Lagos State governor’s wife, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has appealed to residents to be patient with the government over delay in refuse evacuation across the state.
She said government was working on a new strategy to address challenges confronting waste management, adding that waste management was a collective responsibility.
Mrs Sanwo-Olu spoke at the weekend while monitoring the monthly environmental sanitation in Mafoluku area of Oshodi-Isolo Local Government.
Residents had complained about delays by Private Sector Partnership (PSP) operators in evacuating waste, as well as increases in waste collection charges.
The governor’s wife attributed part of the delay to operational challenges faced by waste operators at dumpsites.
She said: ‘The turnaround time for the trucks to dump the dirt at the dumpsite takes a long time. They are on the queue for like two, three days before they dump it and then come out, because it’s just one way.’
Mrs Sanwo-Olu said government was working to address the challenges, adding that stakeholders were committed to ensuring Lagos remained clean.
‘Our prayer to our people is that they should be patient. We know we have this teething problem; we will overcome our teething problem with time,’ she added.
The governor’s wife hailed Mafoluku residents for bagging their refuse, instead of dumping them beside drainage channels.
She, however, called for improved waste separation at source, noting that recyclable materials were still being mixed with wet and dry waste.
‘The importance of separating the waste is very important. We noticed that we need to advocate more on that, because some of the waste we saw today, we had bottles with dry waste, wet waste,’ she said.
She commended the participation of schoolchildren in the sanitation exercise, saying the initiative would help instil environmental consciousness in them from an early age.
Assessing the impact of the exercise six months after its commencement, Mrs Sanwo-Olu said the state had yet to attain the desired level of cleanliness, but noted that public awareness was improving.
‘Six months that we started, we haven’t got to where we want to be. It’s a work in progress. But I can see that the awareness is there. People are conforming,’ she said.
She disclosed that the Ministry of Environment would soon introduce competitions and awards for the cleanest communities as part of efforts to sustain the initiative.
Lagos State Head of Service, Olabode Agoro, who monitored the exercise in Lagos Mainland Local Government, said residents’ participation had improved since the exercise began six months ago.
He urged residents to take ownership of the initiative, rather than waiting for government officials to arrive before cleaning their surroundings.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, said public participation had increased since the beginning of the monthly sanitation exercise.
He advised residents to embrace waste separation from source, noting that recyclable materials such as plastics and paper could be converted to income.