Lagos unveils digital house numbering to improve urban planning, tax collection, service delivery, and smart city development from July 2025

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]agos unveils digital house numbering in a bold move to revolutionise property identification and enhance governance, beginning with a pilot phase in Ikeja on 1 July 2025.

Also read: Sanwo-Olu’s ferry safety strategy seeks West African cooperation

The initiative, known as the Lagos Identity Project, is set to transform service delivery, combat address fraud, and streamline urban planning across the state.

Led by Dr Olajide Babajide, Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Enterprise Geographic Information System (e-GIS), the project introduces a digital house numbering system embedded with QR codes.

These codes, when scanned using smart devices, will provide verified property information including ownership, geolocation, and utility data.

According to Dr Babajide, “The Lagos Identity Project is a major leap toward a digitally governed, smart city. It will improve emergency response, postal service, utility delivery, and urban security.”

Ikeja Local Government, the pilot location, has approximately 23,000 properties targeted for enumeration.

Following this phase, the state government plans a phased rollout across all local governments and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

The technology-driven system was developed through strategic partnerships with Streamline Technologies and Interspatial.

Notably, Interspatial conducted over two years of aerial mapping to provide high-accuracy geospatial data that underpins the project.

Each address plate will feature a QR code and colour code specific to the local government area, allowing for quick scanning and data retrieval.

The Lagos Identity Project is a major leap toward a digitally governed, smart city.

This approach is expected to close major gaps in property identification and management, reducing rental fraud and improving law enforcement response times.

Dr Babajide highlighted the broader implications for revenue generation, stating that the system will help identify previously undocumented properties, thus enhancing the state’s internally generated revenue.

It will also support fairer property valuation and improve tax compliance.

The Lagos Identity Project builds on the state’s history of digital innovation.

During President Bola Tinubu’s governorship of Lagos, the state established a pioneering data centre that attracted international recognition for digital governance from institutions like the World Bank.

Authorities have urged property owners—particularly those with subdivided or unregistered buildings—to engage with the re-identification process.

This will ensure accurate data capture and inclusion in the digital registry.

The initiative aligns with Lagos State’s broader ambition of becoming a fully smart city.

Through digital tools and data-driven urban management, the state aims to create safer, more liveable communities and set a standard for other Nigerian cities.

Also read: Lagos advances innovation bill to drive tech growth, inclusive prosperity

With the launch of the Lagos Identity Project, Lagos unveils digital house numbering not only as a service tool but also as a symbol of the city’s digital future.