Lagos has received a significant boost to its economic standing as the international ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, upgraded the state\u2019s Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings from \u2018B-\u2019 to \u2018B\u2019.\n<\/p>\n
The announcement, posted on Fitch\u2019s website on Friday, also confirmed similar upgrades for Kaduna, Kogi, and Oyo states, with the outlook for all four rated as stable.\n<\/p>\n
This positive development, observers say, is a strong vote of confidence in the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the effectiveness of his T.H.E.M.E.S Plus Agenda \u2014 a six-pillar blueprint designed to drive Lagos\u2019 economic and social growth.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a good verdict on our performance, in terms of policy decisions and project execution. It is also a call for us to be more active; we will be in every sector. I thank Lagosians for their support\u201d, Sanwo-Olu said in reaction to the rating.<\/p>\n
Fitch\u2019s review follows the upgrade of Nigeria\u2019s sovereign rating from \u2018B-\u2019 to \u2018B\u2019 on April 11, 2025, reflecting an improvement in macroeconomic stability and the impact of ongoing policy reforms.\n<\/p>\n
The rating agency explained its decision, stating, \u201cWe consider the Federal Government\u2019s role predominant in intergovernmental relations, as it controls the equalisation mechanism enacted through a system of transfers to States. <\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, the upgrade of sovereign IDRs is mirrored in the upgrade of those of Lagos, Kaduna, Kogi, and Oyo, as their Standalone Credit Profiles (SCPs) align with or are above the ratings of Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lagos\u2019 robust financial standing played a crucial role in the positive evaluation. Fitch highlighted that by the end of 2023, about 50% of the State\u2019s direct debt was denominated in foreign currencies, suggesting exposure to currency volatility. Nonetheless, the Agency forecasted Lagos\u2019s payback ratio would remain strong, estimating it at around five times by 2028.\n<\/p>\n
The report also emphasised Lagos\u2019 remarkable Internally Generated Revenue performance.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cSupported by this strong revenue base, Lagos is also expected to record a budget surplus in Y2024,\u201d Fitch disclosed.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cLagos\u2019s fiscal resilience is underpinned by its exceptional Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which accounts for 75% of its total operating revenue, far exceeding the national average of 25%,\u201d the Agency added.\n<\/p>\n
The timing of this international endorsement is notable, coming just two days after Sanwo-Olu addressed Harvard students about Lagos\u2019s vast investment opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lagos has received a significant boost to its economic standing as the international ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, upgraded…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3090],"tags":[29883,51,1700,29884,18868,29885,29886,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-56656","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-babajide-sanwo-olu","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-fitch-ratings","12":"tag-harvard-university","13":"tag-internally-generated-revenue-performance","14":"tag-t-h-e-m-e-s-plus-agenda","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114413985082357633","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}