In a bold move to modernise Africa’s fastest-growing megacity, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday launched the Electronic Physical Planning Process System (EPPPS) a sweeping digital overhaul set to redefine land administration, physical planning, and urban development across the state.
EpeInsights reports that the groundbreaking platform, unveiled at Victoria Island, signals a major shift from Lagos’ decades-old paper-based processes to a seamless, technology-driven system designed for the demands of a 21st-century metropolis.
“Technology is not just the future; it is already shaping the present and Lagos is leading the way,” Sanwo-Olu declared, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and efficient governance.
With Lagos’ population surging and development accelerating, the Governor said the EPPPS is a necessary response to the pressure on existing systems. The platform will digitalise planning applications, reduce human interference, curb corruption, speed up approvals, and generate accurate data for infrastructure planning, environmental monitoring, and safety regulation.
More than a thousand new computers and upgraded digital facilities have been deployed to planning offices across the state to support the rollout.
The initiative, he noted, aligns with the THEMES+ Agenda and complements President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Initiative by promoting efficiency and citizen-centred service delivery.
Special Adviser on e-GIS and Urban Development, Dr. Olajide Babatunde, described the launch as the fulfilment of a long-term vision to eliminate bottlenecks that plagued the Ministry.
“This is the future of Lagos,” he said. “Backlogs are gone. Long hours waiting to see an officer are gone. The system is incorruptible and gives real-time information that cannot be manipulated.”
Singaporean partners Raymond Tan and Steven Chan of LagosNet, who supported Lagos through the development process — praised the state’s ambition, citing Singapore’s similar digital transformation in 2001, which saved billions in public funds.
They reassured planning officers that the EPPPS is not a threat but a tool to enhance professionalism and improve decision-making.
Innovacore Technologies Chairman and LagosNet board member, Adebola Adeyinka, hailed the project as a product of courage and resilience, noting that early scepticism has given way to a proven, credible platform positioned to elevate Lagos’ economic and governance standards.
Sanwo-Olu urged developers, industry professionals and residents to adopt the new system and collaborate in building a Lagos defined by order, innovation, and sustainability.
As the EPPPS goes live, Lagos takes a decisive step toward its Smart City ambition — a future where technology drives development, efficiency becomes standard, and Africa’s largest city leads the continent into a new era of digital governance.
