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| First Lady Oluremi Tinubu attends the inauguration of the reconstructed Lagos State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja on 10 November 2026. Arise News, video thumbnail. |
First Lady Oluremi Tinubu on Tuesday inaugurated the reconstructed Lagos State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, representing President Bola Tinubu at the opening of the state’s official residence in the Federal Capital Territory.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the development would provide accommodation for successive governors and a base for meetings with federal officials, diplomats and investors. With his administration approaching its final months, he said future occupants would make greater use of the building.
Speaking during the ceremony, which Arise News broadcast, Sanwo-Olu said his limited remaining time in office had not diminished the need to provide facilities for subsequent administrations.
“I believe a government should build things it will not stay long for itself to enjoy.”
The project replaces a lodge that had accommodated Lagos governors during official visits to Abuja for several decades. Sanwo-Olu said the former building had fulfilled its original purpose but could no longer adequately support the state’s expanding engagements in the capital.
Julius Berger Nigeria Plc executed the reconstruction. Its managing director, Peer Lubasch, told guests that the development comprised approximately 2,700 square metres of built-up space, incorporating the main residence, a guest house and a utility building.
Lubasch said work began in July 2025 and finished in September 2026. The construction programme included demolishing the previous structure and replacing unsuitable soil before proceeding with the new development.
“We delivered the project in a total construction period of 15 months.”
He identified October 2025 as the point when the team poured the first concrete. Sanwo-Olu separately said the construction required excavation approaching 10 metres in depth.
Explaining the division of responsibilities, Lubasch said PrimeTech handled the architectural and engineering designs, while Julius Berger undertook construction. Abumet supplied windows and contributed to the façade, and the group’s AFP furniture production operation provided the furnishings.
He also acknowledged the involvement of the state’s representatives, consultants, engineers, project managers, subcontractors and suppliers in completing the work.
At the inauguration, Oluremi Tinubu urged public officials to maintain government property and improve the infrastructure entrusted to them. She linked that responsibility to the interests of citizens and the needs of future administrations.
“Public assets belong to the people and it is our responsibility as leaders to preserve what has been entrusted to us, improve it where necessary and provide lasting infrastructure that future generations can inherit and benefit from.”
The First Lady commended the state government and those who carried out the reconstruction. Recalling her own stays at the previous lodge, she said the replacement had improved a property used by successive Lagos administrations.
She also acknowledged former governors Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode, who attended the ceremony, and referred to their familiarity with the premises.
Sanwo-Olu explained that Lagos needed a working base in Abuja because decisions taken in the federal capital continued to affect the state’s economy and development.
He recalled the relocation of Nigeria’s seat of government from Lagos to Abuja in December 1991, noting that Lagos retained its ports, markets, financial institutions and other commercial activities after the move.
The governor said official visits to Abuja involved National Economic Council and Council of State meetings, discussions with ministers and lawmakers, and engagements with ambassadors, investors and other governors.
Those responsibilities, he argued, required premises where the state could receive visitors, prepare its positions on national matters and conduct government business.
“I should say here that this building belongs to the people of Lagos. It is a place of work.”
Sanwo-Olu said the Lagos State seal on the building, together with the state’s motto, Justice and Progress, identified the property as an institutional presence in the capital. He said the lodge would support the state’s continuing relationship with the Federal Government.
He credited the Tinubu administration with supporting infrastructure development in Lagos, citing cooperation on roads, railways and bridges. Those remarks formed part of his wider expression of support for the President’s continued leadership.
The governor also recalled Tinubu’s years as Lagos governor and his use of the earlier lodge. He said the reconstruction continued an approach to public investment under which administrations provided facilities that their successors would inherit.
Referring to the Lagos governor’s residence completed in 2007, Sanwo-Olu said Tinubu had handed over the building shortly before leaving office. He presented the Abuja project in similar terms, saying his own departure in May 2027 meant he would spend relatively few nights there.
In his welcome address, Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat said the rebuilt lodge would accommodate official engagements, hospitality and the state’s dealings with federal institutions, the diplomatic community and businesses.
Hamzat described the reconstruction as an investment in Lagos State’s presence in Abuja, approximately 35 years after the relocation of the national capital. He said the replacement offered additional space and amenities for official activities.
He also expressed the expectation that the premises would support partnerships serving the state’s interests, alongside their use as an official residence.
The ceremony included a further endorsement of Hamzat’s governorship candidacy. Sanwo-Olu introduced his deputy as the All Progressives Congress candidate for the 2027 Lagos governorship election and urged those present to support him.
Hamzat, who delivered the welcome address, is contesting to succeed Sanwo-Olu after serving as his deputy.
The governor’s chief of staff, Tayo Ayinde, delivered the vote of thanks. He acknowledged the President’s representation by the First Lady, the participation of former governors and the contributions of state officials and the contractor.
Other guests acknowledged during the programme included Sanwo-Olu’s wife, Ibijoke; former Osun governor Bisi Akande; Kwara State First Lady Olufolake AbdulRazaq; and former Lagos First Lady Abimbola Jakande.
Members of the National Assembly, Lagos State lawmakers, state executive council members, traditional rulers, religious leaders and business representatives also attended. The programme featured a performance by the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture.