Lagos State’s Environment and Water Resources Commissioner, Tokunbo Wahab, warned private‑sector participation (PSP) waste operators on Wednesday to deliver immediate results or face enforcement action, after the state reopened the Solus and Olusosun dumpsites that had been closed for months.
During an inspection of the Solus site in Alimosho Local Government Area, Wahab said the government had already rehabilitated the dumpsite and its access roads, leaving “no more excuses” for the ongoing refuse crisis. He urged operators to improve waste collection and evacuation, noting that the repaired road is guaranteed to last at least one year with quarterly maintenance and that the facility should handle “at least 100 trucks daily,” which he said would keep streets and homes free of litter.
Wahab also reminded PSP operators of Lagos’s polluter‑pays policy, stating the state will take “necessary measures to hold defaulting operators accountable” for services residents have already paid for. He emphasized that the government has “done its own bit” and now expects the private sector to “put their skin in it” to achieve the joint waste‑management goals.
In parallel with the dumpsite reopening, the commissioner announced a major restructuring of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) ordered by the governor. The new leadership includes:
- Juwon Akinyemi – Acting Managing Director
- Dr Tjani Olorunwa – Acting Executive Director of Operations
- Kunle Adebiyi – Executive Director of Finance (substantive)
Senior LAWMA staff on Grade Levels 13 to 17 have been redeployed to the mainstream civil service to inject fresh energy as the state shifts from conventional waste disposal to resource recovery.
Olugbenga Adebola, national president of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN), welcomed the Solus reopening, describing it as “a major relief” for operators who collectively run more than 700 trucks. He noted that the prolonged closure forced trucks to travel over 120 kilometres to Shagamu for disposal, a “horrendous” situation now alleviated by new bulldozers at Solus that will speed up operations and reduce queues.
“Everybody needs to double their hustles. If you cannot fly, please be running. If you can’t run, please be working. If you can’t work, then crawl. But no more crawling, we are saying, no more crawling,”
Adebola pledged that operators will co‑own the facility, work with the government to keep it well‑managed, and improve waste evacuation in Alimosho, Iba, Festac, Badagry and parts of Agege within two weeks. He also called on the state to fast‑track rehabilitation of four other disposal sites—Ewu‑Elepe, Ikorodu, Oke‑Aro and Badagry—to prevent further challenges in communities still awaiting restored services.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
