Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared what he described as a “small state of emergency” on waste management in the state, citing mounting challenges with refuse collection and disposal.
Sanwo-Olu made the declaration on Wednesday while inspecting the Olusosun dumpsite in Ojota, where he assessed the growing pressure on the state’s waste management system.
The governor said the situation had worsened in recent weeks, resulting in increased indiscriminate dumping of refuse in different parts of Lagos.
“We are here to see what the problem is, so that we can clearly declare what we will call a small state of emergency,” the governor said.
“This is necessary for us to get out of this very unpleasant situation and restore effective waste collection and disposal across Lagos.”
As part of the government’s immediate intervention, Sanwo-Olu announced plans to raise the daily capacity of the Olusosun dumpsite from approximately 250–350 trucks to between 350 and 450 trucks.
He added that more tipping points would be created to minimise the lengthy delays currently experienced by waste disposal trucks.
The governor also disclosed that Lagos is in the process of procuring 160 new compactor trucks, with additional vehicles expected to be supplied by private waste operators.
Sanwo-Olu said the government would further expand waste disposal capacity at Solu 3, Iwulepe, Oke-Osho and Erikitte.
For the longer term, the state plans to establish two transfer loading stations at Olusosun and Solu 3, with a combined capacity of 2,400 metric tonnes. Waste collected at these locations would subsequently be transported to material recovery facilities in Epe and Badagry for sorting and recycling.
“We are hoping that in another six weeks, we will have four active dump sites,” he said, adding that the expansion would help reduce the amount of time waste trucks spend waiting to discharge their loads.
The governor also announced a planned review of the operations of Private Sector Participants (PSPs), stressing that only operators capable of providing effective waste collection services should remain in the system.
“We do not want to have 800 PSPs when only 400 are effective. We need to purge the system and create space for more investors and people who have the capacity to come in,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu further urged Lagos residents to pay for waste collection services, noting that waste operators cannot sustainably provide services without receiving payment.
“Lagosians, in particular, want service, but we do not want to pay for the service. I think this era has to stop,” he said.
The governor said the government’s immediate focus is to restore consistent waste collection across Lagos, while the proposed transfer stations, recycling facilities and expanded disposal sites are expected to strengthen the state’s waste management system in the long term.
