Lagos to Promote Environmental Sustainability with Passage of Law

Ugo Aliogo

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has expressed the desire of his administration to achieve full environmental sustainability with passage of the environmental management and protection law as the enabling legal instrument.

Ambode who disclosed this wednesday in Lagos at a media workshop organised by the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) of the state Ministry of Environment and Visionscape, noted that the environment sector is one of the three focal sectors critical to the actualisation of the policy thrust of the administration.

He also stated that the best way to sustain the environment is through the CLI waste management reform which is focused at seeking private investment from national and international players in the waste management sector, infuse more efficiency, improve living standard and secure a cleaner state.

Ambode who represented at the event by the Commissioner of Environment, Dr.Samuel Adejare, explained that the media is a critical stakeholder in fulfilling the inclusive governance stance of the administration, noting that this was driven through the provision of information to the citizenry and sharing of ideas on how to sustainably relate with the environment in a way that would be beneficial to the public.

In her remarks, the Environmental Product and Services Development Manager Visionscape, Maimuna Maibe, said the group in partnership with the state government would be involved in waste containment, provision of bins to residents, transportation, collection and waste disposal, adding that they are focusing on the entire waste collection management value chain.

She also stated that they are also committed in creating value out of the waste they collected instead of focusing on disposal at landfill sight.

Maibe further stated that there are three concession facilities which they have taken over and they are based in Agege, Oshodi and Takpa in Lagos Island, stressing that the three locations provide a stop gap for their operations, which would allow all trucks, tricycles and loading containers to dump at the transfer stations.

Continuing, Ambode added that the concession of the residential waste collection and processing to a reputable multinational waste service company; the transformation of the erstwhile Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) Brigade to a civil Lagos state Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), the launch of the initiative and other issues would unfold very soon.

He added: “We know that by educating you about the facts in CLI, we will help in turn to educate the public. We are responsible to the people, therefore educating them through the media is very vital for us. We are beginning the CLI initiative first week in September.

“We have thrown up an intervention programme with the Ministry of Environment, LAWMA and Visionscape. Visionscape is doing some deep cleaning with us. We have started using open trucks for them. Lagosians should dispose their waste responsibly and the waste disposal authorities responsible will take them out. CLI will help to build the social infrastructure needed to develop Lagos. The model we are adopting is in consonance with what is obtainable internationally.”