FG inaugurates steering C’ttee for Lagos International Financial Centre
(Sitted) The Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, CON, (centre) the Co - Chairman and the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwolu, (5th right) Federal Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and other top government functionaries in a group photograph during the inauguration of the National Steering Committee for the Lagos International Financial Centre (LIFC) on Wednesday, 2nd September, 2026 in Abuja.
The Federal Government, FG has inaugurated the National Steering Committee for the Lagos International Financial Centre (LIFC) Initiative, in a major step towards establishing Nigeria as a globally competitive financial hub in Africa.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, inaugurated the committee Wednesday in Abuja.
Akume said the initiative was designed to deepen Nigeria’s capital markets, attract domestic and foreign investment, promote financial innovation and strengthen the country’s financial ecosystem.
“The establishment of the LIFC presents an opportunity to leverage Lagos’ strategic position and Nigeria’s economic potential to create a financial centre of international standing,” he said.
The SGF disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had endorsed the LIFC as a strategic national economic priority and directed his office to coordinate Federal Government support for its implementation.
He said the committee brings together key Federal Government institutions, the Lagos State Government and private sector stakeholders to address policy, legal, regulatory, institutional and infrastructure challenges.
Akume charged members to approach the assignment with commitment and urgency, stressing that the initiative required a strong whole of government approach and assured the committee of the full support of his office in facilitating the discharge of its mandate.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who serves as Co-Chairman said international financial centres were deliberate instruments of national economic strategy for mobilising long term capital and connecting domestic opportunities to global investment.
He said their success depended on “institutional trust, regulatory quality, legal certainty and international connectivity.”
Sanwo-Olu said the LIFC could become “the trusted platform through which Nigeria competes for global capital through which capital accesses African opportunity.”
The committee is chaired by Akume, with Sanwo-Olu as Co-Chairman, while Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, OSGF, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana and Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Abayomi Oluyomi, serve as Shadow Chair and Shadow Co-Chair respectively.
Other members include the Ministers of Finance, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Industry, Trade and Investment, and Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, alongside the Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service and Chairman of EnterpriseNGR.
The Secretariat comprises the Director of Legal Services, OSGF, Mrs Kamilatu Kida, and the Chief Executive Officer of EnterpriseNGR, Ms Obi Obiekwe.
Akume congratulated the members and expressed confidence that the committee would deliver an impactful framework for the development of the Lagos International Financial Centre.
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