Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has said that his administration is aware of some non-governmental organisations taking advantage of the demolition exercise in the Makoko area of the state.
The governor, who stated this while addressing journalists, said the NGOs, both local and international, were out to profit from the issues that have emanated from the demolition.
“We are aware that there are some local and international NGOs that want to profit from this. We’re studying, and we’re going to show you evidence,” the governor said.
“They’ve made so much money from international people. And that they’ve asked for so many grants and wealth into those places, and it’s just for them to cover their own lies and the fact that they’ve not done what they said they were going to be doing.
“That’s why they’re all shouting and crying more than the bereaved. And we’re here to face them and to let them see the reasons why we have to do what we’re doing,” he added.
“There have been several, you know, issues and stories here and there on what we’re doing. They mention that we’re doing Makoko and the rest of it,” he added.
He said the state government took the decision “for the overall safety of the citizens”, adding that many of the inhabitants erected buildings under high-tension cable.
“Of what interest will it be for the government to want to unduly demolish anybody’s what, what interest if it is not for the overall safety of the citizens that we’re talking about.
“A lot of these people have built the shanties right under the high-tension wires,” he said.
“And so we cannot be a lawless state of people. Something has to give at some point because we cannot fold our arms and let calamity or disaster happen,” Sanwo-Olu added.
In September 2025, the Lagos State Government announced plans to remove illegal structures built under high-tension cables in the Makoko community, Yaba, Lagos.
The Makoko area is divided between land-based and waterfront areas, which comprise rows of shanties, built on the Lagos lagoon one of the world’s largest cities with an estimated population of over 15 million.
