The Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources has announced plans to meet with Private Sector Partnership (PSP) operators to address the growing waste management crisis in the state.
Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed this during a meeting with the 57 local council and LCDA chairmen in Ikeja. He said the engagement with the council chairmen was aimed at strengthening collaboration on issues concerning the environment, transportation, drainage, waste management, and street trading.
Wahab lamented that some PSP operators were failing to collect waste as required, adding that the state was being overwhelmed.
“The meeting with the council chairmen is to have their input, know where gaps exist and, knowing that, we will collaborate with them because they are at the grassroots,” he said.
Speaking on land reclamation and illegal structures, Wahab stated: “We have commenced enforcement and we shall remove every reclamation done without drainage clearance and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). That is the only way we can restore the ecosystem causing flooding. We start blaming the government when there is a flood and not paying attention to the law that says there must be a design before reclamation.”
He added that the forthcoming meeting with PSP operators would help the ministry understand the challenges they face. “The feedback we are getting from them is that most of them are struggling. We have given them subsidies and we may need to do more, and the meeting will determine what will happen,” he said.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, decried the role of local councils in allowing bus drivers and others to cause congestion.
Relatedly, the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) enforcement and surveillance team conducted a dawn raid in Akesan, Alimosho Local Council, arresting residents caught dumping refuse illegally.
The operation followed complaints from the traditional ruler of Akesan, Dr Nojeemdeen Abidemi, over persistent indiscriminate waste disposal in the area.
Several residents were apprehended during the raid and taken to the Task Force Office in Oshodi for prosecution in line with the state’s environmental laws.
