GOVERNOR Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, on Sunday, flagged off re-introduction of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in the state, barely seven years after the campaign was cancelled.
This newspaper reports that in November 2016, Ambode cancelled the sanitation exercise, which was held between 7am and 10am on the last Saturday of every month.
Ambode’s Commissioner for Information, Steve Ayorinde, had explained that considering the status of Lagos as a megacity, it was no longer appropriate to restrict movement for three hours.
Ayorinde said the government approved the cancellation for “a robust review of the environmental laws and procedures in the state in order to meet the present day challenges and to promote a clean and healthy environment”.
He said, “It is no longer appropriate to restrict movement of people for three hours in a mega city like Lagos at a time they should be pursuing commercial and entrepreneurial activities.
“In the last two decades, Lagos has grown exponentially into a mega city with the attendant huge environmental problems associated with managing a population of over twenty million people.
“But sadly, the environmental laws, policies and procedures being practiced in the State have not been able to match the phenomenal growth and the dream of a 24-hour economy, hence the need for the reform.”
The cancellation was in wake of a Lagos Appeal Court judgement, which nullified monthly environmental sanitation in the state.
The Court had nullified the monthly exercise, describing it as illegal and ordered the state government not to restrict people’s movement on that day
In its judgment, the court banned the state government from further restricting anyone’s movement within Lagos State at any time.
Sanwo-Olu launched the re-introduction of exercise on Sunday at Campus playground, Lagos Island.
He called for cooperation of all residents and stakeholders in making the exercise a success.
In his address, Commissioner for Environment, Tokunbo Wahab, said “as the government re-introduces this cleaning exercise, all residents are encouraged to clean their homes, surroundings, drainages in front of their houses and streets while LAWMA officials would always be on ground to collect well bagged waste and dispose of it properly.”
Wahab explained that monthly environmental sanitation was a culture in Lagos State as part of an initiative to “promote a clean and healthy environment, encourage community participation in waste management and reduce the risk of disease outbreaks.”