Lagos State Government, yesterday, convened a meeting of select executive council members with all 57 Local Council and Local Council Development Council  to get their buy-in and support for the smooth take-off and sustenance of the re-introduced monthly environmental  sanitation exercise.
  
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, last month, held a symbolic re-launch of the monthly environmental sanitation, with the exercise serving as a means to enlighten Lagosians to look inwards, find creative ways to solve what has become an existential problem.
  
Addressing the strategic meeting held at Alausa CBD on the Modalities for the Success of the re-introduced Monthly Environmental Sanitation exercise, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, stated that  everyone must collaborate to achieve a cleaner, flood-free and sustainable environment.
  
“Except we choose to  play the ostrich, we have to say to one another that municipal solid waste generated in Lagos, which is about 13,000 to 14,000 tonnes per day, is becoming a major challenge in respect to how we dispose and cart our waste,” he said.
 
He called on the state and local governments to synergise and bring back the culture of consistent sanitation, which the monthly sanitation symbolised, adding that government could not allow waste and sanitation issues overrun a mega city like Lagos.
  
The commissioner noted that every Thursday between 7.00am and 10am, all markets across Lagos participate in environmental sanitation exercise to clean their markets.
  
“If the markets, being the crux of every economy, can undergo this process, it should be easy to escalate the exercise to our homes.
  
“Some part of their time is the indulgence we are seeking to get from our citizens; and we can not get that indulgence without concurrence of our local council; we also believe the local council structure is the easiest way to have their buy-in,” he said.
  
According to Wahab, Lagos is moving from the linear waste system (pick and drop) to a system where waste becomes a resource, as such all councils must collaborate with the state to tackle all environmental issues in order to reduce the quantum of waste that end up at the landfills.
  
He stated that on designated environmental days at the end of the month, Lagos EXCO members, local government chairmen and other state officials would be assigned to monitor the exercise statewide, while the ministry would also put together a monitoring team to ensure enforcement. 
  
Wahab added that the state would ensure that the Private Sector Participation (PSP) waste operators continue to function in their waste collection processes, revealing that the state, from time to time, intervenes through Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to assist them.
  
Also speaking, Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, Bolaji Roberts, sought the support of the chairmen to ensure the success of the re-introduced monthly exercise. 
  
Chairman, House Committee on Environment, Lanre Afinni (Lagos Island Constituency II), said regular engagement  with the council chairmen should be taking place on a  quarterly basis, adding that the  chairmen were expected to engage
the Community Development Associations (CDAs), traditional rulers and people in their community to get their buy-in.
  
Meanwhile, the council chairmen led by Conference 57 Chairman, Sesan Olowa, promised their maximum support for the success of the exercise.
  
Olowa, who summed up the different presentations of his colleagues, expressed appreciation to the government for convening the meeting, pledging the support of the chairmen.