RismadarVoice Reporters
September 26, 2026
The wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has appealed to residents to remain patient as the state government works to address delays in waste evacuation across Lagos.
Sanwo-Olu appealed on Saturday during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in the Mafoluku area of Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area.
Her comments followed complaints from residents over what they described as irregular refuse collection by Private Sector Participation operators.
A resident, Adebayo Agbalara, raised the concern during the exercise, appealing for government intervention.
“The challenge we are facing is that the PSP operators are not coming regularly to pack our waste. Please help us to appeal to them,” Agbalara said.
Responding, Sanwo-Olu attributed part of the problem to delays experienced by waste trucks at dumpsites, saying some vehicles spend days waiting before they can discharge collected refuse.
“The turnaround time for the trucks to dump the dirt at the dumpsite, it takes a long time. They queue for like two or three days before they dump it, and then come out, because it’s just one way,” she said.
She also acknowledged residents’ concerns over increased charges by some PSP operators.
According to her, the state government is exploring alternative approaches to waste disposal and management to address the challenges.
Sanwo-Olu described the current difficulties as a “teething problem” and appealed for patience while relevant authorities work towards improvements.
“Our prayer to our people is that they should be patient. We know we have this teething problem; we will overcome our teething problem with time. They should just be patient,” she said.
The First Lady said some individuals were taking advantage of the situation but assured residents that relevant stakeholders were working to improve cleanliness across the state.
Assessing the sanitation exercise in Mafoluku, Sanwo-Olu commended residents for bagging their refuse instead of dumping it beside drainage channels.
She noted that a waste evacuation truck was already operating in the area, although the pace of collection had not met residents’ expectations.
“You can see that the truck is here; it’s already packing. We’re not as fast as the residents want us to pack, but they are already taking the waste away,” she said.
Sanwo-Olu also called for greater adoption of waste separation, noting that plastics and other recyclable materials were frequently mixed with general refuse.
She said schoolchildren were participating in the sanitation exercise as part of efforts to promote environmental awareness from an early age.
The First Lady acknowledged that Lagos had yet to attain the desired level of cleanliness since the resumption of the monthly sanitation exercise but said public awareness and participation were improving.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, also said participation in the exercise had increased significantly.
According to him, more residents were voluntarily cleaning their homes and streets compared with the early stages of the programme.
“When we started, the awareness wasn’t this much. But today, you see people turning up, coming out to clean their environment, right from inside their house to the streets. And that is to tell you there’s progress. We’re recording successes,” Rotimi-Akodu said.
He said the government was seeking to improve environmental awareness and encourage behavioural changes in waste management.
Rotimi-Akodu urged residents to stop indiscriminate dumping and separate waste at the point of generation, noting that plastics, paper and other recyclable materials could be recovered and, in some cases, sold for income.
