Lagos State and the State of California have formalised a sister-state relationship, linking Nigeria’s commercial capital to the largest state economy in the United States. The partnership gives the two regions a structured basis for cooperation in business, culture, climate action and diaspora engagement.
How it came about
The relationship was established through Assembly Concurrent Resolution 129 (ACR 129), authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney of San Francisco. The California State Assembly approved the resolution, with Haney joined at the Capitol by Nigerian and Nigerian-American leaders in transportation, medicine, business, energy and community leadership. The resolution was chaptered by the Secretary of State as Resolution Chapter 94, Statutes of 2026, on June 10, 2026.
The resolution was presented at the California/Africa Climate and Economic Forum 2026. Jermaine Sanwo-Olu, Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Office of Diaspora Affairs, accepted it on behalf of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. A Leadership.ng report also describes Governor Sanwo-Olu and Assemblyman Haney signing the agreement.
The text of the resolution rests on several shared strengths. It notes that California is home to one of the largest and most diverse Nigerian diasporas in the United States, with many tracing their roots to Lagos. It also points to the two regions’ film industries, Hollywood and Nollywood, which rank among the largest in the world by production volume. On climate, it observes that California plans economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045, while Lagos’s Climate Action Plan targets zero carbon by 2050.
Governor Sanwo-Olu has drawn the same parallels in his own words, comparing Hollywood with Nollywood, Silicon Valley with Yaba, and the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with Lekki. Lagos is Africa’s second-largest city economy after Cairo, with a GDP of about $259.75 billion, while California accounts for about 14% of the US economy.
Haney’s office says this is only the second sister-state partnership between California and any other state in sub-Saharan Africa. California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin said it builds on the partnership Governor Newsom has forged between California and Nigeria and reflects a shared commitment to practical, people-centred progress. For Lagos, the diaspora is expected to serve as the connector for investment, knowledge transfer and long-term trust-building.
The business community is already moving. The California-Lagos Business & Investment Summit, themed “Building the California-Nigeria Business Bridge,” was scheduled to begin on September 17, 2026, with a celebration at the historic Stanford Mansion in Sacramento. The organisers include Afretrade, the US Diaspora United Chamber of Commerce, NIED Group and the Lagos State Office of Diaspora Affairs.
A sister-state relationship is a framework, not a funded programme, so its value will depend on what the two sides build on it. The groundwork looks solid, but the real test will be trade deals, investments and exchanges that outlast the ceremonies.
