The Lagos State Government has issued a warning to property owners and residents across the state to maintain clean surroundings or face serious consequences, including the potential loss of property.
The Managing Director/CEO of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, warned on Monday during a live interview on Lagos Talks 91.3FM.
He emphasised that environmental cleanliness is a shared responsibility and not solely the duty of the government.
He further stressed that tenants and occupants, who were not landowners, also had a legal obligation to maintain cleanliness in their immediate environment.
“Even if you are not the owner, but you are living in the property, you must keep the surroundings clean. LAWMA cannot clean your frontage for you. That responsibility falls squarely on residents,” he said.
Gbadegesin also disclosed that the authority would soon introduce the use of drones to monitor waste disposal activities and curb indiscriminate dumping.
He said, “The waste collection system is sacrosanct and will always be managed by Nigerians. Even with new opportunities, Nigerians are leading the way because we live here and understand the local challenges.
“Starting a business in this area is not cheap, but Nigerians have a strong drive, and once we see the value in something, we put our full effort into it. The only issue is that many people didn’t recognise the potential in waste management.”
The LAWMA boss explained that while many residents pay for waste services, a large number still don’t, which makes it hard for Private Sector Participants (PSPs) to cover their costs. To help, LAWMA is providing new CNG-powered trucks to improve efficiency and cut expenses.
LAWMA is also expanding its recycling programmes across the state. Hundreds of recycling companies now collect recyclable waste from homes, and community recycling centres have been set up where people can exchange recyclables for rewards.
The authority is committed to managing the roughly 13,000 tonnes of waste the state produces daily. As part of this effort, LAWMA has signed an agreement with Zoomlion Nigeria to shut down two major dumpsites—Olusosun in Ojota and Solous 3 in Igando—within 18 months.
“We will build transfer loading stations at both dumpsites to divert waste to new material recovery facilities. From Ojota, we will divert waste to a material recovery facility in Ikorodu and from Igando to Badagry. These facilities will process 2,500 tonnes of waste each and feature equipment that automatically separates metals, plastics, textiles and similar materials. With these facilities, you won’t see or smell waste. Our plan is also to place solar panels on these sites to generate electricity for the surrounding facilities,” Gbadegesin stated.
To boost compliance and community involvement, he said LAWMA is strengthening its partnerships with residential groups like the Lekki Phase 1 Residents Association (LERA) to tackle illegal waste disposal.
“LAWMA deploys 17,000 street sweepers covering 1,000 routes, but this doesn’t cover every street in the state. Residents should also support the effort by keeping their frontage and surroundings clean. If we all do the right thing daily and weekly, we will have a cleaner city.
“As we say, ‘Igbega Ipinle Eko, Ajumose gbogbo wa ni’ – the state’s development and progress is a collective effort,” Gbadegesin concluded.
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