Jakande Backs Ambode On New Waste Management Initiative

 First civilian Governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande has urged residents of the State to cooperate with the present administration under the leadership of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in its bid to transform the solid waste management sector in line with global best practices.

Governor Ambode, through a new policy termed Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), is seeking to revolutionize waste collection and management in the State with the aim of promoting public health and bequeathing the State with functional, livable and cleaner environment.

Under the initiative, which is billed to commence next month, 27,500 sanitation workers would be employed and deployed to all the political wards in the State to keep the inner streets clean 24/7, while mechanized sweeping equipment would be deployed to the highways.

Also, a consortium of reputable firms specializing in waste management led by Visionscape, has been assembled to collect waste in the residential areas, while the existing licensed Private Sector Participation waste managers, otherwise known as PSP operators, would collect commercial waste.

Speaking on the development, Jakande said any initiative geared towards bringing about clean environment should be supported by the people, just as he urged residents to cooperate with the State Government.

“Anything that is meant to clear refuse in any part of the State is welcomed. No State wants refuse and Lagos State cannot be an exception but I know that they have agencies in charge of keeping Lagos State as clean as it should and there is no reason why every citizen of Lagos State whether indigene or not should not support the government.

“So far, I have not seen any strong opposition to it but I believe that this present administration in Lagos State is doing very well and I want all of us in Lagos State to support the Governor. He has lived up to expectations. Lagos State will benefit in every sense from his activities and I must say we are lucky to have him,” Jakande said.

In an earlier statement, Governor Ambode had announced that the Olusosun dumpsite and others which had been major eyesores located within living neighborhood would be closed for engineered sanitary landfills, while the three transfer loading stations/material recovery facilities at Agege, Oshodi and Simpson and three waste depots at Mushin, Ogudu and Simpson are being rehabilitated and retrofitted to world class standard with the view to facilitating efficient waste collection and disposal operations.

He said that with the construction of sanitary landfills in place, issues of dumping of waste in drainage channels and on roadsides would finally be eliminated in the state. 

Speaking at a sensitization workshop on 2017 Water Technology and Environmental Control Conference and Exhibition WATEC, held at Ikeja, Governor Ambode said the overall objective of the new environmental policy of his administration as encapsulated in the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, is basically to capitalize on the vantage position of Lagos as the world’s highest producer of waste by adopting a waste-to-wealth programme with the view to tackling environmental challenges and growing the state’s Gross Domestic Product GDP. “You see, I live in Ikeja and each time I have to pass through Motorways, I don’t like what I see. That is not a land fill site in Olusosun, it is a dump site. The place is an eyesore and it is the first thing you see when you are coming into Lagos and that is not what you should see in a city that is globally competitive. “The impression that has been given is that Olusosun is a land fill site but the answer is no. It is not scientifically treated. You only allow compactors to go and drop waste in a living neighborhood. Who does that? It has been there for almost 30 years and nobody looked at it, but we are now looking at it. The truth is this, with the CLI, we have to shut down Olusosun dump site and part of the contract is that Visionscape will give us new land fill sites that are scientifically treated”, Ambode said.

He revealed that the integrated waste management services contract recently sealed by the State Government with a leading environmental utility group, Visionscape, is targeted at ending the perennial flooding confronting the state, and ensuring a clean and livable environment. According to the contract spanning 10 years, Visionscape which specializes in providing turnkey solutions in areas of sanitation, energy and waste water treatment, will be responsible for door-to-door waste collection services to households in the state. While clarifying issues raised by some of the participants at the workshop, Ambode expressed excitement at the decision of Visionscape to key into the vision of his administration to revolutionize waste management in the state, pointing out that Lagos is generating the highest waste per day in the world more than New York.