A back-and-forth has ensued between the Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, and the Labour Party Lagos State governorship candidate in the 2023 election, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.

This began after Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, issued a directive for the immediate scale-up of waste evacuation across the state following the recent buildup of refuse in some parts of the state.

“LAWMA, LASEPA, and the Ministry of Environment are currently working around the clock. We have deployed extra trucks and personnel to clear the backlogs across all affected neighbourhoods. You should already see progress on the streets, and we will not stop until our city is completely clean again,” Sanwo-Olu said.

Reacting, Rhodes-Vivour, who lost the 2023 election to Sanwo-Olu, described the governor’s directive as an admission of failure, not a solution.

Sharing on X, he stated that Lagosians do not need periodic emergency evacuations of mountains of refuse. “What they need is a functional waste management system that prevents waste from accumulating in the first place,” he said.

He lamented that for years, residents have endured overflowing dumps, uncollected refuse, blocked drainage channels, and worsening environmental conditions despite billions of naira allocated to environmental management.

“The fact that you now have to ‘direct an immediate scale-up’ after waste has already overwhelmed communities is an utter failure of leadership,” Rhodes-Vivour said.

Responding, Commissioner Wahab reminded Rhodes-Vivour of the humongous task Lagos faces in terms of waste collection.

He said Lagos generates about 13,000 tonnes of waste every day, adding that in May alone, LAWMA and PSP operators evacuated about 418,500 tonnes of waste across the state, averaging about 13,200 tonnes daily.

“That is not a small operation. It involves hundreds of PSP operators, public waste teams, transfer and disposal operations, street sweepers, enforcement teams, customer service staff, drivers, loaders, supervisors and monitoring officers working across a very large and difficult city,” Wahab said.

The commissioner further explained LAWMA’s efforts towards waste disposal, which he said had been scaled up, especially in blackspot areas.

Pushing back, Rhodes-Vivour demanded impact and not explanation, just as he accused Wahab of bigotry and demanded his resignation.

He said, “Mr. Wahab, Impact is felt, not explained in 1,578 words. Your plastic policy has failed. Your environmental policy, if one truly exists, has been ineffective. Your waste management policy has been an unmitigated disaster. The only area where you have consistently delivered is the demolition of the hard-earned properties and livelihoods of ordinary citizens. Not to mention your Bigotry and Gaslighting. You have lost the moral authority to remain in office. You should resign. Today.”

Displeased that Rhodes-Vivour called him a bigot, Wahab revealed that he had no interest in descending into the “mudslinging and distractions you appear to thrive on”, but is focused on supporting the efforts of the Lagos State Government to ensure the safety, well-being, and prosperity of Lagosians

He, however, called Rhodes-Vivour by his Igbo name, Chinedu, which was used against him during the 2023 election. Wahab then shared Rhodes-Vivour’s past social media posts, which promoted the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and also the defunct Biafra Republic

He concluded, “As for the labels and accusations, I will leave others to judge them on their merits. I have no intention of engaging in personal attacks or trading insults with a political nomad driven by ignorance and needless hatred. I wish you all the best.”