- Leads Officials, Others To Ibeju-Lekki For Environmental Monitoring Exercise
The First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, on Saturday urged all residents not to wait until the last Saturday of the month to clean their environment, but to make it an everyday affair.
The First Lady spoke at Eputu ‘London’ in Ibeju- Lekki Local Government when she monitored the July edition of the sanitation exercise alongside the wife of the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat; Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab; selected Permanent Secretaries and top officials of the State.
Dr. Sanwo-Olu expressed appreciation to the residents of Eputu ‘London’ who came out in their large numbers to participate in the exercise, saying: “We are very, very proud of our people. We noticed today that in Eputu London, both the children and the parents came out very early to clean their environment”.
“Even though we are noticing that we have all the floods and things happening in Lagos State, we are making a conscious effort to create awareness among our people to ensure that they remove all the debris as much as possible”, she stated.
While describing the participation of people as a work in progress, the First Lady said that this explains why school pupils are being involved so that the message of cleanliness can be imbibed at a younger age. She added that this would ensure that whatever is handed down to them, they will continue with it as they grow into adulthood.
Dr. Sanwo-Olu revealed that from the August edition, students of tertiary institutions will also form a part of the monitoring of the monthly sanitation exercise.
Also speaking, Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab informed that work is at an advanced stage at Olusosun and Simpson with respect to the Transfer Loading Stations that are being constructed there.
“The ultimate goal is, once they are completed, there’ll be a material recovery facility at Ikorodu and Badagry to cart away the waste. We believe we are going to get there, and LAWMA and the PSP operators are also putting in a lot of effort. We just have to keep doing the advocacy and appealing to our people to manage the waste properly. People should take ownership rather than just pick up their waste and dump it on the median and all”, Wahab explained.
He affirmed that the State is gaining traction in the battle against filth and indiscriminate waste dumping but that some habits that are built over time also take a while to change, adding that consistency, advocacy and proper messaging will take us there.
He appealed to residents not to dump waste indiscriminately to people but rather call the attention of LAWMA through its toll-free lines if a particular PSP operator is not coming to pick waste so that LAWMA can intervene in the interim.
Meanwhile, in Badagry Local Government, where the Special Adviser on the Environment, Engr. Kunle Rotimi-Akodu, who led other officials, including Permanent Secretaries, to monitor the exercise, reiterated the unwavering commitment of the State to sustaining a cleaner, healthier and more resilient environment.
Akodu commended the people of Badagry for embracing environmental sanitation as a civic responsibility, noting that the level of compliance recorded during the exercise was encouraging.
According to him, the Lagos State Government is driving a behavioural change campaign aimed at transforming waste management practices across the State through sustained public enlightenment and community engagement.
“The culture we seek to build is one where every resident takes responsibility for the environment; Poor waste disposal habits contribute significantly to environmental degradation and flooding; We must all embrace proper waste management practices to safeguard our communities,” he said.
Responding to concerns raised by the council over the shortage of Private Sector Participation (PSP) waste operators servicing parts of Badagry, the Special Adviser assured residents that the Ministry would immediately review the complaint and work with the relevant regulatory authorities to address any identified service gaps.
Earlier, the Chairman of Badagry Local Government, Mr. Babatunde Hunpe, expressed appreciation to the Governor for his unwavering support for environmental sustainability and thanked the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources for bringing the monitoring exercise to the area.
The Chairman disclosed that the council has continued to complement the operations of PSP operators through its intervention teams and waste evacuation trucks while carrying out sustained environmental advocacy across markets, communities, Community Development Associations (CDAs) and other grassroots platforms.
The APC Deputy Gubernatorial Candidate, Princess Damilola Sonayan-James, who also participated during the clean-up, urged all residents to sustain the momentum by continually cleaning up their environment and patronising assigned PSP operators.
She further said residents should avoid indiscriminate waste disposal and ensure drains, roadsides and public spaces remain free of refuse, stressing that environmental sustainability can only be achieved through collective responsibility and consistent compliance with environmental laws.
The monitoring exercise, which covered Ajara Market and adjoining communities, witnessed impressive participation from residents, traders, Community Development Committees (CDCs), youth organisations, students and other stakeholders, reflecting a growing commitment to environmental stewardship across the council area.
Also present at the clean-up were the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Dr. Gaji Omobolaji; Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Engr. Mahamood Adegbite; some Heads of Agencies as well as Directors in the Ministry.
