Sanwo-Olu declares state of emergency over Lagos waste crisis
By Adeola Ogunrinde
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday declared a state of emergency over the worsening waste situation in the state, announcing emergency measures to remove refuse dumped on road medians and other unauthorized locations across the metropolis.
Sanwo-Olu, who described the intervention as a “small state of emergency,” said the measures were aimed at restoring efficient waste collection across Lagos. He spoke during an inspection of the Olusosun dumpsite, where he expressed concern over mounting refuse, indiscriminate dumping and delays in evacuating waste from residential areas.
To address the situation, the governor said the state had ordered 160 new compactor trucks to urgently increase waste collection capacity from homes and roads to dumpsites. He also directed measures to increase the number of trucks Olusosun could receive daily from about 250-350 to between 350 and 450 through additional tipping points to improve turnaround time.
Similarly, Sanwo-Olu said the state was working to activate other waste-receiving locations, including Solu 3 in Alimosho, Iwulepe in Ikorodu, Oke Osho in Epe and Erikitte in Badagry. He said the move would reduce the time trucks spend at dumpsites and improve the efficiency of waste evacuation across the city.
The governor further disclosed that the state, in partnership with development partners, was building two transfer loading stations with a combined capacity of 2,400 metric tons at Olusosun and Solu 3. According to him, the facilities would compact waste before transferring it to material recovery sites being developed at Oke Osho in Epe and Erikitte in Badagry, where the waste would be sorted and processed for further use.
On the long-term solution, Sanwo-Olu said the infrastructure was expected to begin taking shape before the end of the year and become operational around the first quarter of next year. He described the project as a multimillion-dollar investment and disclosed plans to procure landfill compactors while urging private-sector waste operators to strengthen their capacity and invest in additional equipment.
Meanwhile, the governor said Private Sector Participation operators had agreed to review their ranks and “purge” inactive or ineffective operators to make room for investors with the capacity to provide efficient waste services. He also appealed to Lagos residents to pay for waste collection, stressing that operators could not sustainably provide services if residents refused to pay.
Sanwo-Olu said the government would work with PSP operators to improve service delivery while developing a financing framework that would enable them to acquire more trucks without being pushed out of business. He said the measures were necessary to end the current disruption in waste collection and restore a cleaner and healthier environment, urging residents to dispose of their waste properly and support efforts to rebuild an efficient waste-management system.
