Lagos State Government

Lagos State Government is the government of Lagos State, concerned with the administration of the state ministries. The government consists of the executive, legislative and Judiciary. The government is headed by the Governor who is the policy-maker and often assisted by the commissioners and other civil servant of the state.

Judiciary

The Judiciary is one of the three co-equal arms of the Lagos State Government concern with the interpretation of the laws of Lagos State government. The judiciary is headed by the Chief Judge of Lagos State, appointed by the Lagos State Governor with the approval of the Lagos State House of Assembly. Distinguish members of the Judiciary include the Attorney-General and Lagos State Commissioner for Justice as well as the Chief Registrar. The Chief Registrar serves as the head of administration and accountant to the judiciary.

History of the judiciary

The Lagos State Judiciary is the first established Judiciary in Nigeria and formerly known as Colony Province Judiciary. Magistrate court was the first to be established among others. It was established before the High court, that was formerly referred to as the Supreme Court but and its jurisdiction was localized. The establishment of the Magistrate court give birth to the High court, the then Lagos State Supreme Court. When the Supreme Court of Nigeria was founded, the Lagos Supreme Court metamorphosed into High Court of the Federal Territory Lagos with concurrent appointment of John Taylor as the Chief judge.

On May 27, 1967, the same year Lagos State was formed, the High Court and the Magistrate Court of the Federal Territory were merged to form the Lagos State Judiciary under the Leadership of John Taylor, the pioneer Chief Judge of Lagos State. Taylor's tenure elapsed on November 7, 1973 and was succeeded by Justice Joseph Adefarasin following his appointment that took effect on November 1, 1974. He served in that capacity for 9 years until April 24, 1985 when is tenure ended. He was succeeded by Justice Candide Adeyemi Johnson, appointed on April 25, 1985, a day after Justice Joseph left the office. He spent 4 years in office and Justice Ligali Ayorinde succeeded him on July 10, 1989. He served in that capacity for 6 years I.e between July 1989 to April 1995. On August 2014, Oluwafunmilayo Olajumoke Atilade was appointed as the Chief Judge, sworn in by Ade Ipaye, the Attorney General of Lagos State.

Courts

The Lagos State courts consists of three levels of courts. The high court, an appellate court that operates under discretionary review, meaning that the Court can choose which cases to hear, by granting of writs of certiorari. It is the court of last resort. Other levels of court include the Magistrates and the Customary Court. In addition to the court, the Judiciary also consists of a Judicial Service Commission which statutory duties includes the promotion and appointment of judicial staffs as well as other disciplinary function. The Chief Judge serves as the commission's chairman.

Legislature

The Legislature or state house assembly is one of the three co-equal arms of the State Government concern with the Law making. The legislature consists of elected members from each constituency of the state. The head of the legislature is the Speaker who is elected by the house. The building of the legislature is situated inside the Lagos State Government house at Alausa in Ikeja central business district, Lagos State. The legislative function of the legislature is to make law by passing bills, which must be endorsed by the two-third majority of the house. Following the endorsement by the two-third majority, the bill is presented to the Governor, who will sign the bill to become law. The assembly assess and approve the annual budget of the state government on presentation by the governor. The assembly also play a significant role in the appointment of the state commissioners, Chief judges and other top official by the governor.

Executive

The executive branch is one of the three co-equal arms of the State Government concern with policy making and implementation of bills. The executive is responsible for the daily administration of the state. Members of the executive includes the Governor, deputy Governors and commissioners. Other top official of the state such as the head of service are also inclusive. The executives overseas the ministries and each ministry headed and coordinated by the Commissioner, assisted by a Permanent Secretary.

List of ministries and their commissioners

Ministry	Incumbent commissioner
Finance	Mustapha Akinkunmi
Economic Planning and Budget	Akinyemi Ashade
Waterfront Infrastructure Development	Adebowale Akinsanya
Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives	Rotimi Ogunleye
Tourism and Culture	Folorunsho Folarin-Coker
Education	Oluranti Adebule
Science and Technology	Olufemi Odubiyi
Youth, and Social Development	Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf
Environment	Babatunde Adejare
Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation	Lola Akande
Health	Olajide Idris
Housing	Gbolahan Lawal
Local Government and Community Affairs	Muslim Folami
Justice	Adeniji Kazeem
Works and Infrastructure	Ganiyu Johnson
Establishments, Training and Pensions	Akintola Benson
Physical Planning and Urban Development	Wasiu Anifowoshe
Energy and Mineral Resources	Olawale Oluwo
Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations	Seye Oladejo
Information and Strategy	Steve Ayorinde
Transport	Dayo Mobereola
Home Affairs	Abdul-Hakeem Abdul-Lateef
Wealth Creation and Employment	Babatunde Durosimi-Etti
Agriculture	Oluwatoyin Suarau

See also

• Computer Village
• Lagos State DNA Forensic Centre