Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has defended the Federal Government’s significant allocations and infrastructural projects in Lagos State, insisting that the city is the engine room of Nigeria’s economy.

Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, Bwala described Lagos as the “pride and beacon” of Nigeria’s economic growth, stressing that the concentration of federal resources in the state should not be viewed as lopsided. Instead, he argued, it is a strategic investment to sustain the country’s commercial hub.

“Whatever Lagos benefits, benefits the country. Lagos is a no-man’s land. Lagos is the hub of Nigeria. Lagos is the pride of the country. Lagos is the beacon of economic growth of the country,” Bwala said.

He drew parallels with global financial centres, noting that London attracts more investment than the rest of England, New York outweighs other U.S. states, and Paris dominates France’s economy.

According to him, Lagos’ position as Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre justifies additional federal support, since the state’s infrastructure serves as a springboard for national development.

Bwala also dismissed criticisms that the Tinubu administration is unduly concentrating federal resources in Lagos, stressing that the city’s growth ultimately strengthens the federation as a whole.

Interestingly, his reference to Lagos as a “no-man’s land” echoes a historical remark by Jaja Anucha Wachuku, Nigeria’s first indigenous Speaker of the House of Representatives and inaugural Minister of Foreign Affairs.

During constitutional debates in 1947, Wachuku described Lagos — then the Federal Capital Territory under British colonial rule — as belonging to all Nigerians rather than any single ethnic group. He argued that Lagos was a neutral and shared space, a legacy Bwala suggested still shapes the city’s central role in Nigeria’s economic planning today.