The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, stated that the State is responsible for more than a third of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making the state the commercial hub of the country.
Sanwo-Olu who disclosed this in a statement at the Afreximbank’s Trade and Investment Forum in The Bahamas, said State’s GDP has grown by almost 50 per cent in the last five years.
“Lagos State is one of Nigeria’s 36 States and we are responsible for more than over a third of the nation’s entire GDP. In fact, we have a GDP that is greater than all but seven African countries.
“In the last five years and under my leadership, we have seen almost a 50 per cent growth in our GDP in Lagos alone. We also account for about half of the country’s total energy demand. We have over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign trade inflow into Lagos.
“And unlike most other subnational government in Nigeria, over 75 per cent of our revenue are generated internally as opposed to being centrally collected from the national treasury,” Sanwo-Olu said.
In addition, Sanwo-Olu shared how the State was able to construct two-leveled interlink projects that helped boost the State’s economy in the past decades.
According to the governor, these projects include the massive reclamation of the Atlantic Ocean to reduce land erosion and displacement of residents in the State.
He said the projects allowed the State to create a brand new city, the Eko Atlantic city, which has now become a global commercial hub for businesses.
“Under the leadership of my predecessor who now happened to be the president of the country, Bola Tinubu, Lagos championed two-leveled ambitious interlink projects.
