Lagos Mulls Law, Regulatory Framework For Sovereign Wealth Fund

Key stakeholders have converged on Lagos and engaged in a brainstorming session to birth a new legislation from the Lagos State Wealth Fund Bill and to develop a harmonised regulatory framework to drive the administration of the fund.

The stakeholders drawn from the executive and legislative arms of government, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), private sector representatives, and public officials at the one-day retreat organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Finance explored ways to achieve a seamless framework for the administration of the fund in line with the Santiago Principles.

The state’s Commissioner for Finance, Mr Abayomi Oluyomi, said the proposed fund would establish a coherent, bankable architecture to drive infrastructure development, economic stabilisation, long-term savings, and strategic growth.

He said, “The idea behind the Lagos State Wealth Fund basically is mirrored along what we also have in the centre. So when this Lagos State Wealth Fund is eventually passed. It will play a very, very important role in the economic development and transformation of Lagos State.

“The Lagos  State Wealth Fund, by design, will catalyse capital apart from the fact that the initial capital and funding for the first five years will be provided by the government, but the fund itself will catalyse capital all over the world, and when this capital is catalysed, let me tell you some of the things that it will be doing.

“One of them is boosting innovation. There will be an innovation and technology fund. Today, Lagos is known as Africa’s innovation hub. The funds will transform that function in an unbelievable way. Because we now have the capital to invest. Many of the youth of this nation are in the technology sector, building software everywhere. When they have the requisite capital, it will create employment opportunities for many people. We also have an infrastructure fund. This infrastructure fund, when everything comes together, will go to specific sectors of Lagos State.

“The government is doing a lot, but this fund will supplement what the government is doing. We have been talking about the fourth mainland bridge; now, all of a sudden, you have the capital you need to carry out such a massive project. So we will not be looking for foreign investors; we also now have an infrastructure fund that we can invest in the state’s infrastructure development.

“We have another one we call the Stabilisation Fund. You know what they call the act of God. For example, like we had COVID-19. During COVID, governance almost stopped; money was not coming in. When you have a stabilisation fund, it stabilises the government and spending. The law says that anytime we have a budget shortfall of over 50 per cent, we will go and pick money from the stabilisation fund.’’

Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Mr Femi Saheed, who represented the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa described the bill as a landmark initiative that would legally institutionalise wealth management practices for the state.

The Attorney General of Lagos State, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), highlighted the broader economic gains of the initiative, noting that the fund would promote revenue maximisation, prudent asset management and economic diversification.