By Ayomide Otitoju
The Lagos State Government has commissioned a new Land Archive as part of efforts to strengthen land administration and simplify urban planning through its electronic Geographic Information System (e-GIS).
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu commissioned the facility on Tuesday during a guided inspection of the state’s geospatial infrastructure to mark the maiden GIS Day 2026.
The Land Archive, whose construction began last year, is designed to securely store the state’s hardcopy land records alongside electronic data.
The government said the facility is now the largest land information storage facility in West Africa, combining physical and electronic records management systems.
Sanwo-Olu toured the facility alongside members of the State Executive Council and stakeholders in the land management sector.
The governor also inspected various departments under the e-GIS Office, where newly developed systems and technologies were demonstrated for land administration, physical planning, infrastructure monitoring and decision-making.
The departments visited included the Lagos State Physical Planning and Automation Department, Survey Information Centre, GIS Centre and the Office of the Surveyor-General of the State.
Sanwo-Olu said effective management of Lagos required the government to understand the state through reliable spatial information.
“Lagos is a city of extraordinary scale, complexity and one that undergoes constant change. To understand and manage this territory, plan its infrastructure and respond effectively to the needs of its people, we must be able to understand the State not only through what we see, but through the information that tells us where things are, how they connect and how they change. This is the value of geospatial information,” he said.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on e-GIS and Urban Development, Dr Olajide Babatunde, said GIS Day provided an opportunity to highlight the state’s progress in developing geospatial capabilities and recognise institutions driving the innovation.
Babatunde said Lagos began developing its geospatial capabilities in 2016 through a series of initiatives that culminated in the state’s current e-GIS system.
He said the technology had improved how spatial information was collected, organised and used across government.
“The institutionalisation of LAGIS represents an important step in bringing this work together and establishing a stronger framework for the way Lagos creates, manages and uses spatial information,” Babatunde said.
