The Lagos State Government says it is dedicated to setting-up a sovereign Wealth Fund as a strategic investment vehicle that will safeguard the state’s future and secure the prosperity of generations yet unborn.
Commissioner For Finance, Mr. Abayomi Oluyomi made this known at the Lagos State Ministry of Finance One-day retreat, Lagos State Wealth Fund, LSWF, Bill Harmonisation Session, themed: “Designing a Coherent and Bankable Wealth Fund Architecture For Lagos”.
Mr Oluyomi said the retreat was a follow up to the public hearing held on the Lagos State Wealth Fund bill, noting that the session would be a very robust debate and representation so that the outcomes could be harmonised and incorporated in to the Law.
“The task before us today is to harmonise the thoughts and the comments of everyone.
“It is going to be a very robust debate as we take every clause of the bill one after the other, to ensure it reflects the collective vision of stakeholders,” he said.
He explained that the proposed Lagos State Wealth Fund was modelled after the Federal Government’s sovereign investment structure established through the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority.
According to him, the Federal Sovereign Wealth Fund, created in 2011 with an initial capital running into billions of dollars, had remained profitable over the years, and provided strong example of sustainable public investment management.
“What Lagos State is doing today follows that proven model.
The Lagos State Wealth Fund Bill 2025 adapts this growing global concept to suit our economic realities as a sub-national government,” he said.
Speaker Lagos State House of Assembly, Chief Mudashiru Obasa, represented by the Chairman House Committee on Finance, Mr. Femi Saheed, said the strategic retreat was a landmark event at deliberating on the bill to carve a niche legally and democratically, as well as drive economic growth for the state, a sub-national to formulate a Lagos State Wealth Fund Law for future security, attract investment, build infrastructure, technology and innovation initiatives.
The session featured detailed clause-by-clause reviews of the bill, with extended deliberations aimed at producing a harmonised and investor-friendly wealth fund framework.
Giving the Executive Summary of the Fund Commissioner For Justice and State’s Attorney General, Mr. Lawal Pedro and stakeholders at the retreat said the unique proposition would be a legacy achievement for Lagos as Africa’s first sub national wealth fund an initiative with several benefits including revenue maximisation and economic diversification stating that the state needs a strategic approach to managing its commercial assets to meet its growing obligations.
Participants expressed confidence that the refined structure would position Lagos as a leading model for sub-national wealth fund management in Nigeria.
Present at the event were Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr.Sam Egube, Deputy General Counsel, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA, Mr. Suleiman Omotosho among others.
Written by Yemisi Dada