxation is still a complaint with consequences. An economic council will only work if it has real authority, transparent data, and the political will to confront interests that benefit from the current confusion.
Systems thinking improves the odds, but it does not guarantee results. Success will still depend on execution, building the necessary coalitions, and turning plans into outcomes people can feel—shorter journeys, clearer costs for businesses, and more reliable basic services.
The choice in 2027
The decision facing Lagosians is therefore larger than party labels. It is about whether the economic capital will be led by someone who already understands how the system works, how to coordinate across agencies and tiers of government, and what institutional changes can make governance more predictable for business.
Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat’s candidacy, together with the idea of a Lagos State Economic Council, offers a coherent case: Lagos should treat its economic weight as a national responsibility, not just a local advantage. If the state gets the coordination of costs, data, and infrastructure right, its success can strengthen the economic trajectory of the rest of Nigeria.
That is why this moment counts. Lagosians are not only choosing a governor. They are choosing the architecture that will shape how the state manages growth, competitiveness, and continuity so that Nigeria’s economic capital remains the engine of opportunity it needs to be.
Eniola, PhD in View, is the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Lagos State on Basic and Secondary.