Originally Government House, Lagos — official residence of the British Governor-General. Site of the lowering of the Union Jack and raising of the Nigerian flag on 1 October 1960; seat of the Governor-General and later President of the First Republic.
Government House on the Marina was the official residence of the British Governor-General from the amalgamation in 1914 until independence. On 30 September 1960 the Union Jack was lowered there for the last time; on 1 October 1960 the Nigerian flag was raised. Princess Alexandra of Kent represented the Queen at the ceremony.
From independence until the 1966 coup, the building served as State House — residence of the Governor-General (Azikiwe, then formally President from 1963). The 15 January 1966 coup did not target the building, but the constitutional order it housed ended that night.
Following the 1991 move of the federal capital, State House Marina was retained as the official Lagos residence of the President and is still used during official visits. Most heads of state since 1991 have stayed there when visiting Lagos.
The Marina address — the strip along Lagos Lagoon — also hosts the original Nigerian Foreign Office building (now consular and ECOWAS liaison space) and the colonial-era Secretariat that housed the early federal ministries before they migrated to Abuja.