KEY POINTS
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Lagos begins plan to decommission outdated landfills.
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Local councils told to step up waste enforcement.
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Flood management tied to improved waste coordination.
The Lagos State Government is preparing to phase out several old dumpsites as part of a wider plan to strengthen waste management and promote environmental sustainability. The state’s Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, announced the initiative on Wednesday after a meeting with all 57 Local Government and Local Council Development Area chairmen.
Lagos targets obsolete landfills for closure
Wahab said the step aligns with the government’s goal of creating a cleaner and flood-free Lagos through stronger coordination between state and local authorities. “We are decommissioning landfills like Olusosun and Solous 3 that have outlived their usefulness, while ensuring that functional ones like Epe remain active and efficient,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The meeting, held at the ministry’s headquarters, brought together top officials including the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi; Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, Bolaji Roberts; Secretary to the State Government, Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin; Special Adviser on the Environment, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu; and several Permanent Secretaries.
Focus on waste management and flooding
According to Wahab, the session focused on improving local collaboration to address flooding and environmental offences across communities. He noted that waste management begins at the grassroots, urging council chairmen to take greater responsibility for collection, community awareness, and enforcement against illegal dumping.
“We must all work together to build a cleaner, flood-free Lagos where waste becomes a resource rather than a burden,” Wahab said. He reminded council leaders that the ban on street trading remains in place and warned against lax enforcement of environmental laws.
According to Punch, Wahab also highlighted that the government is investing in resilient drainage and flood control systems. He called on local councils to reflect the same level of commitment by maintaining drains and ensuring compliance with sanitation policies.
He said environmental sustainability depends on a shared sense of responsibility among all tiers of government. “The state will continue to lead from the front, but progress will come faster when every tier of government works together,” Wahab said.
