Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday, allayed the fears of residents over the resurgence of waste on major highways and streets in the metropolis.

Speaking at Alausa, Ikeja, after the inauguration of the new board of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), he assured that the state government was on top of the situation and that the situation would soon be a thing of the past.

Governor Ambode explained that the new waste management policy encapsulated in the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) was designed to holistically address the challenges in the sector, adding that all hands were on deck to confront the initial hitches with the transition period.  The newly reconstituted LAGESC is now headed by a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Daniel Isiofia.    

He said officials of LAGESC transformed from the former Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) had been employed to police all nooks and crannies of the State to curb indiscriminate dumping of waste and other acts inimical to clean, hygienic and sustainable environment.   

Governor Ambode, who was represented at the inauguration by his Special Adviser on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh, said concerted efforts were being made to clear the heaps of refuse across the metropolis, assuring that there would be marked improvement in the coming days.

His words: “We are all living witnesses to the restructuring we are trying to do in the environmental sector. That restructuring culminated in the introduction of CLI which is focused on ensuring that the way we clean Lagos is comparable to what is being done in first class cities in the world.”

 Yes, we are having some challenges in the area of waste management in Lagos today. We all live in Lagos, but I want to reaffirm that we are doing everything to ensure that this becomes a thing of the past.”

 He further expressed optimism in the workability of the new initiative, saying that the challenges with the teething stages would soon be over.

“But beyond the fact that we are clearing waste, the CLI is also ensuring that we have landfill sites not dumping sites, but landfill sites where the waste we are generating in Lagos can be recycled, re-engineered and also resold so that we can create wealth and a new business for Lagosians to tap into,” he added.

According to him, no fewer than 8500 new street sweepers are currently deployed across the state, promising to increase the figure to 27,500 in due course. 

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, said the new environmental initiative had become imperative to meet the emerging challenges.