Profile
Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu is the current governor of Lagos State, who was elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress, in the 2019 Lagos gubernatorial elections. He has served as a 3-time Commissioner in Lagos State, through the Ministries of Economic Planning & Budget; Commerce & Industry; Establishments, Training & Pensions. Before his gubernatorial ambition, he was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSPDC). He is a banker, public administrator and consultant by profession.
Personal Life
He was born on the 25th June 1965 in Lagos Island Local Government Area, Lagos State. He is married to Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu and they are blessed with four children. Sanwo-Olu is a devout Christian who loves public speaking and is a member of Ikoyi Club, the Island Club, Yoruba Tennis Club and the Clear Essence Health Club. He is also an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and the Nigerian Institute of Directors (IOD).
Education
| School | Qualification | Year |
| Lagos Business School, Lagos State | ||
| London Business School, United Kingdom | ||
| John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA | ||
| University of Lagos, Lagos State | Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management | |
| University of Lagos, Lagos State | B.Sc Surveying & Geo-Informatics | |
| Ijebu-Ife Grammar School, Ogun State | West African Senior Secondary Certificate | |
| Government Demonstration School, Surulere, Lagos State | First School Leaving Certificate |
Work History
Work History
| Place | Position | Date |
| Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSPDC) | Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer | 2016 |
| Beryl Shelter | Chairman | |
| Powercap Consulting | Chairman | |
| Light Level Nigeria Limited | Director | |
| Caverton Offshore Services Group Plc. | Board Member, Audit Committee | |
| Department for International Development | Board Member, DEEPEN Fund | |
| First Class Group Limited | Chairman | |
| Baywatch Group Limited | Chairman | 2011 |
| First Inland Bank (now First City Monument Bank) | Deputy General Manager/Divisional Head | 2003 |
| United Bank for Africa | Senior Manager (Head, Foreign Money Market) | 1997-1999 |
| Lead Merchant Bank | Treasurer | 1994-1997 |
| Kenneth Michael & Company Nig, Ltd. | Associate | 1992-1993 |
| United Geophysical Nig, Ltd. | Seismic Surveyor | 1989-1991 |
Lagos State, Nigeria
June 25, 1965
Lagos State
All Progressives Congress
Christianity
Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions(2007-2015)
Commissioner for Commerce and Industry (2007)
Governor, Lagos State (since 2019)
Political History
Sanwo-Olu’s political career began in 2003, when he was appointed a Special Adviser to the then Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro, on Corporate Matters. In 2004, he was also appointed a Special Adviser to the Executive Governor, on Corporate Matters.
He served as the acting Commissioner for Economic Planning & Budget from 2004 to 2005 and was later appointed the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry in 2007, by then Governor Bola Tinubu.
Following the general elections of 2007, Sanwo-Olu was appointed the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions by Governor Babatunde Fashola. Under Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, Sanwo-Olu was also made the Managing Director/CEO of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) in 2016.
Sanwo-Olu became the governor of Lagos State under the platform of the All Progressives Congress after contesting and winning the gubernatorial primaries under the All Progressives Congress against incumbent Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State in October 2018.
Subsequently, he went on to win the governorship election held on March 9th, 2019, by scoring 739, 445 votes to defeat the People’s Democratic Party’s candidate, Jimi Agbaje, who polled 206,141 votes. Sanwo-Olu was said to have won in all local government areas in the state.
He will be returning as the All Progressives Congress’s candidate for the 2023 Lagos Sate gubernatorial election to contest for a potential second term in office as the governor .
Leadership Style/Philosophy
Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s political philosophy is one based on public service.
Awards & Honours
- 2021 Hallmark of Labour Award for Exemplary leadership and transparency in public health management and control of COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria
- 2021 Silverbird Man of the Year Award
- 2020 Media Nite-Out Award for Best Governor of the Year
- 2020 Zik Price Award for Good Governance
- 2009 Best in Human Capital Development from the Industrial Training Fund (ITF)
- Fellow, Nigeria Institute of Training and Development
- Fellow, Nigeria Institute of Directors
- Symbol of Excellence Award by the Civic Enlightenment Association of Nigeria
- Gold Mentor Award conferred by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses & Midwives (NANNM)
- Platinum Award from the Lagos State Public Service Club
- Merit Award from the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria.
- Merit Award from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management in Nigeria (CIPMN).
- Merit Award from the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN).
- LSDPC Impactful Leadership and Recognition Award.
Project
- Established the Lagos Security Trust Fund, serving as the pioneer Board Chairman
- Supervised the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Privatization projects
- Spearheaded the establishment of Lagos Asset Management Limited (LAGBUS System) to ease the public transportation problem, which complements the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Lagos State
- Prepared and published the Lagos State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LASEEDS)
- Developed the Control and Command Centre in Alausa, Ikeja, which improved the capacity of security agencies to respond to distress calls swiftly
- Authored an executable Civil Service Framework designed around the Human Capital Performance Index, which put Lagos State civil servants among the highest and most regularly paid in the country
- Constructed over 51 major infrastructural projects such as the Pent Cinema fly over, ramp and road networks, Lagos-Ogun Boundary roads, Lekki Oniru Traffic Circulation Projects, etc
- Constructed and rehabilitated 301 inner roads in the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas
- Initiated the Agricultural Value Chains Enterprise Activation Programme, through which many youths have been trained in various agricultural practices
- Under his administration, Lagos State witnessed 127% growth in revenue inflow (Q1 2021)
- Built the Imota Rice Mill, with a production capacity of 2.5million bags of 50kg rice annually
- Initiated the construction of the 37km 4th Mainland Bridge
- Renovated the general hospitals at Apapa, Harvey Road , Yaba, Isolo, Odan and Ebutte-Metta
- Started construction of a 1,500-bed Psychiatric Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre at Ajidun
- Completed 1,097 projects in 970 schools across Lagos State,
- Supported 3,673 businesses with ₦1.156billion and a plethora of interventions including grants, mentorship, business advisory, capacity building and market access opportunities
- Delivered 14 housing schemes, adding 7,000 affordable housing units
Criticism/Controversy
- In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanwo-Olu was reported to have mismanaged pandemic relief funds. The People’s Democratic Party, thus, called for an investigation into the expenditure. It was reported by the Peoples Gazette in January 2022, that the Sanwo-Olu administration had increased the state government’s monthly payment to Alpha Beta LLC from ₦800 million to ₦2.5 billion. The government payments for tax processing had long been controversial as Alpha Beta is known to be extensively controlled by former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu. However, the payment rose prior to Tinubu’s 2023 presidential campaign. Speculation arose that the increased government payments were meant to help fund Tinubu’s campaign in exchange for Tinubu’s support for Sanwo-Olu’s re-election.
- Sanwo-Olu has been heavily criticised for his involvement in the End SARS Lekki massacre. On 20 October 2020, during the End SARS protests, the governor imposed a 24-hour curfew starting at 4 p.m., which was subsequently extended to begin at 9 p.m. Just before 7 p.m., soldiers and policemen were deployed to disband the protests. This led to the shooting and killing of an unconfirmed number of protesters, leaving others injured. Amidst the outcry over the shooting, the judicial panel set up earlier by Sanwo-Olu to look into police brutality started investigating the incident. Over a year later, in November 2021, the panel released its report on the shooting, stating that at least nine people were shot dead, declaring the incident a “massacre”, which was in direct contradiction to statements from the Nigerian Army. Following this report, Sanwo-Olu immediately set up a committee to write a white paper on the panel’s report, and the white paper committee swiftly denied any deaths occurred, leading to criticism from civil society and protesters.
