By Gbenga Salau and Waliat Musa
• Sanwo-Olu declares readiness for clean energy economy
The Lagos State Government has disclosed that Lagos residents spend an estimated N14 trillion yearly on fuelling about 4.5 million generators spread across homes, markets and small businesses.
It also declared its readiness to power a 24/7 clean energy economy. Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, disclosed this at the maiden edition of the Lagos Energy Summit, yesterday, where he noted that, according to a joint study with Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the scale of Lagos’ reliance on self-generated electricity, revealed that the generators consume approximately16 billion litres of fuel every year, emitting over 38 million tonnes of CO₂, a figure that surpasses the yearly emissions of countries, like Togo, Rwanda, and Gabon combined.
According to him, 72 per cent of Lagos households own at least one generator; 94 per cent of MSMEs depend on them, and 76 per cent of market clusters cannot function without them.
He lamented that the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) estimated in 2021 that about 30,000 people died yearly in Lagos due to carbon monoxide pollution. He, however, noted that recent policy changes at the federal and state levels had paved the way for transformation.
“In 2023, President Bola Tinubu made history by signing the Electricity Act, empowering states like Lagos to take control of their electricity markets,” Ogunleye said.
He highlighted that under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s T.H.E.M.E.S.+ agenda, Lagos had taken bold steps, including the passage of the Lagos Electricity Law in December 2024, which established the Clean Lagos Electricity Market.
SIMILARLY, in his keynote address at the summit, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, restated his administration’s unwavering commitment to fostering conversation on sustainable and affordable energy for the state to achieve its aim of making Lagos a smart city for residents and coming generations. Lagos State.
The governor declared that the era of excuses in Nigeria’s power sector was over, affirming Lagos’ readiness to lead the nation in delivering reliable, affordable and clean electricity to its citizens.
Sanwo-Olu issued a rallying call to industry professionals, regulators, and investors, stressing that unlocking energy access was no longer an option, but a national imperative tied directly to economic prosperity, industrial growth, and improved livelihoods.
