The Lagos State Government has called on Local Government (LG) and Local Council Development Area (LCDA) chairmen to develop effective strategies to combat street trading and waste pollution in a bid to create a cleaner, healthier environment across the state.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, made this call during a meeting with all LG and LCDA chairmen held on Wednesday at the Protea Hotel in Ikeja.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Wahab said the session was convened to foster a stronger working relationship between the state and local governments on critical environmental issues.
“We just had a meeting with all LG chairmen across the state to establish a collaborative framework on issues such as environmental sanitation, transportation, drainage maintenance, street trading, and water management,” Wahab said.
“The purpose is to get their input and understand where the gaps are, so we can collaborate effectively at the local level. We also need to revamp the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) system, and we’re appealing to our LG chairmen for their support.”
Mr. Sesan Olowa, Chairman of the Conference of 57 LG Chairmen and Chairman of Ibeju-Lekki Local Government, echoed the need for stronger state-LG collaboration. He highlighted waste collection and transportation as major pain points in achieving cleaner communities.
“The biggest challenge in waste management lies in collection and transportation. There are serious inefficiencies in the value chain,” Olowa noted.
“In Ibeju-Lekki, we procured 20 tricycles and, within the first two months, were able to collect 12,000 bins of waste from the streets. This shows that LGs have the capacity to keep Lagos clean—if we are supported with proper infrastructure.”
Olowa urged the state government to create decentralized waste collection hubs across Lagos to ease transportation and disposal challenges.
“We need to start looking at building waste collection hubs across the state. With many unemployed youths in Lagos, this sector can also create thousands of jobs,” he added.
“We’re ready to do the work, but we need the state government’s support to scale our efforts.”
In response, Wahab assured the chairmen of the state’s commitment to tackling environmental infractions and improving waste management systems statewide.
“The state will continue to do all within its power to support local governments and ensure Lagos is clean, green, and safe for all residents,” he said.
The meeting was attended by LG and LCDA chairmen, as well as senior officials and staff of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.
