The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and Shomolu Local Government council, have agreed on re-introducing the monthly environmental sanitation on a voluntary basis, slated for the last Saturday of every month, beginning from November this year. The exercise takes place between 7am and 10am in the morning.
The agreement was reached at a stakeholder’s meeting, organised by LAWMA at the council secretariat, Oguntolu, during which all stakeholders agreed to turn-around the face of waste management in the area.
Addressing the participants, the Managing Director/ CEO of LAWMA, Mr. Ibrahim Odumboni, disclosed that the current state of environment in the council neighbourhood was unsatisfactory, noting that residents should re-engage fully with the serving PSPs, towards unimpeded service delivery.
He told them that waste collection and disposal was never free anywhere in the world, hence the need for them to take responsibility for their waste management, and mobilize the youths of the area, to police the black spots for good results.
Odumboni said, “It is very important for all of us here to participate in ensuring that Shomolu is kept clean. It is a duty for you to ensure that your environment is always clean.
“The solution to Shomolu’s challenge is the youth. Empower the youth and they will solve your waste disposal problem. You have a lot of able bodied young men, put many of them together at strategic places to police the black spots. This is called local policing; it is local solution to local problem’’, he concluded. 
In his remarks, the council Chairman, Hon. Abdul-Hamed Salawu, commended LAWMA’s determination to rejuvenate waste management in the area, admonishing the residents to live healthy and hygienic lives, by keeping their environment clean and to pay their waste bills for sustained PSP service.
He said, “A healthy environment is one that is sustainable for a long time and a source of good life for everyone. Many of our actions and attitude to this planet has resulted in many environmental problems. Therefore, it is my duty to protect our environment and restore the aesthetics of Lagos State towards achieving our model city status”, he noted.
Also speaking, the vice Iyaoloja-General of Shomolu, Alhaja Omobolanle Suleiman, commended LAWMA’s effort which has enabled cleaner environment for markets in the council, while appealing to the agency to be moderate and considerate, in its proposed upward review of market billing for waste collection.In his contribution, the chairman of the PSP in Shomolu/Bariga, Mr. Olugbenga Adebola, enlightened the residents on waste sorting at source for recycling purposes.
He urged them not to co-mingle their waste, but sort out recyclable items for sale to off-takers, stressing that there was huge economic opportunity in so-called waste, if properly managed.
In attendance were the vice-chairman of the council, Hon. Adekunle Ibiyemi; a former council chairman, Hon. Mogbolahan; CDC Chairman, Mr. Adedapo Oduguwa, among others, as well as senior LAWMA officials including the Chief Technical Officer, Dr. Olorunwa Tijani; AGM Central 1 Operations, Mr. Jelili Alao; Head of Domestic PSP, Central 1, Mr. Habeeb Savage; Head of Domestic PSP, Central II, Mr. Olumide Mumuney, among others.
