Lagos hails residents’ sanitation compliance, promises better waste collection

Lagos State Government has commended residents of Alimosho Local Government Area for their strong compliance with the monthly environmental sanitation exercise. Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, noted the area as one of the councils taking the initiative seriously after monitoring the exercise on Saturday.

“

I am doing this because of myself and my family. I do not need to be compelled because a clean environment is a healthy environment. The only challenge is that waste collectors are not coming to collect our waste regularly.

Residents in communities like Oguntade, Shasha, and Akerele were observed cleaning their surroundings and placing waste at designated locations. Some actively participated in the sanitation efforts. One resident, Kunle, stated his participation was for health benefits, emphasizing that a clean environment is a healthy one. However, he and another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, raised concerns about the irregular collection of waste by Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators.

"We have cleaned our environment but the challenge is that the PSP operators do not come regularly. Sometimes, the waste remains there for days before it is evacuated," the anonymous resident explained. Commissioner Wahab acknowledged these challenges with some PSP operators, particularly in Alimosho. He revealed that the state government has engaged additional contractors to address the situation and directed officials to meet with the responsible operators.

“

We have cleaned our environment but the challenge is that the PSP operators do not come regularly. Sometimes, the waste remains there for days before it is evacuated.

Accompanied by the First Lady, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, and ministry officials, Wahab expressed encouragement over the general cleanliness observed. He commended the Chairman of Alimosho Local Government and his team for sustaining the initiative and urged them to intensify resident engagement. Wahab reiterated the state government's commitment to improving waste collection services.

“

From our observations, the environment is generally clean, and this local government appears to be taking the sanitation exercise seriously. We visited several areas and found that residents had cleaned their surroundings.