Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu commissioned the Lagos Fresh Food Hub at Pen Cinema in Agege on Wednesday 12 August 2026, taking time afterwards to walk the trading floor and buy produce in what aides described as a shopping spree.
The governor was joined by Deputy Governor Dr Obafemi Hamzat and Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems Abisola Olusanya for the formal opening of the 7,000-square-metre facility. First Lady Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu also attended the event.
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The Agege Food Hub provides organised trading space for between 350 and 400 vendors together with dry storage capacity of approximately 800 metric tonnes and cold storage of about 300 metric tonnes.
It includes a dedicated seafood section, parking for 80 to 90 vehicles and ten electric vehicle charging points.
Governor Sanwo-Olu described the project as a practical response to the challenges of feeding a megacity.
“Today, I commissioned the Lagos Fresh Food Hub in Pen Cinema, Agege, a modern facility designed to make it easier and more efficient to move food from farmers and suppliers to communities across Lagos,” he said.
The governor noted that Agege forms one of several mid-level hubs in a wider network supplied by the Central Food Security and Logistics Hub at Ketu-Ereyun, which remains under development.
He pointed to the earlier success of the Mushin Fresh Food Hub, opened in December 2023, which has recorded more than ₦4 billion in transactions across 228 market days and supported over 7,000 direct and indirect jobs. A further hub at Abijo was commissioned earlier in 2026.
Commissioner Abisola Olusanya explained that the Agege facility is projected to handle more than ₦5 billion in annual food transactions once fully operational in about six weeks.
She said the design deliberately brings farmers, aggregators, retailers and consumers together under one organised system with improved quality control, inventory management and waste reduction.
Lagos continues to rely on sources outside its borders for a substantial proportion of its food, estimated at over 70 per cent.
Officials present the new network of hubs as a transformative effort to shorten supply chains, reduce post-harvest losses and bring fresher produce closer to residents while supporting local traders and farmers.
The governor later took time to inspect produce and make purchases using a point-of-sale terminal, an unplanned moment that underscored the practical purpose of the new market.
Traders and officials expressed measured optimism that the cleaner, better-equipped environment would improve daily trading conditions once operations begin in earnest.
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While the long-term impact on food prices and farmer incomes will depend on consistent use and effective management, the commissioning adds tangible capacity to Lagos’s food systems agenda and signals continued investment in organised distribution infrastructure.
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David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
