Tokunbo Wahab admits months of poor waste collection; Sanwo-Olu orders 24-hour evacuation and revives monthly sanitation

Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, has publicly apologised to residents over persistent refuse buildup across the state, acknowledging on Friday that waste collection had been “very bad” in the last three to four months. Speaking on Arise TV’s The Morning Show, Wahab said the government is taking urgent steps to address the backlog and overhaul Lagos’ waste management system.

Operational delays in recent months led to piles of uncollected refuse along major roads, street corners and drainage channels in Lagos, sparking widespread complaints from residents. Many Lagosians have taken to social media to express frustration about streets overflowing with rubbish and the public health risks associated with unattended waste. In response to the mounting outcry, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has directed sanitation agencies to begin round-the-clock evacuation of refuse from public spaces.

Wahab explained that the crisis stems from Lagos’ longstanding reliance on landfill dumping, which has become unsustainable as the city’s population continues to grow. He noted that major landfill sites such as Olusosun and Solous were once on the outskirts but are now surrounded by urban development. “We can’t sustain that. We don’t even have the land. If our total land mass is 0.4 percent of the country’s land mass, 3,355 square kilometres of land, it shows we must think outside the box,” Wahab said.

To permanently address these challenges, Wahab announced that Lagos is transitioning towards a circular waste economy. He highlighted ongoing investments in waste-to-energy projects, including a new biodigester facility at the Ecocircuit Centre for converting food waste into electricity and a larger plant expected to process about 4,250 tonnes of refuse daily. The commissioner added that these reforms are aimed at treating waste as a resource rather than something to discard.

The state government also revived its monthly environmental sanitation exercise in April—nearly a decade after it was suspended in 2016 following a court order. Officials say combining improved evacuation efforts with new processing facilities and regular sanitation will help tackle Lagos’ mounting refuse problem and support public health objectives moving forward.

Source: https://www.pulse.ng/story/lagos-waste-crisis-tokunbo-wahab-apologises-to-residents-over-months-of-poor-refuse-collection-2026062613235018772