Sanwo-Olu commissions Lagos Land Archive as State marks maiden GIS Day 2026

The Lagos State Government has taken another step towards transforming land administration and urban planning with the commissioning of the Lagos Land Archive, an advanced facility designed to preserve and manage the State’s land records.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu commissioned the facility on Tuesday during a guided inspection of Lagos’ geospatial infrastructure as part of activities marking the maiden **GIS Day 2026**.

The Land Archive, whose construction commenced last year, was designed as a central repository for the State’s hardcopy land documents, complementing Lagos’ electronic Geographic Information System (e-GIS) infrastructure.

With the completion of the project, the State Government said Lagos now has the **largest land information storage facility in West Africa**, combining physical document storage with electronic data management.

Sanwo-Olu toured the facility alongside members of the State Executive Council and other stakeholders in land administration.

The Governor also inspected key departments within the e-GIS Office, where officials demonstrated newly developed systems and technologies designed to improve land administration, physical planning, infrastructure management, monitoring and government decision-making.

Among the facilities inspected were the Lagos State Physical Planning and Automation Department, Survey Information Centre, GIS Centre and the Office of the Surveyor-General of Lagos State.

Speaking during the inspection, Sanwo-Olu said effective management of Lagos required government to understand not only the physical environment but also the data that explains how different parts of the State are connected and changing.

“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,” the Governor said.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on e-GIS and Urban Development, Dr Olajide Babatunde, said GIS Day provided an opportunity for Lagos to showcase the progress made in developing its geospatial infrastructure and recognise the institutions driving the innovation.

Babatunde said Lagos began building its geospatial capacity in 2016, gradually developing the systems and processes that have culminated in the State’s current e-GIS capabilities.

According to him, the technology has improved the way spatial information is collected, organised and deployed across government.

He said the institutionalisation of the **Lagos Geographic Information System (LAGIS)** would provide a stronger framework for creating, managing and using spatial information across the State.

“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.

The State Government said the integration of physical land records with electronic geospatial systems would further strengthen land administration and support more efficient urban planning and infrastructure development across Lagos.