Lagos State Govt Engages Chairmen Of 57 Council Areas On Sustainable Environment

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday convened a strategic meeting with all 57 Local Governments and Development Council Chairmen to underscore its commitment to collaborate and achieve a cleaner, flood-free and sustainable environment across the state.

Speaking during the meeting held at Alausa, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, said it is high time every resident of the state imbibes good sanitation habits as a daily lifestyle.

He said Lagos is moving from the linear waste system (pick and drop) to a system where waste becomes a resource, as such all LGAs / LCDAs must collaborate with the State to tackle all environmental issues to reduce the quantum of wastes that end up at the landfills.

Wahab said the government is working to decommission the Olushosun and Soulos III landfills because they have outlived their usefulness/ lifespan but other landfills are still functional such as the one at Epe.

He charged the LG Chairmen to ensure that they educate residents about the dangers of improper waste disposal, disposing waste in open spaces, on the roads, medians, drainages and canals amongst others.

He said the state has ensured that the PSP waste operators continue to function in their waste collection processes revealing that the state from time to time intervenes through LAWMA.

He added that now is the time for all LGAs/LCDAs to collaboratively work with the State to have a lasting solution to flash flooding issues across the state, adding that the State Government is continually putting resilient infrastructure in place to tackle flash flooding issues which the LGAs / LCDAs must now replicate.

He urged the Chairmen to always reach out to the resident engineers attached to each Local Government / LCDA area to report flooding issues, saying they have been empowered to resolve or escalate as the case may be.

He reminded that the ban on street trading is still in force and thereafter urged the Chairmen to discourage this illegal activity in their LGAs stressing that if the government cannot enforce the laws of the state then it is just like a failed state.

The Chairman of Conference 57 and the Executive Chairman of – Ibeju-Lekki Local Government, Hon. Sesan Olowa expressed appreciation for the stakeholders’ engagement, noting that all the 57 Chairmen have been working to ensure a cleaner and sustainable environment in Lagos through proper waste management across the metropolis.

He added that some LGAs / LCDAs had procured tricycles that go into inner streets in their areas to effectively support house-to-house waste collection instead of people bringing their waste to the main roads/ median.

He appealed to the HC Environment to ensure that all LGAs / LCDAs collaborate and build mini Transfer Loading Stations (TLS) in their areas for ease of waste disposal in their different communities.

Present at the meeting were the Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, Honourable Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi and the Commissioner of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, Mr. Bolaji Robert, among others.