Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu
Governor of Lagos State, Lagos · APC
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu's record over two terms reflects genuine infrastructure delivery -- the Blue Line rail entered commercial operations in September 2023 and the Red Line followed in October 2024, together the first functional urban rail system in Nigeria since the colonial era -- alongside persistent gaps on promise timelines, traffic relief, and public-accountability obligations. Lagos IGR grew from roughly N500 billion in 2019 to N2.6 trillion by 2025, the highest subnational revenue in Nigeria, and annual budgets rose from N852 billion in 2019 to N4.4 trillion for 2026. These fiscal achievements coexist with a domestic debt stock that rose approximately 155 percent between 2019 and 2025. The THEMES agenda's T (Traffic) pillar remains the administration's most visible success and most visible failure simultaneously: rail lines are running but Lagos loses an estimated N1 trillion annually to traffic gridlock, the 4th Mainland Bridge has not broken ground, and the Lekki-Epe expressway rehabilitation was postponed into 2026. On integrity, the government's December 2021 white paper rejecting the judicial panel's finding of nine deaths at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020 drew sustained civil-society censure. An EFCC investigation into Lagos contractors allegedly linked to Aisha Achimugu's court-forfeited $13 million was active as of March 2026; no arraignment of the governor has been recorded. The record is mixed: real wins on rail and IGR, material delivery gaps on roads and EndSARS accountability.
This grade rates performance in office, not any person’s guilt. Criminal matters appear above only as their court status. How we grade.
Sources31
- 1Lagos Blue Line Rail starts operations September 4Punch · 2023-08-30
- 2Lagos redline rail 95% ready, says Sanwo-Olu, flags off blue lineVanguard News · 2023-09-04
- 3Governor Sanwo-Olu Flags Off Red Line Rail In LagosChannels Television · 2024-10-15
- 4Tinubu to commission Lagos Red line rail project on February 29Nairametrics · 2024-02-14
- 5Lagos Red Line to run 20 trips daily, transport 500,000 passengers once fully operationalNairametrics · 2024-09-01
- 6Lagos govt allocates funds for urban renewal, technical studies of Fourth Mainland Bridge in 2025 budgetNairametrics · 2025-02-08
- 7Lingering question: Will Sanwo-Olu commence Fourth Mainland Bridge before 2027 exit?The Guardian Nigeria · 2025-01-01
- 8Lagos State Postpones Lekki-Ajah Road Rehabilitation Works To 2026PropertyAccess NG · 2025-11-01
- 9Rail system: Blue Line project awarded, ready in 2026 -- Sanwo-OluVanguard News · 2023-11-01
- 11SANWO-OLU ASSENTS TO LAGOS' N2.267 TRILLION BUDGET OF RENEWALLagos State Public Procurement Agency · 2023-01-01
- 12Mr. Sanwo-Olu signs N1.76 Trillion Lagos Budget of Continuity into Law for 2023Lagos State Public Procurement Agency · 2022-01-01
- 13Sanwo-Olu Presents N3trn 2025 Budget To Lagos AssemblyChannels Television · 2024-11-21
- 14Lagos IGR Rises 45% to N1.3 Trillion, Sanwo-Olu Advocates Autonomy for Revenue AuthoritiesInvestors King · 2026-04-23
- 15Lagos maintains stable debt profile as revenue hits N2.6trnVanguard News · 2026-05-01
- 16Sanwo-Olu defends Lagos as Nigeria's most indebted state, frames debt as strategic investmentBusinessDay NG · 2025-01-01
- 17Sanwo-Olu Signs Record N4.4trn Lagos Budget into LawDaily Revelation · 2025-12-01
- 18IGR forms 60 per cent of Lagos State's budget -- Sanwo-OluDaily Nigerian · 2024-01-01
- 19How Lagos Is Rewriting Mass Transit, Cutting Commuters' Burden, Building A Model For Urban MobilityIndependent NG · 2025-01-01
- 20Lagos State loses N1 trillion yearly to traffic gridlockPulse Nigeria · 2025-07-16
- 21Governor Sanwo-Olu, IASO Performs Groundbreaking Ceremony of Lagos MediparkNigeria Info FM · 2024-12-01
- 22Sanwo-Olu unveils four revamped roads to ease Amuwo Odofin gridlockPM News · 2025-01-28
- 23Sanwo-Olu promises to make #EndSARS judicial panel report publicThe Guardian Nigeria · 2021-11-01
- 24Lekki Toll Gate saga: Panel of inquiry presents report to Sanwo-OluVanguard News · 2021-11-15
- 25No deaths at Lekki Toll Gate, says Lagos government in #EndSARS White PaperThe Guardian Nigeria · 2021-12-01
- 27Probe after tenure: Court dismisses Sanwo-Olu's suit against EFCCVanguard News · 2024-11-01
- 28Gov Sanwo-Olu Never Sued EFCC, Says Lagos GovtChannels Television · 2024-10-30
- 29Sanwo-Olu sues EFCC over alleged plan to arrest, prosecute him after tenureNairametrics · 2024-10-29
- 30EFCC Probes Governor Sanwo-Olu's Administration Over Lagos Contractors Linked To Aisha Achimugu's Forfeited $13 MillionSahara Reporters · 2026-03-26
- 31Sanwo-Olu Under Probe as EFCC Links Forfeited $13m to Lagos ContractorsNigerian Bulletin · 2026-03-26