Governor of the Year (ICT, Education and Revenue Growth): His Excellency, Mr Babajide Sanwo-olu

His Excellency, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu was elected the 15th Governor of Lagos State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).  As an inspirational leader, with a track-record of performance, his candidacy has been  welcomed by Lagosians as a continuation of ongoing development in Lagos State.

The audacious THEMES (Traffic Management and Transportation; Health and Environment; Education and Technology) agenda introduced by Sannwo-Olu is unravelling and is visible in the revival and ongoing rebuilding of critical social infrastructure and the state economy.

Giving credence to its policy to promote a smart city with technology, the Sanwo-Olu administration organised the Art of Technology Lagos where the Governor announced N250 million grant for tech start-ups to encourage young people with fantastic ideas.

Sanwo-Olu has demonstrated uncommon commitment to the overall educational development in the state. Looking at the state’s annual budget since his coming into office, education has taken a significant portion after health and infrastructure.

In 2022, he allocated the lion’s share of N171.6 billion to education and next year, it will take the third largest share of the budget. While 20.06 per cent (N339 billion) of the 2023 budget is for infrastructure and, 11.29 per cent (N191 billion) for healthcare and the environment, 9.07 per cent (N153.5 billion) is for education. Apart from the budgetary allocations, the Governor is also taking concrete policy steps to improve learning by empowering and motivating teachers to give their best while creating a conducive learning environment for pupils.

Undergirding all this is the deployment of technology to improve basic education further and bring Lagos to par with what obtains in other countries with EKOEXCEL, a strategic technology-driven intervention that continues to record remarkable successes. Part of EKOEXCEL’s success has been improving learning gains among pupils. Commendably, empirical studies have affirmed this.

Under the administration of Sanwo-Olu, despite the harsh economic challenges faced globally, Lagos is still able to pride  herself as a self-sustaining economy. In terms of revenue generation,Lagos has continued to distinguish herself as one of the top states with an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) that surpasses the federal allocation.   Internally generated revenue (IGR) underpins Lagos’s capacity to service its financial obligations, as evident in a Standalone Credit Profile of ‘bb+’ according to Fitch ratings. Lagos benefits from a broad tax base and a diversified economy that contributes to a stable revenue structure led by an IGR of over N750 billion naira. It is on this premise that Mr Babajide SanwoOlu is awarded the 2022 NewsDirect Award as GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR (ICT, EDUCATION AND REVENUE GROWTH).