Ajeromi-Ifelodun: the local government behind Ajegunle

Most people say “Ajegunle” or “AJ City.” On paper, the place is Ajeromi-Ifelodun, one of the twenty local government areas (LGAs) of Lagos State. The council itself says the area is commonly called Ajegunle, and its secretariat is on Baale Adeyemo Street in Ajegunle. If you are filling in a form, looking up a polling unit or trying to understand Lagos local government, this is the name you need.

Where it is

Ajeromi-Ifelodun is on the Lagos mainland, in the old Badagry Division, right beside the ports. Apapa local government lies to the east, with the Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island Port, two of the busiest in Nigeria. Surulere lies to the north. The council describes the land as almost fully built up: of about 2,216 hectares, it says around 97 per cent is developed and the rest is gutters, canals and swamp.

Two main roads matter: the Oshodi–Apapa Expressway, built in the 1970s to serve the ports, and the Lagos–Badagry Expressway. Inside the area, local roads link the communities to those highways, and when they fail, everyone feels it. In 2013 Vanguard reported residents begging the state to fix the Ottor-Wharf/Awodi-Ora Road, the link from Ajegunle to the Oshodi–Apapa Expressway, after rain made it close to impassable.

How it was formed

Lagos local government history is complicated, and the sources do not agree on one date. According to the council’s own history:

Wikipedia gives a different date, 1 October 1976, for the area’s formal establishment. The council’s account is the more detailed, but if a date matters for something official, ask the council.

Communities

The council lists these communities. Each has its own traditional head, a Ba’ale, alongside titled chiefs who represent the area’s many ethnic groups.

You will also hear names such as Olodi-Apapa, Wilmer and Boundary, which are well-known localities and junctions. Read more in our guide to Olodi-Apapa and Boundary Market and our map of Ajegunle in words.

How many people live there?

This is a fair question with no tidy answer.

• The 1991 census counted 593,561 people.
• The 2006 census counted 687,316.
• A 2022 projection from those census figures gives about 1,017,500.
• The council’s own website gives an estimate of 2.2 million, without a year or method.

What every source agrees on is that it is one of the most densely populated places in Lagos: a lot of people on very little land.

Markets and work

Trade is the area’s main business. The area grew fast in the 1970s alongside Apapa and the ports, which drew workers and migrants from across Nigeria. The council lists seven major markets: Alayabiagba Boundary Market, Tolu, Awodi-Ora, Alakoto, Cemetery, Ibafon and Temidire.

People and culture

The council calls the area “Mini-Nigeria” for its mix of ethnic groups, and “the national headquarters of Pidgin English,” the language everyone shares. It names the Egungun and Igunu Ko festivals as cultural highlights. Ajegunle is famous for its music and for footballers: Samson Siasia, Taribo West, Emmanuel Amuneke and Odion Ighalo all have Ajegunle roots. Local initiatives have grown here too: the digital-skills charity Paradigm Initiative began its youth programme as Ajegunle.org before spreading across Nigeria.

It is also an area with real problems, and the people who live there say so first: flooding, roads that break up in the rains, crowding and too little public infrastructure. Our article on Lagos “slums”, honestly looks at how outsiders talk about places like this, and what they get wrong.

Four names that get mixed up

• Ajegunle: the everyday name for the whole area, and also one community within it.
• Ajeromi-Ifelodun: the local government area, the official name on forms and maps.
• Ifelodun LCDA: a council development area inside it, covering Layeni, Amukoko and their neighbours.
• Apapa: the separate local government next door to the east, home to the ports. Olodi-Apapa carries the name, but it is listed as a locality of Ajeromi-Ifelodun.

Government today

Like every Lagos LGA, Ajeromi-Ifelodun has an elected executive chairman and a legislative council of elected councillors. At the time of writing (October 2026), the council’s website names Hon. Olalekan Olu Akindipe as executive chairman. The council also runs a monthly environmental sanitation exercise, and posts each edition on its website.

Ajeromi-Ifelodun and AJ Cities

AJ Cities, our free open-world browser game, takes its name from Ajegunle, and you can read about the real Ajegunle behind the game. The game itself is set in Abraham Adesyan Estate, a fictional estate on the edge of Ajegunle, where Navy Town meets Kirikiri. Its streets, houses and people are invented, and nothing in it is meant to show a real council, ward or community. What it borrows is the feeling: the port cranes on the skyline, the trucks, the generators at eight o’clock, the Pidgin and the humour.

Is Ajegunle the same as Ajeromi-Ifelodun?

Ajegunle is the everyday name. Ajeromi-Ifelodun is the local government area, and the council itself says it is commonly called Ajegunle. Ajegunle is also one of the communities inside it.

When was Ajeromi-Ifelodun created?

Sources differ. The council’s history says it was first split out in 1979, cancelled in 1983 and formally created in 1996; Wikipedia gives 1 October 1976.

What is the population of Ajeromi-Ifelodun?

The 2006 census counted 687,316. A 2022 projection gives about 1,017,500, and the council estimates 2.2 million.

What is Ifelodun LCDA?

A Local Council Development Area within Ajeromi-Ifelodun. The council lists its communities as Layeni, Amukoko, Oridilu/Oke-Oja and Alaba Oro.