Lagos State Government is the government of

Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

, concerned with the administration of the state ministries. The government consists of the executive,

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

and

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. The government is headed by the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

who is the policy-maker and often assisted by the commissioners and other civil servants of the state.

Office of the Governor

The Office of the Governor was created along with the creation of the state in 1967. It is currently headed by

Babajide Sanwo-Olu Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu (born 25 June 1965) is a Nigerian politician who has served as the governor of Lagos State since 2019. Sanwo-Olu became governor under the platform of the All Progressives Congress after winning the APC gubernatoria ...

, who is the fifteenth Governor of the State. This office is responsible for the effective coordination of all government activities for the good of the people of the State. The state vision is "Making Lagos Africa's Model Mega City And Global Economic and Financial Hub", and the state policy thrust is "Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Economic Growth through Infrastructure Renewal and Development."

Judiciary

The Judiciary is one of the three co-equal arms of the Lagos State Government. It is concerned with the interpretation of the laws of Lagos State government. The judiciary is headed by the Chief Judge of Lagos State, appointed by the Lagos State Governor with the approval of the

Lagos State House of Assembly The Lagos State House of Assembly is the state legislature of Lagos State. It is situated along Governor's Avenue in the state capital, Ikeja. The House of Assembly is currently under the All Progressives Congress political party which is the cur ...

. Distinguished members of the Judiciary include the Attorney-General and Lagos State Commissioner for Justice as well as the Chief Registrar. The Chief Registrar serves as the head of administration and accountant to the judiciary.

History of the judiciary

The Lagos State Judiciary was the first judiciary to be established in Nigeria, then known as the Colony Province Judiciary. The Magistrate Court was established first. The establishment of the Magistrate Court gave birth to the High Court, the then Lagos State Supreme Court. When the

Supreme Court of Nigeria The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Ass ...

was founded, the Lagos Supreme Court metamorphosed into the High Court of the Federal Territory Lagos with the concurrent appointment of

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...

as Chief Judge. On May 27, 1967, the same year Lagos State was formed, the High Court and the Magistrate Court of the Federal Territory were merged to form the

Lagos State Judiciary The Lagos State Judiciary is one of the three co-equal branches of the Lagos State Government organized under the Constitution of Nigeria and laws of Lagos State. The Chief Judges are appointed by the State Governor with the consent of the House ...

under the leadership of

, the pioneer Chief Judge of Lagos State. Taylor's tenure elapsed on November 7, 1973. He was succeeded by Justice

Joseph Adefarasin Joseph Adetunji Adefarasin (24 April 1921 – 28 March 1989) was a Nigerian lawyer and High Court judge. He was one of the foremost students of Igbobi College, Yaba, Lagos from 1932 to 1939 and studied law at University of London from 1946 to 19 ...

, appointed on November 1, 1974. He served in that capacity for 9 years until April 24, 1985, when his tenure ended. He was succeeded by Justice Candide Adeyemi Johnson, appointed on April 25, 1985, a day after Justice Joseph left the office. He spent 4 years in office and Justice Ligali Ayorinde succeeded him on July 10, 1989. He served in that capacity for 6 years i.e. between July 1989 to April 1995. In August 2014,

Oluwafunmilayo Olajumoke Atilade Oluwafunmilayo Olajumoke "Funmilayo" Atilade ( Williams; born 24 September 1952), is a Nigerian Jurist and former Chief Judge of Lagos State. She was formerly a judge at the High Court of Lagos State. Background Oluwafunmilayo Olajumoke Willia ...

was appointed as

Chief Judge Chief judge may refer to: In lower or circuit courts The highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. * Chief judge (Australia) * Chief judge (United States) In supreme courts Some of Chief ...

, sworn in by

Ade Ipaye Adeola Rahman Ipaye (born 8 June 1963) is a Nigerian lawyer who served as the deputy chief of staff to the president of Nigeria ( office of the vice president) from 2015 to 2023. He was also attorney general and commissioner for justice in La ...

Attorney General of Lagos State The Attorney General of Lagos State also known as Lagos State Commissioner for Justice is the head of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced". The ...

Courts

The Lagos State courts consist of three levels of courts. The High Court is an appellate court that operates under discretionary review, meaning that the Court can choose which cases to hear by granting writs of

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the recor ...

. It is the court of last resort. The other two levels are the Magistrates and the Customary Court. In addition to the court, the judiciary also consists of the Judicial Service Commission, with statutory duties that include the promotion and appointment of judicial staff as well as other disciplinary functions. The Chief Judge serves as the commission's chairman.

Legislature

The legislature or state house assembly is one of the three co-equal arms of the State Government concerned with

lawmaking Lawmaking is the process of crafting legislation. In its purest sense, it is the basis of governance. Lawmaking in modern democracies is the work of legislatures, which exist at the local, regional, and national levels and make such laws as a ...

. The legislature consists of elected members from each constituency of the state. The head of the legislature is the

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

, who is elected by the house. The building of the legislature is situated inside the Lagos State Government house at Alausa in

Ikeja Ikeja is the List of capitals of states of Nigeria, capital city of Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria. Its population, as of the 2006 census, is 313,196. Prior to the emergence of military rule in the early 1980s, Ikeja was a well planned, cl ...

central business district,

. The legislative function of the legislature is to make laws by passing bills, which must be endorsed by the two-thirds majority of the house. Following the endorsement by the two-thirds majority, the bill is presented to the Governor, who will sign the bill to become law. The assembly assess and approve the annual budget of the state government on presentation by the governor. The assembly also play a significant role in the appointment of the state commissioners, Chief Judges and other top officials by the Governor.

Executive

The executive branch is one of the three co-equal arms of the State Government, concerned with policy making and implementation of bills. The executive is responsible for the daily administration of the state. Members of the executive include the Governor, deputy governors, and commissioners. There are also other top officials of the state, such as the head of service. The executives overseas the ministries. Each ministry is headed and coordinated by a commissioner, assisted by a permanent secretary.

List of ministries and their commissioners

References

{{Authority control

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...