On 13 October, Lagos State's most senior public servants sit down not to debate climate change, but to learn how to account for it.
Behind the masterclass are eight leaders, from governor to auditor, whose careers show how trust, numbers and stories can steer one of Africa's largest cities toward a resilient future. Meet them.
Where Climate Promises Meet Public Accounts
At 9 am on Tuesday, Lagos State civil servants will take centre stage at the Lagos State Treasury Resource Centre in Alausa.
They come with notebooks, laptops and the weight of a state that can no longer treat climate as someone else's problem.
For 3 days, until 4 pm each afternoon, they will study how to report sustainability and ESG honestly.
The people guiding them know Lagos well.
4 hosts, led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will set direction, release funds and change how government works.
4 facilitators, drawn from audit, finance, sustainability reporting and global accountancy, hold the skills to make that change measurable.
Lagos is a coastal city, and the governor says so himself.
- Floods, heat and rising seas already shape budgets and daily life.
The masterclass asks whether public accounts can reflect those realities.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu – The Governor Who Calls Climate Present
On the edge of a coastal megacity, floodwater does not wait for policy.
Governor Sanwo-Olu says it plainly: "Lagos is a coastal city, so climate change is not a distant concern for us.”
He took office on 29 May 2019, inheriting a city of contradictions.
His administration has since adopted a climate adaptation plan with 33 projects, built around sea-level rise, extreme rainfall and extreme heat.
In 2026, he took that case to the UN, arguing that subnational governments need affordable, long-term finance to deliver climate ambition.
Lagos has also launched a Climate Defence and Catalytic Fund to draw private capital into resilient projects.
For his officials, this masterclass is the next step.
- Reporting turns promises into evidence that investors and residents can check.
"Climate action is about turning ambition into opportunity."
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu
Olabode Shuaheeb Agoro – The Footballer Who Steered the Service
Before the files and circulars, there was a football pitch.
Reports say Olabode Agoro once weighed professional football against public service, and he chose the service.
He trained as a lawyer and earned an LLM in Petroleum Law and Policy at Dundee.
He also completed public leadership training at the Harvard Kennedy School.
He joined the Lagos civil service in 2003 and rose from the Lands Bureau to Permanent Secretary in 2015.
Since 30 September 2023, he has led the service as Head of Service.
Press coverage highlights his focus on staff welfare, administrative reform and digital initiatives.
Climate-ready reporting depends on thousands of civil servants changing how they work. He can make that change stick.
Abayomi Oluyomi – The Treasurer Who Wants Results Measured
At a retreat for finance officers on 2 October 2026, Commissioner Abayomi Oluyomi told them that working in isolation was over.
He wants collaboration, because fragmented finance cannot deliver for Lagosians.
His career spans 28 years in investment banking and treasury.
He is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Banker who has worked with multilateral agencies, private equity firms and development institutions.
As Special Adviser on Internal Audit from 2020 to 2023, he pushed professionalism and transparency.
Lagos now links financial management to measurable service outcomes.
In 2025 the state earned N2.6 trillion in total revenue, and a N230 billion bond funded projects including environmental sustainability.
Climate disclosure will test whether every naira shows its impact.
Muyiwa John Adetola – The Auditor Now Guarding the Ledger
Muyiwa Adetola knows the state's accounts from the inspector's.
On 2 March 2026 he moved from State Auditor-General to Accountant-General and Permanent Secretary of the State Treasury Office.
The move placed an auditor's eye on the treasury, where reports are compiled.
Governor Sanwo-Olu approved the redeployment after Dr Abiodun Muritala retired.
His new office also hosts the masterclass at the Treasury Resource Centre.
Sustainability reporting asks public finance to account for environmental and social outcomes and spending.
Adetola is expected to anchor that shift.
Dr Olusola Olowoyeye – Lead Facilitator Who Teaches Through Risk
Dr Olowoyeye has already stood before Lagos officials.
He recently facilitated the Lagos State Internal Audit Training, aimed at stronger accountability and good governance.
His nearly two decades span KPMG audit and risk advisory, BGL Plc, Sahara Energy and Kedari Capital.
He has designed risk frameworks, corporate governance systems and internal audit functions in energy and finance.
He led the expert team that developed the Corporate Governance Scorecard for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) under the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), a landmark initiative strengthening governance and transparency in Nigeria's public sector
The Founder of Nova Global Learning Solutions Limited, an ACCA Silver Approved Learning Partner.
That mix suits this masterclass. Climate risk is financial risk, and he teaches people to treat it that way.
Rashidat Adebisi – Finance Architect Building Inclusive Systems
Rashidat Adebisi describes her mission as democratising African finance.
She worked as Chief Client Officer at AXA Mansard from 2020 to 2025. She is an ACCA associate.
Today she is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Zenvolve Tech, which builds digital tools including FileAm for the tax ecosystem.
She also invests as an angel with Lagos Angel Network and is Chair of the ACCA Nigeria National Advisory Council.
She has run large finance operations and built new ones.
Participants get a practical sense of how reporting systems are designed, adopted and trusted.
Uade Ahimie – The Financial Storyteller Behind Sustainability Reporting
Uade Ahimie works where numbers meet narrative.
He is Chief Coordination Officer at Sustainable Stories Advocates and Managing Editor of its digital platform Sustainable Stories Africa.
His 30-plus years cover audit, finance, corporate governance, risk, compliance, sustainability reporting, and media communication.
As Principal Consultant at Accounting Lab Limited since 2017, he helps businesses build structures and human capital programmes. He also moderates events and writes on Environment, Social and Governance-related topics.
For Lagos officials, he shows that a sustainability report must be credible to auditors and clear to citizens.
Tom Isibor – ACCA's Voice for Public Sector Standards
Tom Isibor leads ACCA Nigeria and is seen presenting recognition to those who raise standards.
In 2024, his team presented the Public Sector CFO Award to Adaora Ugwu.
In March 2026, he joined ACCA's global Chief Executive, Helen Brand, in talks with the Financial Reporting Council.
They discussed financial reporting standards, transparency and accountability in Nigeria.
He has also led courtesy visits to senior public finance officials.
At this masterclass, he links Lagos's efforts to a global profession's standards.
That helps ensure the skills learned are recognised beyond Alausa.
Path Forward – A Ledger That Tells Climate Truth
When the three days end, the certificates will matter less than the habits.
A finance officer who asks what a budget line does for flood-prone communities has already changed how government thinks.
Lagos is building something larger than a training course. It is building a public record that investors can trust and residents can read.
If that record holds, Africa's megacities will have a model for turning climate ambition into accountable action.
