• Says clean environment critical to sustainable state
• Hamzat tasks youths on character, integrity, faith

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has tasked residents to keep their environment clean, saying that a cleaner environment is what makes a city or a state sustainable.

Sanwo-Olu, who spoke during the August environmental sanitation exercise in Amuwo Odofin Local Council, represented by his Deputy, Dr Obafemi Kadril Hamzat, said that the idea of the monthly environmental sanitation was to keep reminding the people about the importance of a clean environment to individuals and the society.

The governor, while imploring the media to help the government project the importance of residents and businesses keeping their environment clean, disclosed plans to incorporate 250 new trucks to aid easy evacuation of waste from homes and offices.

According to him, the new vehicles would expand the state’s capacity to evacuate refuse and address areas where existing waste collection arrangements have struggled to cope with demand.

He urged residents to patronise accredited PSP operators rather than cart pushers, warning that the latter often operate outside the regulated waste management system.

Sanwo-Olu linked the growing waste challenge to Lagos’ expanding population, noting that the influx of people into the state inevitably increases the volume of refuse generated daily.

IN another development, Hamzat has urged Nigerian youths to combine faith with discipline, integrity and a strong sense of responsibility.

The deputy governor, who stated this while addressing Christian youths at a programme themed, “The Youth That Knows the Lord,” organised by The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries in Lagos, said Nigeria needed a generation that would not only succeed personally but also deploy its talents and values to improve their communities and contribute to national development.

“Knowing the Lord goes beyond merely knowing or calling His name. Genuine knowledge of God should influence the choices young people make, how they treat others, their work ethic and their conduct, especially when no one is watching,” he said.

According to him, a generation grounded in strong character and values is essential to building a peaceful, prosperous and just Nigeria.

Hamzat noted that greater opportunities came with greater responsibility, urging youths to become agents of positive change in their communities.

He, however, assured the youths that the Lagos State Government remained committed to providing education, skills development, employment pathways and other opportunities to enable them to fulfil their potential, stressing that the government alone could not build character.

The deputy governor further encouraged youths not to focus only on what they wanted to become, but also on who they wanted to become, warning against compromising their values in the pursuit of success, wealth or popularity.

He, therefore, urged them to participate responsibly in the democratic process by asking questions, examining issues, voting wisely and rejecting violence, intimidation and vote-buying.

Hamzat commended the General Overseer of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, for his vision for the church and Nigerian youths, particularly those in Lagos State.

In response, Muoka prayed for Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Hamzat and his running mate, urging them to govern with the fear of God.