The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has blamed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration for the worsening waste management crisis in the state, describing the exit of the Managing Director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, as evidence of administrative failure.

The party, in a statement on Tuesday signed by its Publicity Secretary, Prince Christopher Odianarewo, said the development vindicated its repeated warnings about environmental degradation and the accumulation of refuse across major roads, residential areas, markets and drainage channels.

It accused the state government of relying on publicity campaigns and temporary sanitation exercises instead of addressing what it described as systemic failures in waste management.

The PDP also raised concerns about the public health risks associated with decomposing refuse, blocked drainage systems and the stench reportedly affecting neighbourhoods across Lagos.

It alleged that the situation had increased residents’ exposure to preventable diseases and heightened the risk of flooding during rainfall, while faulting the government for failing to establish an effective and sustainable waste disposal system.

The opposition party said replacing the LAWMA chief executive would not resolve the crisis without broader institutional reforms, improved efficiency and long-term planning.

It called on Sanwo-Olu to take responsibility for the state’s environmental challenges and ensure effective waste management, insisting that Lagos residents deserved a cleaner and healthier environment.

“Dr. Gbadegesin’s unceremonious exit in the wake of a worsening, apocalyptic waste management crisis is an admission of failure by the Sanwo-Olu government.

“Yet, rather than take responsibility, the Sanwo-Olu administration has continuously fed the public empty propaganda, cosmetic sanitation exercises, and recycled promises while the core institutional framework of waste management completely collapsed under their watch.

“We want to remind the failed Sanwo-Olu administration that changing heads at LAWMA without overhauling the systemic corruption, inefficiency, and lack of visionary planning inherent in their government is like putting perfume on a pig.

“Governor Sanwo-Olu must wake up from his slumber, take full responsibility for this environmental catastrophe, or do the honorable thing. Lagosians can no longer breathe toxic air while a privileged few loot our commonwealth and mortgage our collective future.”