The Honourable Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Folashade Bada Ambrose-Medebem, has declared that the Lagos State Government will close its Housing and Infrastructure deficit through structured Public – Private Partnerships, describing the gap as both the sharpest Social challenge and the Single largest Commercial opportunity in the Nigerian Economy.
The Honourable Commissioner stated this while delivering the Keynote address at the Julius Berger Luminary Soirée 2026, themed “The Lagos Proposition | Unlocking Value in a City in Transformation,” held in Lagos on Wednesday, 9th September,2026.
Citing data from the Lagos Economic Development Update, the Honourable Commissioner disclosed that Lagos State’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stands at $259.75 billion on a purchasing power parity basis for 2023, making Lagos the second-largest city economy on the African continent behind Cairo, and accounting for more than 30 per cent (30%) of Nigeria’s Total Economic Output.
“The scale of that Order creates its own obligation. A City carrying this much of a National Economy has to be governed by a plan that is published, Costed and Measurable.
Lagos has one, she said, referencing the Lagos State Development Plan 2052, which commits the State to four pillars – a Thriving Economy, a Human-Centric City, Modern Infrastructure, and Effective Governance – underpinned by 447 initiatives across 21 Strategic Sectors tracked on a Digital Delivery Platform.
Ambrose-Medebem outlined the Plan’s targets, including growing the State’s Economy to between $800 billion and 4,838 to $20,000, lifting the liveability score from 31.2 to 55, adding 12 gigawatts of generation, and raising Small and Medium Enterprise participation from 0.3 per cent (0.3%) to 10 per cent (10%).
Speaking on the Lagos State Industrial Policy (LSIP), the Honourable Commissioner noted that Manufacturing stood at 9.57 per cent in the First quarter of 2026, growing at 3.29 per cent Year-on-Year, against the Policy target of 10.2 per cent contribution to real GDP.
She disclosed that the Ministry attracted over ₦50 billion in investment in a Single year, including a ₦38 billion commitment by Twinings Ovaltine Nigeria Limited, which established the Group‘s first production site anywhere in Africa across Lagos State, carrying 112 Direct Jobs, a Distributor Network of over 200 Businesses, and Export Potential exceeding $8 million into West African Markets.
According to her, the State’s Reform Work has qualified Lagos for the World Bank-supported State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Programme.
She averred that the 2026 Budget of Shared Prosperity stands at ₦4.444 trillion, with Capital Expenditure of ₦2.338 trillion, of which ₦1.467 trillion is directed specifically at Infrastructure – a Capital-to-Recurrent Ratio of 53 to 47.
The Commissioner disclosed that Lagos carries a Housing deficit of 3.4 million Units, up from 2.95 million in 2016, requiring approximately 227,576 new Units every Year and roughly ₦6 trillion in Annual Capital.
She mentioned the State’s property price-to-income ratio, which stands at 19.2 times, against the 5.0 times threshold at which housing is considered severely unaffordable.
The Honourable Commissioner reaffirmed the State’s commitment to enterprise at every scale, reiterating that the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund has disbursed over ₦15 billion to 20,000 Enterprises since 2016, creating over 320,000 Direct and indirect jobs, as well as preserving a further 173,000, with a repayment rate of 94.53 per cent.
She added that the LASMECO programme, delivered with the Bank of Industry and Sterling Bank, extends credit of up to ₦10 million at 9 per cent interest without collateral requirements, and is expected to create no fewer than 10,000 jobs.
Noting that transformation in Lagos is also spatial, with new growth corridors emerging in Epe, Badagry and the Ikorodu corridor, the Honourable Commissioner commended Julius Berger on its Cashew Processing Plant at Epe, which runs at 60 tonnes a day and employs over 300 people, and was informed of MCCTI’s upcoming commissioning of its Imota Light Industrial Park, which will deliver 44 purpose-built factory units for smaller Manufacturers.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Engr. Dr. Peer Lubasch, stated that potential alone does not build a City, stressing that execution is what builds a city.
Dr. Lubasch noted that the city’s historical Economic centre of gravity is shifting – pushing East along the Lekki-Epe axis, expanding North along the Lagos-Ibadan corridor, and extending West through heightened connectivity, adding that the question that matters today is no longer whether Lagos will grow, but where durable growth is actually concentrated.
He reaffirmed Julius Berger’s 60-year presence in Nigeria, which began with the Eko Bridge in Lagos, and highlighted the Company‘s Integrated Capability Model, including in-house design Engineering through PrimeTech, its JBI Germany subsidiary, its Abu Med Aluminium and Glass Solid, AFP Interior Fit-outs, and dedicated Facility Management Services.