Lagos deploys 200 trucks, warns residents against unregulated cart pushers

The Lagos State Government has expanded its waste management efforts by acquiring over 200 compactor trucks, as disclosed by the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, during a monthly environmental sanitation exercise in FESTAC, Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area. The high-profile participants included Deputy Governor Dr Obafemi Hamzat and his wife, Mrs Oluremi Hamzat, along with other stakeholders.

The newly acquired trucks aim to enhance waste evacuation and improve the efficiency and reliability of waste collection services across Lagos. Additionally, the ministry is addressing challenges at landfills, dumpsites, and other major waste collection points. They are also engaging with Private Sector Participation, PSP, operators to further improve service delivery.

Wahab emphasized that residents' willingness to pay for waste collection is directly tied to the quality and reliability of the services they receive, and his ministry's intervention focuses on optimizing the waste management system for residents and other stakeholders. The commissioner cautioned residents against patronising unregulated cart pushers, warning that their activities often lead to the indiscriminate dumping of refuse on road medians, roads, and drainage channels.

Such practices have detrimental effects on the environment, exacerbate flood management issues, and contravene municipal regulations.

Wahab stressed that achieving a cleaner Lagos requires the collaboration between the government and residents. He urged the public to not only participate on sanitation days but also maintain cleanliness daily, both for the government's efforts and their individual responsibilities in proper waste disposal and surroundings upkeep.