Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Wife of the governor of Lagos State and chairman, Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO)
Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, wife of the Lagos State governor, has advised residents of Lagos to fully embrace the monthly sanitation exercise, saying it one of the ways of preserving the environment.
in the July edition of the state’s monthly environmental sanitation exercise, stressing the need for sustained environmental responsibility.
Sanwo-Olu spoke while monitoring the July edition of the exercise at Eputu London in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of the state, where she lauded growing environmental consciousness of the locals.
She said: “We are very proud of our people. When we arrived in Eputu London, we discovered that residents had already started cleaning their environment three days before the exercise.
“They did not wait until the last Saturday of the month. That shows that people are becoming more conscious of their environment and are taking ownership of it.”
The wife of the governor noted the impressive turnout of both adults and children despite challenges posed by the rainy season and flooding in parts of Lagos. She hailed schoolchildren for participating in the exercise, noting that they joined council ‘s exercise as early as 6:30 a.m.
She stressed the importance of involving young people in environmental management even as she called for a daily culture of environmental cleanliness.
“We are catching them young. These children have been here very early this morning because whatever values we pass on to them today, they will continue in the future.
“By the grace of God, from next month, students of tertiary institutions will also participate. This is a collective responsibility,” she said.
Tokunbo Wahab, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, who also spoke during the exercise, said the state government was intensifying efforts to improve waste management infrastructure.
He mentioned the ongoing work at the Olusosun waste management facility, where a waste transfer loading station and material recovery facility are being developed to improve waste processing and disposal.
“The Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, and Private Sector Participants, PSP, operators are strengthening waste collection services, while the government continues advocacy and public enlightenment.
“The ultimate goal is to ensure efficient waste management across the state. LAWMA and PSP operators are putting in significant effort, but residents must also take ownership of the process.
“People should not dump refuse on road medians, drainage channels or public spaces because those facilities belong to all of us,” Wahab said.
He, however, acknowledged that changing long-established habits would take time but expressed confidence that sustained campaigns, consistency and enforcement would produce results.
He advised residents experiencing challenges with waste collection to report to LAWMA instead of dumping refuse indiscriminately, especially in drainage systems.
“If residents are paying for waste collection services, service providers must deliver. Where there are lapses, people should contact LAWMA so that appropriate action can be taken.”
He added that the government would continue to combine advocacy, public sensitisation and sanctions where necessary to sustain environmental compliance across the state.
“Advocacy remains our first approach, but sanctions will be applied where necessary,” he stated.
On his part, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, Special Adviser to Governor on Environment and Water Resources, who led other officials to Badagry for the sanitation exercise, assured residents that the state government would not relent in its campaign against indiscriminate dumping of refuse and other environmental violations.
Akodu lauded Community Development Associations (CDAs) and Community Development Committees (CDCs) in Badagry for their participation in the exercise, noting that the inclusion of students in the monthly sanitation programme was aimed at raising future environmental advocates.
The exercise is observed betweeen 6:30 am and 8:30 am on the last Saturday of every month.
