Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, alleged that some local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are attempting to profit from the demolition exercise in Makoko.
Speaking to journalists, the governor said his administration is monitoring the activities of these groups, claiming they have received large sums of money from international donors under false pretenses. “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,” Sanwo-Olu stated.
He accused the NGOs of exaggerating the situation to cover up their failures. “They’ve made so much money from international people… 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,” he added.
Sanwo-Olu explained that the demolition was necessary to protect lives, noting that many residents had built shanties directly under high-tension power lines. “Of what interest will it be for the government to want to unduly demolish anybody’s property if it is not for the overall safety of the citizens? A lot of these people have built the shanties right under the high-tension wires,” he said.
He stressed that Lagos cannot afford to ignore the risks. “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,” the governor warned.
The demolition follows the state government’s earlier announcement in September 2025 to remove illegal structures under high-tension cables in Makoko, a densely populated community divided between land and waterfront areas on the Lagos lagoon.
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