Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has declared what he described as a “small state of emergency” on waste management across the state.
Sanwo-Olu made the declaration during an inspection of the Olusosun dumpsite in Ojota, Lagos, where he was accompanied by Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, and Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab.
The inspection was aimed at identifying operational challenges at the dumpsite and deploying immediate, medium and long term measures to address the waste management crisis in the metropolis.
The governor acknowledged recent pressure on waste collection, which has resulted in the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in different parts of Lagos.
“We are here for ourselves to see what the problem is and what is happening, so that we can clearly declare what we will call a small state of emergency, Sanwo-Olu said.
“This is necessary for us to get out of this very unpleasant situation and restore effective waste collection and disposal across Lagos.”
As part of efforts to clear the backlog, the state government plans to increase the daily intake capacity at Olusosun from between 250 and 350 trucks to 350 and 450 trucks.
This will be achieved by increasing the number of active tipping points at the dumpsite from two to as many as five.
The governor also disclosed that interventions would be carried out at other disposal sites, including Solu 3, Iwulepe in Ikorodu, Oke-Osho in Epe and Erikitte in Badagry.
“We are hoping that in another six weeks, we will have four active dump sites, Olusosun, Solu 3, Iwulepe and Oke-Osho with a fifth one at Erikitte in Badagry.
“What that will do is enhance and improve the turnaround of trucks on the various roads, so that they do not come to one dump site and spend 12 hours or even an entire day before they can discharge,” the governor noted.
Sanwo-Olu declares ‘state of emergency’ on waste management in Lagos